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This is a list of the Emperors of the late Eastern [[Roman Empire]], called [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] by modern historians. This list does not include numerous coemperors who never attained sole or senior status as rulers.
The title of all Emperors listed preceding Heraclius was officially [[Augustus]], although various other titles such as [[Dominus]] were used as well. For official purposes, their names were preceded by [[Imperator]] [[Caesar]] [[Flavius]] and followed by Augustus. Following Heraclius, the title commonly became the Greek [[Basileus]] (Gr. Βασιλε�?ς), which had formerly meant generally "king", "[[Monarch|sovereign]]" but now was used in place of Augustus. Kings were now titled by the neologism Regas (Gr. Ρήγας, from the Lat. "Rex") or by another generic term Archon (Gr. Ά�?χων, "ruler"). [[Autocrat|Autokrator]] (Gr. Αυτοκ�?άτω�?) was also frequently used, along with a plethora of more hyperbolic titles—with grandiloquence typically in inverse proportion to actual power—including Kosmokrator (Gr.Κοσμοκ�?άτω�?) ("Master of the Universe") and Chronokrator (Gr.Χ�?ονοκ�?άτω�?) ("Lord of All Time"). The emperors of the 15th century alone were often self-styled as Basileus ton Hellinon, "Emperor of the Greeks," though they still considered themselves "Roman" Emperors.
[Note: See also ''[[Greek (name)#Byzantines (Βυζαντινοί)|the term "Byzantine"]]'' with regard to the late [[Roman Empire]]. This list begins with [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]] the Great, the first Christian emperor reigning from [[Constantinople]], although [[Diocletian]] before him had ruled from Nicaea and replaced the pseudorepublican trappings of the office with a straightforward autocracy and Heraclius I after him replaced Latin with Greek and began the restructuring of the Empire into [[Thema|themata]].]