Translatio imperii

Translatio imperii (Latin for 'transfer of rule') is an idea that was important to thinkers during the medieval times in Europe. It started from even older ideas in antiquity. This idea says that when one empire ends, another naturally takes its place, like passing a baton in a race. It suggests empires don’t just disappear; instead, their power moves from one place to another, surviving through time.

One famous writer who used this idea was Virgil, one of the greatest poets of ancient Rome. In his famous poem, the Aeneid, he connected the Rome of his time, ruled by Caesar Augustus, back to the ancient city of Troy. People kept using this idea from the ninth century all the way to the fourteenth century, and even later. During the Renaissance, writers in Florence used it to show that their city was the new Rome, and that leaders like the Medici family were like Roman rulers.

This concept looks at history as a straight line where power moves from one ruler or empire to the next. It is often connected to another idea called translatio studii, which is about learning moving from place to place. Both ideas are believed to come from a story in the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible.

Definitions

The idea of translatio imperii means the transfer of rule. It was a common thought among thinkers in the Middle Ages. They believed that when one empire ended, another would naturally take its place, like a chain of power passing from one to the next.

Important writers from different places saw this transfer in their own ways. For example, some thought power moved from Rome to the Franks and then to the Saxons. Others believed it went from Rome to the Franks, then to the Lombards, and finally to the Germans. Still others saw the transfer as moving from Greece to Rome and then to France, or even to Norway. This idea was used by leaders to show their importance and connect themselves to great past empires.

From Troy to Rome

The Romans believed they were descendants of Troy, which gave them a stronger sense of legitimacy. This idea is shown in Virgil’s famous work, the Aeneid. In this story, Virgil uses the idea of the transfer of rule and knowledge to connect history and myths into Rome’s beginning. The book follows Aeneas, a hero from Troy, on his journey to create a new kingdom in the Latium area after the Trojan War. The Romans valued this link to Troy and Greece because it gave them a more heroic past, which they felt their early history lacked.

From the Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire to the Holy Roman Empire

See also: Legacy of the Roman Empire, Succession of the Roman Empire, Problem of two emperors, and Last Roman Emperor

A famous idea called translatio imperii helped connect the Western Roman Empire after it ended in the fifth century to the lands ruled by Charlemagne from 768 to 814. Charlemagne was King of the Franks and later became King of the Lombards. In 800, with help from Pope Leo III, he was crowned Roman emperor, bringing back that title in Western Europe after more than 300 years. Though the title stopped being used in 924, it returned in 962 when Otto I, with support from Pope John XII, became emperor. This began the long history of the Holy Roman Empire.

• Emperor Constantine I created Constantinople as a second capital of the Roman Empire in 330.
• After Emperor Theodosius I died in 395, the Roman Empire split into a Western and an Eastern Roman Empire.
• When the Western Empire ended around 476–480, the Byzantine Empire carried on as the Roman Empire.
• Byzantine Emperor Constantine V arranged for his son Leo IV to marry Irene of Athens in 768.
• Irene became ruler for their young son, Constantine VI, after both Constantine V and Leo IV passed away.
• Irene tried to build closer ties with Charlemagne and the Pope, even planning a marriage between her son and Charlemagne’s daughter, but she later changed her mind.
• As Constantine VI grew up, Irene and her son had disagreements. In 797, Irene removed her son from power.
• Some leaders in the West believed the throne was empty because it was held by a woman and instead supported Charlemagne as emperor. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor, though this was not accepted by the Byzantine Empire.
• Irene was later removed from power and sent away, where she passed away the next year.
• A peace agreement in 803 was made between Charlemagne and the leader of the Byzantine Empire.
• In 812, the leader of the Byzantine Empire recognized Charlemagne as emperor, though he still called himself emperor of the Romans.
• On February 2, 962, Otto I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII. Shortly after, Otto married his son Otto II to Byzantine Princess Theophanu, strengthening ties between the two empires.

From the Inca Empire to the Spanish Empire

See also: Fifth Empire

Sayri Túpac, the second leader of Vilcabamba, agreed to give up his rule to the King of Castile in 1558. In return, he was pardoned and given land and rights. His successor, Titu Cusi Yupanqui, later confirmed this agreement.

The Spanish Empire used this idea to justify their control over the area now known as Peru. They saw themselves as the rightful successors to the Inca rulers. This helped gain support from local leaders who still honored their Inca heritage. The Spanish kings even used titles that linked them to ancient Inca and Aztec rulers.

This transfer of power was shown in artworks and helped the Inca nobility keep some of their traditions and status under Spanish law.

The Rus' land from the Middle Dnieper to Suzdalia

See also: Moscow, third Rome

Further information: Trinity Chronicle § Value for historical and textual criticism; Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia; and Gathering of the Russian lands

A big question in history is when the name "Rus' land" changed from meaning the area around Kiev (now Kyiv) to meaning the area around Vladimir-Suzdal. Scholars agree that by the late 1400s, leaders from Moscow saw themselves as the true successors of Kievan Rus'. But it's harder to say exactly when this change happened.

Historians have debated this for years. Some thought the change happened in the 1300s or 1400s, but newer research shows it might have been earlier. One historian suggested that by about 1340, when Ivan I Kalita became Prince of Moscow, the idea that Rus' land was now Moscow and its nearby areas was already accepted. Others think it happened even later, maybe in the mid-1400s. This debate continues among historians today.