Roman emperors in the context of "Historia Augusta"

Primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office.

Historically, the princeps senatus of the Roman Senate was such a figure and initially bore only the distinction that he was allowed to speak first during debate. After the fall of the Republic, Roman emperors initially referred to themselves only as princeps despite having enormous power.

Caesar (Latin: [ˈkae̯.sar] English pl. Caesars; Latin pl. Caesares; in Greek: Καῖσαρ Kaîsar) is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar. The change from being a surname to a title used by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. When used on its own, the title denoted heirs apparent, who would later adopt the title Augustus on accession. The title remained an essential part of the style of the emperors, and became the word for "emperor" in some languages, such as German (Kaiser) and Slavic (Tsar).

Dardania (/dɑːrˈdeɪniə/; Latin: Dardania; Ancient Greek: Δαρδανία) in the Central Balkans, initially an unofficial region in Moesia (87–284), and then a province administratively part of the Diocese of Moesia (293–337). It was named after the tribe of the Dardani who inhabited the region in classical antiquity prior to the Roman conquest. During the late Imperial period the Dardanian territory was the homeland of many Roman emperors, notably Constantine the Great and Justinian I.

Virtus (Classical Latin: [ˈwɪrtuːs̠]) was a specific virtue in ancient Rome that carried connotations of valor, masculinity, excellence, courage, character, and worth, all perceived as masculine strengths. It was thus a frequently stated virtue of Roman emperors, and was personified as the deity Virtus.

The Roman imperial period is the expansion of political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period begins with the reign of Augustus (r. 27 BC – AD 14), and it is taken to end variously between the late 3rd and the late 4th century, with the beginning of late antiquity. Despite the end of the "Roman imperial period", the Roman Empire continued to exist under the rule of the Roman emperors into Late Antiquity and beyond, except in the Western Empire, over which the Romans' political and military control was lost in the course of the 5th-century fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Siegfried of Ballhausen (or Balnhusen) was a priest of Ballhausen who wrote a universal history in Latin. His history is known from two versions. The original Historia universalis was completed in 1304, but he later revised it and continued it down to 1306 under the title Compendium historiarum. The autograph manuscripts of both versions survive.

Both versions are divided into three parts. The first two are devoted to antiquity, mainly the Old Testament and New Testament periods. This includes a list of Roman emperors and kings of the Romans down to Albert I and a list of popes down to Benedict XI (Historia) or Clement V (Compendium). The third part covers Christian history. In this section, increasingly particular attention is paid to Siegfried's homeland of Thuringia. The works marks the beginning of the "Thuringian historical tradition".

The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire occurred on 6 August 1806, when the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, abdicated his title and released all Imperial states and officials from their oaths and obligations to the empire. Since the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire had been recognized by Western Europeans as the legitimate continuation of the ancient Roman Empire due to its emperors having been proclaimed as Roman emperors by the papacy. Through this Roman legacy, the Holy Roman Emperors claimed to be universal monarchs whose jurisdiction extended beyond their empire's formal borders to all of Christian Europe and beyond. The decline of the Holy Roman Empire was a long and drawn-out process lasting centuries. The formation of the first modern sovereign territorial states in the 16th and 17th centuries, which brought with it the idea that jurisdiction corresponded to actual territory governed, threatened the universal nature of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire by the time of the 18th century was widely regarded by contemporaries, both inside and outside the empire, as a highly "irregular" monarchy and "sick," having an "unusual" form of government. The empire lacked both a central standing army and a central treasury and its monarchs, formally elective rather than hereditary, could not exercise effective central control. Even then, most contemporaries believed that the empire could be revived and modernized. For example, the Reichstag passed the Imperial Recess as late as 1803.