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{{short description|Ancient Roman title}}
{{italic title}}
{{for|the star|Delta Boötis}}
'''''Princeps''''' (plural: ''principes'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost,<ref name="Cassell">{{Cite book|title=Cassell's Latin Dictionary, Latin-English, English-Latin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ml_UAwAAQBAJ|first=D.P.|last=Simpson|publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell Publishers Limited]] |location=London|year=1968|page=713|isbn=9780826453785}}</ref> chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person".<ref name="Lewis">{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=princeps1|title=princeps, cĭpis, adj.|work=A Latin Dictionary|author=Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short|year=1897|access-date=2009-04-21}}</ref> As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the [[Roman Republic]] wherein the leading member of the Senate was designated ''princeps senatus''.<ref name=EB/> It is primarily associated with the Roman emperors as an unofficial title first adopted by [[Augustus]] ({{Reign|27 BC|AD 14}}) in 23 BC. Its use in this context continued until the regime of [[Diocletian]] (r. 284 – 305 AD) at the end of the third century. He preferred the title of ''dominus'', meaning "lord" or "master".{{cn|date=December 2023}} As a result, the Roman Empire from Augustus to Diocletian is termed the "[[principate]]" (''principatus''). Other historians define the reign of Augustus to [[Severus Alexander]] (r. 222 – 235) as the Principate, and the period afterwards as the "Autocracy".<ref>''A History of Rome to A.D. 565'', rev. 6th ed., Sinnigen & Boak, PanMacMillan, ç1975</ref>
The [[medieval]] title [[Prince#Prince_as_generic_for_ruler|"Prince" is a derivative of]] princeps, as is the title [[Principal (disambiguation)#Title or rank|Principal]].<ref name=EB>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/princeps Encyclopædia Britannica – Princeps]</ref>
== Roman military ==
* See [[Principes]] (legionary heavy infantry soldier)
* [[centurion|centurio(n)]] in command of a unit or administrative office.
* ''Princeps ordinarius vexillationis'': centurion in command of a ''[[vexillatio]]'' (detachment).
* ''Princeps peregrinorum'' ("commander of the foreigners"): centurion in charge of troops in the ''castra peregrina'' (military base at Rome for personnel seconded from the provincial armies)
* ''Princeps prior'': Centurion commanding a ''manipulus'' (unit of two centuries) of ''principes'' (legionary heavy infantry).
* ''Princeps posterior'': deputy to the Princeps prior
* ''Princeps praetorii'' : centurion attached to headquarters.
''Princeps'' was also used as the second part of various other military titles, such as ''[[Decurio]] princeps'', Signifer princeps (among the standard-bearers). See also Principalis (as in ''[[Optio]] principalis''): NCO.
== Roman administration ==
{{Main|Officium (Ancient Rome)}}
''Princeps'' is also the (official) short version of Princeps officii, the chief of an officium (the office staff of a Roman dignitary).
== Roman Emperor ==
{{redirect|First Citizen|the novel by Thomas Thurston Thomas|First Citizen (novel)}}
''Princeps civitatis'' ("First Citizen") was an official title of a Roman [[Emperor]], as the title determining the leader in [[Ancient Rome]] at the beginning of the [[Roman Empire]]. It created the [[principate]] Roman imperial system.<ref name="grant62">Grant, p. 62</ref>
This usage of "''princeps''" derived from the position of ''[[Princeps senatus]]'', the "[[Primus inter pares|first among equals]]" of the [[Roman Senate|Senate]]. The ''princeps senatus'' (plural ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate, and his opinion would usually be asked first in senatorial debates.<ref name=EB/>
It was first given as a special title to [[Caesar Augustus]] in 27&nbsp;BC,<ref>{{cite book|last=Africa|first=Thomas|title=The Immense Majesty: A History of Rome and the Roman Empire|year=1991|publisher=Harlan Davidson, Inc.|pages=219}}</ref> who saw that use of the titles [[Roman Kingdom|''rex'']] (king) or [[Roman dictator|dictator]] would create resentment amongst senators and other influential men, who had earlier demonstrated their disapproval by supporting the assassination of [[Julius Caesar]]. While Augustus had political and military supremacy, he needed the assistance of his fellow Romans to manage the Empire. In his ''[[Res Gestae Divi Augusti|Res Gestae]]'', Augustus claims [[auctoritas]] for the princeps (himself).<ref name="grant62"/>
Various [[Roman Emperor#Titles.2C Positions.2C and Powers|official titles]] were associated with the Roman Emperor. These titles included ''[[imperator]]'', [[Augustus]], [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]], and later [[Dominus (title)|dominus]] (lord) and [[basileus]] (the Greek word for "[[Monarch|sovereign]]").{{cn|date=December 2023}} The word [[Emperor]] is derived from the Roman title "imperator", which was a very high, but not exclusive, military title until Augustus began to use it as his [[praenomen]].
