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Kaiser is the German word for "emperor". Like the Bulgarian, Serbian and Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Roman emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens (clan) Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar, the forebear of the first imperial family, belonged. Although the British monarchs styled "Emperor of India" were also called "Kaisar-i-Hind" in Hindi and Urdu, this word, although ultimately sharing the same Latin origin, is derived from the Greek: Καῖσαρ (kaisar), not the German Kaiser.
In English, the term 'the Kaiser' is usually reserved for the emperors of the German Empire and the emperors of the Austrian Empire. During the First World War, anti-German sentiment was at its zenith; the term the Kaiser—especially as applied to Wilhelm II of Germany—thus gained considerable negative connotations in English-speaking countries.
German history and antecedents of the title
The Holy Roman Emperors (962–1806) called themselves Kaiser, combining the imperial title with that of King of the Romans (assumed by the designated heir before the imperial coronation); they saw their rule as a continuation of that of the Roman Emperors and used the title derived from the title Caesar to reflect their supposed heritage.
The rulers of the Empire of Austria (1804–1918) were drawn from the Habsburg dynasty, who, after 1438, provided most of Holy Roman Emperors. The Austrian rulers adopted the title Kaiser. There were only four Kaisers of the Austrian Empire, and they have all belonged to the Habsburg dynasty. In 1871, there was much debate about the exact title for the monarch of those German territories (such as free imperial cities, principalities, duchies, and kingdoms) that agreed to unify under the leadership of Prussia, thereby forming the German Empire. Deutscher Kaiser ("German Emperor") was chosen over alternatives such as Kaiser von Deutschland ("Emperor of Germany"), or Kaiser der Deutschen ("Emperor of the Germans"), as the chosen title simply connoted that the new emperor, hearkening from Prussia, was a German, but did not imply that this new emperor had dominion over all German territories. There were only three Kaisers of the (second) German Empire. All of them belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty, which, as kings of Prussia, had been de facto leaders of lesser Germany.
In English the (untranslated) word Kaiser is mainly associated with the emperors of the unified German Empire (1871–1918). In 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, but the title of Kaiser was retained by the House of Habsburg, the head of which, beginning in 1804, bore the title of Emperor (Kaiser) of Austria.
The Kaisers of the Austrian Empire (1804–1918) were:
The Kaisers of the German Empire (1871–1918) were:
Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, is currently head of the House of Hohenzollern, which was the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Karl von Habsburg is currently the head of the House of Habsburg.