Tsarevich (russian: Царевич, ) is a
Slavic title given to
tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
s' sons. Under the 1797
Pauline house law, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''
Tsesarevich
Tsesarevich (russian: Цесаревич, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic.
Usage
It is often confused with " tsarevich", which is a di ...
'' for the
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
alone. His younger brothers were called ''
Velikiy Knjaz'', meaning ''
Grand Prince
Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...
'', although it was commonly translated to English as ''Grand Duke''. English sources often confused the terms ''Tsarevich'' and ''Tsesarevich''.
Alexei Nikolaevich, the only son of
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...
, was the last member of Russian royalty to be called ''Tsarevich'' even though he was the Tsesarevich.
Historically, the term was also applied to descendants of the
khans (tsars) of
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzan is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and t ...
,
Kasimov, and
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
after these
khanate
A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire.
Mo ...
s had been conquered by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. See: ''
Tsareviches of Siberia'', for example. The descendants of the deposed royal families of Georgia or the
Batonishvili
''Batonishvili'' ( ka, ბატონიშვილი) (literally "a child of batoni (lord or sovereign)" in Georgian) is a title for royal princes and princesses who descend from the kings of Georgia from the Bagrationi dynasty and is suffixe ...
were given the titles of Tsarevich until 1833 when they were demoted to
Knyaz
, or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...
after a
failed coup to restore the Georgian monarchies.
See also
*
Tsarevna
*
Tsesarevich
Tsesarevich (russian: Цесаревич, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic.
Usage
It is often confused with " tsarevich", which is a di ...
Notes
References
Noble titles of Russia
Russian royalty
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