King

In Russian, the word "king" (like the Polish król , Czech král , Serbian Krȃљ , Macedonian Kral , Old Slavic Kral ) comes from the Pre -Slavic * korljь .

There are various versions of the origin of this word, the most common of them - this word is a Slavic adaptation of the name of Charlemagne ^[1] ( lat. Karolus Magnus ), king of the Franks and the Roman Kaiser (emperor), founder of the Carolingian dynasty.

Less likely versions of the origin are from the pragerman * karlja-, * karlaz ("free man") or from the Slavic "karate" (punish) ^[2] . Moreover, in European languages, the word “king” is fully consistent with the German-speaking “konung” ( which became the word “prince” in Slavic dialects ) - “könig” - “king” and the romance -speaking “rex” - “rua” - “regis” (more ancient by origin and meaning “ ruler ”).

French roi , Romanian rege , Spanish rey come from the Latin rex title (“king”, “king”) , which was called the rulers of ancient Rome in the pre-republican period. This word is considered to be derived from the pre-Indo-European * h₃rḗǵs ("king", "leader") ^[3] , from which also come the Indian राजा raja ("king", "prince", "raja") , Sanskrit राजन् rajana (also), gypsy rai (“man”, “traveler gypsy”) , Irish rí (“king”, “king”) .

As a borrowing for Slavic languages, the word "king", as a rule, is identified with the Catholic faith and Western succession in general. In Europe, until 1533, the title of king was bestowed by the pope , which was de facto recognized by Orthodox monarchs.

The only representatives of East Slavic statehood officially bearing the title of king were Daniil Romanovich Galitsky and his descendants, as well as Mindovg , the ruler of the mainly East Slavic population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , who received the right to the royal title from Pope Innocent IV .

In the book tradition, the custom was established for non-Christian rulers and monarchs of antiquity, as well as monarchs outside Europe, regardless of Christianity, to give the title “ king ” (for example, the kings of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the kings of Armenia, Georgia, etc.), or leave the titles used their cultures, such as Emir , Sultan , Van , Khan , Shah , Malik and so on. (provided that their sound is not too “exotic”). But there are exceptions, for example, the Kingdom of Vandals and Alans in North Africa, the Kingdom of Jerusalem , the Cilician Armenian Kingdom .

However, in the 20th century, with the noticeable participation of the English-speaking culture, a number of newly emerging states began to be called “kingdoms” in the Russian language, with the exception of Japan , where the monarch bears the title “ emperor ”, Kuwait and Qatar , where he is called “ emir ”, Oman and Brunei , where it is called the " Sultan ", as well as many non-sovereign states. Examples are the kings of Saudi Arabia , Jordan , Morocco , who in Arabic are called Maliks .

• Europe
  • Elizabeth II , Queen of Great Britain (also has a royal title in 15 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations )
  • Margrethe II , Queen of Denmark
  • Carl XVI Gustav , King of Sweden
  • Philip VI , King of Spain
  • Willem Alexander , King of the Netherlands
  • Harald V , King of Norway
  • Philip , king of Belgium

• Asia
  • Maha Wachiralongkorn , King of Thailand
  • Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk , King of Bhutan
  • Salman , King of Saudi Arabia
  • Abdullah II , King of Jordan
  • Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah , King of Malaysia
  • Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain
  • Norom Siamoni , King of Cambodia

• Africa
  • Mswati III , King of Swaziland
  • Letsie III , King of Lesotho
  • Mohammed VI , King of Morocco

• Oceania
  • Tupou VI , King of Tonga

• Russian kingdom
• Van
• Kaiser
• Kaung
• Malik
• Monarch
• Monarchy
• The sultan
• King
• Kagan
• Shah (title)
• Khan (title)
• Rokosh - the exclusive right of nobles, in some countries, to overthrow the king
• King and queen
• Kings and queens

• King, title // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Tsaturova S. The sacred mission of the king-judge: France XIV-XV centuries. // Sacred body of the king: Rituals and mythology of power. - M.: “Science”, 2006. - S. 78–95.
• Schoenburg, Alexander von. All that you wanted to know about the kings, but did not dare to ask. - M.: “Text” , 2010.