Autokrator Autokratōr ( , plural : , lit . " self - ruler " , " one who rules by himself " , from αὐτός and κράτος ) is a Greek epithet applied to an individual who exercises absolute power , unrestrained by superiors . In a historical context , it has been applied to military commanders - in - chief , and to 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 the female form of the title is autokrateira ( , " empress " ) . Ancient Greece . The title appeared in Classical Greece in the late 5th century BC , and was used for generals given independent authority , i . e . a supreme commander ( stratēgos autokratōr ) . In Classical Athens , " stratēgoi autokratores " were generals endowed with autonomous power of command , i . e . they were able to make certain military and diplomatic decisions without prior consultation with the Athenian assembly . This was enacted when the general was expected to operate far from Athens , for instance during the Sicilian Expedition . Nevertheless , the generals remained accountable to the assembly for their conduct upon their return . Similar practices were followed by other Greek states , such as Syracuse , where the post served as a power base for several of the city ' s tyrant s . " Stratēgoi autokratores " were also appointed by various leagues of city - states to head their combined armies . Thus Philip II of Macedon was declared as " hēgemōn " and " stratēgos autokratōr " of the southern Greek states by the League of Corinth , a position later given to his son Alexander the Great as well . The term was also employed for envoys entrusted with plenipotentiary powers ( " presbeis autokratores " ) . Rome and Byzantium . In later times , with the rise of the Roman Republic , " [ stratēgos ] autokratōr " was used by Greek historians to translate different Roman terms : Polybius uses the term to translate the title " dictator " , while Plutarch uses it in its later sense as a translation of the victory title " imperator " . " Autokratōr " became entrenched as the official translation of the latter during the Roman Empire , where " imperator " was part of the titelature of the Roman emperors . As such it continued to be used in Greek translations from Latin until the adoption of the Greek title " basileus " by Emperor Heraclius in 629 . It was retained in archaic forms of address during ceremonies in the East Roman ( Byzantine ) Empire , and was revived ( no later than the early 9th century ) in the form of basileus [ kai ] autokratōr ( , usually translated as " emperor and autocrat " ) , which then designated the senior of several ruling co - emperors ( συμβασιλεῖς , " symbasileis " ) , who held the actual power . In the Palaiologan period , this use was extended to include the designated heir . The title is evidenced in coins from 912 , in imperial chrysobull s from the 11th century , and in numerous illuminated manuscripts . The term " stratēgos autokratōr " continued to be used in the Byzantine period as well . The title is particularly prevalent in the 6th century ( e . g . for Belisarius ) , and re - appears in the 10th - 11th centuries for senior military commanders . Thus , for instance , Basil II installed David Arianites as " stratēgos autokratōr " of Bulgaria , implying powers of command over the other regional " stratēgoi " in the northern Balkans . Slavic nations . The Byzantine imperial formula was imitated among the Balkan Slavic nations , and later , most notably , the emerging Tsardom of Russia . The tsars of the Second Bulgarian Empire used the title " In Christ the God faithful Emperor and Autocrat of all Bulgarians " , at times with the appended formulas " of the Romans " ( Simeon I ) and " of the Vlachs " ( in the Second Bulgarian Empire ) . Later Stefan Dushan claimed the title " " basileus " and " autokratōr " of the Serbs and Romans " in Greek , while the Russian tsars , up to the fall of the Russian monarchy in 1917 , used the formula " Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias " . In the Slavic languages , the title was used in a translated form ( , " samodarzhets " , , " samodržac " ; , " samoderzhets " ) .