The Emperor [[Diocletian]] (284–305), the father of the [[Tetrarchy]], was the first to stop referring to himself as "princeps" altogether, calling himself "dominus" (lord, master),{{cn|date=December 2023}} thus dropping the pretense that emperor was not truly a monarchical office. The period when the emperors that called themselves princeps ruled—from Augustus to Diocletian—is called "the [[Principate]]".<ref name=EB/>
Ancient Rome knew another kind of "princely" principes too, like "princeps iuventutis" ("the first amongst the young"), which in the early empire was frequently bestowed on eligible successors to the emperor, especially from his family. It was first given to Augustus' maternal grandsons [[Gaius Caesar|Gaius]] and [[Lucius Caesar|Lucius]].<ref>Suetonius</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2021}}
== Nobiliary legacy ==
"''Princeps''" is the root and Latin rendering of modern words as the English title and generic term ''[[prince]]'' (see that article, also for various equivalents in other languages), as the Byzantine version of Roman law was the basis for the legal terminology developed in feudal (and later absolutist) Europe.<ref name=EB/>
== Non-Roman meaning ==
Princeps has been used in various scientific names, including the following:
{{Incomplete list|date=May 2021}}
* [[Princeps (butterfly)|''Princeps'']], a former genus of [[swallowtail butterflies]] now treated as a subgenus of ''[[Papilio]]''
* ''[[Accipiter princeps]]'', the New Britain goshawk
* ''[[Actenoides princeps]]'', the scaly-breasted kingfisher
* [[Cattleya walkeriana var. princeps|''Cattleya walkeriana'' var. ''princeps'']], a synonym for ''Cattleya walkeriana'', an orchid species
* ''[[Emberiza flaviventris princeps]]'', a subspecies of golden-breasted bunting found in Angola and Namibia
* ''[[Grallaria guatimalensis|Grallaria guatimalensis princeps]]'', a subspecies of scaled antpitta found in Costa Rica and Panama
* ''[[Heterohyrax brucei princeps]]'', a subspecies of yellow-spotted rock hyrax
* ''[[Melionyx princeps]]'', the long-bearded melidectes
* ''[[Morphnarchus princeps]]'', the barred hawk
*''[[Triplofusus princeps]]'', a tropical [[sea snail]].
* ''[[Passerculus sandwichensis princeps]]'', the Ipswich sparrow (a subspecies of Savannah sparrow)
* ''[[Ploceus princeps]]'', the Príncipe weaver
* ''[[Psittacus timneh princeps]]'', the Príncipe subspecies of Timneh parrot
== Fiction ==
{{unreferenced|section|date=July 2021}}
*The ''[[Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Bread and Circuses (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Bread and Circuses]]" takes place on Magna Roma, an alternate Earth where the Roman Empire never fell. In this episode, the leader of Magna Roman society (Merikus, played by [[William Smithers]]) is referred to as First Citizen of his empire.
*In the [[Foundation (book series)|Foundation series]] by [[Isaac Asimov]], First Citizen is the title taken by the [[Mule (Foundation)|Mule]] and his successors in their position as leader of the Union of Worlds. Asimov had previously used the title "First Citizen of the State" for Korell's authoritarian ruler Commdor in the original [[Foundation (Asimov novel)|Foundation novel]].
*Princeps is the name of a dog that Brother Priad meets in the ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' book ''Brothers of the Snake''.
*Princeps is the title for the captain of a Titan, a massive humanoid war machine in the tabletop wargame ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''.
*In the book series ''[[Codex Alera]]'' by [[Jim Butcher]], Princeps is the title given to the crown prince of the empire of Alera. It is also used in the title of the fifth book in the series, [[Princeps' Fury]].
*In the ''[[Star Trek: Infinity's Prism]]'' book ''[[Seeds of Dissent]]'' by [[James Swallow]], "Princeps" is the title for "Commander" [[Julian Bashir]] of the warship ''Defiance'', which exists in an [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternate universe]] from the more familiar 24th Century envisioned in the television series ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''.
*In the book ''[[The Three-Body Problem (novel)|The Three-Body Problem]]'' by [[Liu Cixin|Cixin Liu]], "Princeps" is the title of the leader of the Trisolaran civilization.
*In the book ''[[The Magic Mountain]]'' by [[Thomas Mann]], "Princeps Scholasticorum" is the title Settembrini uses to introduce Naphta.
*In the actual-play series ''[[Dimension 20|Dimension 20: A Starstruck Oddysey]]'' by [[Dropout (streaming platform)|Dropout]], Princeps Zortch is a non-binary member of Rubian V's royalty.
==See also==
* [[Chief of the Name]]
* [[Head of State]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*Grant, Michael, ''The Twelve Caesars'', Michael Grant Publications 1975, {{ISBN|0-684-14402-6}}
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[[Category:Ancient Roman government]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman titles]]
[[Category:Military ranks of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Royal titles]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Roman Senate]]
[[Category:Augustus]]