autokrator

thumb|Ivory plaque with Emperor Constantine VII being crowned by [[Christ. The legend reads: "Constantine, in God [faithful], and of the Romans.]] Autokrator or Autocrator (, from + ) 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 . Its connection with Byzantine and Russian-style absolutism gave rise to the modern terms autocracy and autocrat.

== 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 (). In Classical Athens, 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 tyrants. were also appointed by various leagues of city-states to head their combined armies. Thus Philip II of Macedon was declared as () and 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 (, , 'elder autocrats').