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{{Short description|King who is above other kings; type of monarch}}
{{other uses|High King (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{one source|date=December 2015}}
{{original research|date=August 2021}}
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{{Monarchism |expanded=all}}
{{Ranks of Nobility}}

A '''high king''' is a [[Monarch|king]] who holds a position of [[seniority]] over a group of other kings, without the title of [[emperor]]. Similar titles include [[great king]] and [[king of kings]]. The high kings of history usually ruled over lands of cultural unity; thus high kings differentiate from emperors who control culturally different lands, and feudal monarchs, where subordinates assume lesser positions. High kings can be chosen by lesser rulers through elections, or be put into power by force through conquest of weaker kingdoms.

==High kingship==
In history and literature, high kings may be found where there is a high degree of cultural unity, along with sufficient political fragmentation that the high king's subordinates style themselves kings. In this respect, high kingships frequently differ from [[empire]]s, which are culturally as well as politically heterogeneous, as well as from [[Feudalism|feudal]] monarchies, where the subordinate rulers take lesser titles (such as [[duke]] or [[count]]) and may be, at least in theory, subject to appointment and dismissal by the sovereign.

In this model, a high king might be chosen from among a group of kings in his personal capacity, for instance by [[Elective monarchy|election]] or on the basis of genealogical superiority. Alternatively, the high kingship might be attached to the kingship of one of the constituent kingdoms, either permanently or when one kingdom is able to assert supremacy over the others. The high king's authority over other kings is usually limited, and in some high 
kingships his duties are largely ceremonial or restricted to occasions such as war that create a need for a unified command structure.

==Historical high kings==
Rulers who have been termed ''high king'' (by their contemporaries or by modern observers) include:
*Various rulers of the ancient and early medieval kingdoms in [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]] have been called ''High King'';
**the [[List of High Kings of Ireland|High King of Ireland]] (''{{lang|sga|Ard Rí Érenn}}''), such as [[Brian Boru]].{{See also|High King of Ireland|Monarchy of Ireland}}
**the [[List of Scottish monarchs|High King of Scotland]] (''{{lang|sga|Ard Rí Alban}}''), like [[Macbeth, King of Scotland|Macbeth]].{{See also|Style of the monarchs of Scotland|Family tree of Scottish monarchs}}
**the King of the [[Celtic Britons|Britons]], such as [[Cassivellaunus]], [[Cunobeline]], and possibly [[Vortigern]], have been termed ''High King of Britain''. {{See also|King of the Britons}}
**the ruler of the [[Picts]].{{See also|List of kings of the Picts}}
**the ''[[Bretwalda]]'' was essentially the high king of the [[Anglo-Saxons]], though the name is rarely translated as such.
*some [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] rulers, such as [[Agamemnon]] (see ''[[Anax (Greek)|anax]]'')
*the most powerful king of the various [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] city-states
*''Mepe-Umaglesi'' (most high king) was a predicate of the [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]n Orthodox ''[[Mepe-Mepeta]]'' (king of kings)
*in Lithuania, the title of ''Didysis Kunigaikštis'' is more accurately translated as ''high king'', although it is traditionally rendered as ''grand duke''.
*in ancient [[Sumer]], the rulers of all Sumer held the title of ''[[Sumerian King List|Nam-Lugal]]'' (high king).<ref>Dawson, Doyne. ''The First Armies''. London: Cassell & Co. 2001, p. 80.</ref>

''Adhiraja'' or ''Adiraja'' is the comparable term of high king in the [[Indian subcontinent]].

''[[Taewang]]'', meaning ''greatest of kings'', was used by the later rulers of the Korean kingdom of [[Koguryo]] (and [[Silla]], albeit to a rarer extent) to rank themselves as equals to the [[Emperor of China|Chinese emperors]] or to express suzerainty over surrounding states, particularly during the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms Era]]. ''Daewang'' (great king) was used by rulers of other kingdoms and subsequent dynasties, including [[Baekje]], whose king assumed the style of ''Daewang Pyeha'' (''his imperial majesty the great king'') by the reign of [[Mu of Baekje|King Mu]] (600–640 AD at the latest). However, after the [[Mongol Invasions of Korea]], these rulers remained technically subordinate to the [[Mongol Empire]] and later China until [[Gojong of the Korean Empire|King Gojong]] declared the [[Korean Empire]] in 1897 and assumed the title of ''Hwangje'', or ''emperor'' (the Korean rendition of the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] ''''huang di'''').

