Imperator, Emperor and Empress

Reading the texts about Reman I, I noticed we do not know what "Imperator" means.

Thanks the Reman I thread, we know "Emperor" comes from "Emen Peror Ele" (in Middle Cyro-Norst, or in Cyrodiilic), which means "Frist Emissary of the Stars" (in Tamrielic).

> Historical reconstruction has shown "Emperor' and 'Empress" to have surprisingly dissimilar etymological origins. The former is based on the longer title first taken by Cuhlecain, "Emen Peror Ele" or "First Emissary of the Stars".

> The use of the title Emperor prior to the Third Era, is anachronistic: it was invented for Tiber Septim, as even amateur historians know.

Therefore Cuhlecain is the first one to name himself Emen Peror Ele and Tiber Septim is the first one to clearly have the title of Emperor (as we can read it in PGE1). Then Tiber Septim and the Third Era historians designate all the predecessor rulers of Cyrodiil as Emperors.

However, "Emperor" could have been introduced by the Akaviri, althrough never been taken by Reman himself:

> They appear to have been searching for a Dragonborn - the events at Pale Pass bear this out - and the Akaviri were the first to proclaim Reman Cyrodiil as Dragonborn. In fact it was the Akaviri who did the most to promote his standing as Emperor (although Reman himself never took that title in his lifetime).

But "promote his standing as Emperor" may just say "impose his rule on Cyrodiil and all Tamriel", and not "give him the title of Emperor". So well, it's not a problem.

We know Empress has a different etymology.

> The latter ["Empress"] was, as you have noted, derived from the Cyrodiic "Mother of Man", Auma-Par-Eshe, or Alma-Par-Essi in its oldest Aldmeri form. Folk etymology later transformed that archaic title into a female equivalent of "Emperor", which first appeared in writing during the reign of Uriel II and was well established by the time Kintyra assumed the throne.

So this is clear for Alessia. Her successors are designed as kings, like King Belharza, by the old sources (logically firstly written in Cyro-Norst language).

> So it did, for that same year issued forth a great concourse of devils from the ancient Elvish temple Malada, such had not been seen since the days of King Belharza.

However, Reman also takes the title of Imperator, as we can see it in the Shonni-Etta.

> The Imperator then stirred, and Shonni-Et made move to love him, with now Sed-Yenna cleaning his feet with sponge-felts from the Pyadon.

This sentence relates a scene at White Gold Tower, when Reman was thirteen, before the battle at Pale Pass and the meeting with Akaviri, I think. Here, Reman is named "the Imperator".

We find again "Imperator" in the Third Era, to designate the worshipped Emperor Tiber Septim, in the "Tiberius Imperator Cult".

> I hear you can arrange for private tours which involve courtesy membership in the Tribunal Cult, but even courtesy membership is forbidden to members of the Tiberius Imperator Cult [the Citizenship Cult - MN], since the Morrowind Temple is on the Proscribed List of Hostile Cults.

> Veneration of the Eight Divines and Tiberius Imperator has gained some local acceptance, particularly among House Hlaalu, but the Tribunal Temple is and always has been the one and only state religion of Morrowind.

So what does Imperator mean? What is its etymology?

I think it could be linked to the Imperial Province itself. Reman and Tiber Septim are named "The Cyrodiil". The Imperial ruler is traditionaly named "The Cyrodiil", because of Reman Cyrodiil, and Reman himself takes this name from the Elven/Ayleid tradition, before the First Nordic Empire invasion/the Alessian Slave Rebellion. So "The Cyrodiil" could appoint the main Ayleid ruler of Cyrod (probably the King of the White Gold Tower/Temple of the Ancestors/Cyrodiil City) in the early First Era.

> Traditionally, anyone strong enough to take the Imperial Throne is known as the ‘Cyrodiil,’ no matter the province kingdom of their birth. It’s a complicated the-king-is-the-land kind of thing that reaches back to the time when the Elves ruled the area before it was taken from them by the First Empire of the Nords. “Cyrodiil” is a pretty blanket term for every element of the Imperial Province: its common provincial name is Cyrodiil, the capital city is named Cyrodiil, the people are the Cyrodiils, and the Emperor is “The Cyrodiil.” A lot of people still think it comes from the surname of Reman Cyrodiil, who built the region into the Second Empire of Men, but, really, he just took its ancient Elven name and stuck it onto his own (sorta like somebody in our world calling themselves “Jonny America”).

So "The Imperator" could be a "complicated the-king-is-the-land kind of thing" too. I believe it is tied to Sancre Tor.

First, there is "Tor" in "Imperator".

Then, Sancre Tor is the first capital of the mannish Cyrodiil, of the First Cyrodiilic Empire, as Cyrodiil is the second capital from the Second Empire. So if it is "The Cyrodiil" for the ruler of and from Cyrodiil (City), why not "The sort-of-Sancre Tor", thus "The Imperator", for the ruler of and from Sancre Tor?

Moreover, Reman is born from Sancre Tor itself.

So is the "Imperator" the "Earth-Imp-of-Tor" or something else?

Is the "Imperator" tied to "the Empire"?

PS: The notion of new Empire founded by Reman I appears in the time of Reman II, his grandson. What does "Empire" mean? What is its etymology?