The ruler of an empire,note As in "a monarchy whose ruler is titled 'emperor' or 'empress'", not in the broader senses of "a political state of any government form that has an extensive territory under its centralized authority" or "a group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to a foreign power". usually but not always The Empire. Historically, Emperors outranked Kings, so when you need an authority figure to convey the highest possible power and rank, you can't get any higher than making them The Emperor (unless you go to