Autokrator

Ivory plaque with Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos being crowned by Christ. The legend reads: "Constantine, in God [faithful], *autokratōr* and *basileus* of the Romans.

Autokrator or Autocrator (Greek: αὐτοκράτωρ, autokrátōr, lit. "self-ruler," "one who rules by himself," whence English "autocrat," from αὐτός, autós, 'self' + κράτος, krátos, 'dominion, power'; pl. αὐτοκράτορες, autokrátores) is a Greek epithet applied to an individual who is unrestrained by superiors. It has been applied to military commanders-in-chief as well as Roman and Byzantine emperors as the translation of the Latin title imperator. Its connection with Byzantine-style absolutism gave rise to the modern terms autocrat and autocracy. In Modern Greek, it means "emperor", and its feminine form is autokráteira (αὐτοκράτειρα).