Originally, the rulers of {{Transliteration|ja|[[Wa (Japan)|Wa]]}} ({{lang|ja|倭}}), an ancient name of Japan, was known as the ''Grand King of [[Yamato Province|Yamato]]'' ({{lang|ja|大和大王}}, {{Transliteration|ja|Yamato-ōkimi}}) or the ''[[Five kings of Wa|Kings of Wa]]'' ({{lang|ja|倭国王}}, {{Transliteration|ja|Wakoku-ō}}) prior to the 7th century. It was later changed to become the [[Emperor of Japan]] ({{lang|ja|天皇}}, {{Transliteration|ja|Tennō}}).

The title ''[[king of kings]]'' also expresses much the same concept as ''high king'' – it was used at various times by the [[Persian Empire|Emperor of Persia]] (''{{Transliteration|fa|[[shahanshah]]}}'') and the [[Emperor of Ethiopia]]. Similarly, the [[Mongol Empire|Imperial Mongolian]] title [[Khagan]] is sometimes translated as [[Khan (title)|Khan]] of Khans.

== In fiction ==
* In [[C. S. Lewis]]'s epic fantasy, ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', [[Peter Pevensie]] was the High King of [[Narnia (world)|Narnia]] while his younger brother [[Edmund Pevensie]] was the King and his sisters [[Susan Pevensie]] and [[Lucy Pevensie]] were the Queens. He was also the high king over all kings of Narnia, from the first to the last. [[Aslan]], the deity and the Great Lion of Narnia, is described as being "the High King above all High Kings", meaning he is the highest king over all rulers of Narnia.
* In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s works, mainly ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', there was a succession of [[Noldor#High Kings|high kings]] of the [[Noldor]] exiled in [[Middle-earth]], beginning with [[Fingolfin]] and culminating in Gil-galad's reign. Ingwë, leader of the [[Vanyar]], is also called the High King of the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Eldar]], while [[Manwë (Middle-earth)|Manwë]] is also sometimes titled High King of [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]]. [[Thingol]] is acknowledged as high-king of [[Beleriand]] by Fingolfin. In the Third Age, the rulers of Arnor were known as "high kings", including [[Aragorn]], as King Elessar, ruling the reunited kingdoms of [[Gondor]] and Arnor at the beginning of the Fourth Age.
* In [[George R. R. Martin]]'s ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', the first human king ruling in Westeros was called the High King of the First Men.
* In [[Lloyd Alexander]]'s ''[[Chronicles of Prydain]]'', there is a line of High Kings of Prydain (a fictionalized version of [[Wales]]) who are descendants of a royal family who came from the Summer Country in order to oppose Arawn. The high king throughout the series is Gwydion's father Math, who is then succeeded by Gwydion and later Taran in the final novel of the series, ''[[The High King]]''.
* In [[Bethesda Softworks]]' ''[[The Elder Scrolls]],'' the high king is the highest authority in the Province of Skyrim and theoretically the high king of Alinor is also the highest authority of the Summerset Isle (later renamed Alinor).
* In [[Blizzard Entertainment]]'s ''[[Warcraft]]'', the High King is the leader of the Alliance who has military control over the Alliance forces.
*In Holly Black's ''The Folk of the Air'' series'','' there is a high king who rules over the land of faeries, Elfhame.
* {{nihongo|[[High-King]]|ハイ・キング|Hai-Kingu}} is also the name of a [[J-pop]] group created in 2008 featuring [[Ai Takahashi]], [[Reina Tanaka]], [[Saki Shimizu]], [[Maimi Yajima]] and [[Yuuka Maeda]].
* In the [[Sega AM2]] videogame [[Virtua Fighter 4]], the title of High King (along with Emperor) is the highest rank attainable by playing the Kumite mode

== See also ==

* ''[[Capo dei capi]]''
* [[Paramount chief]]
* ''[[Primus inter pares]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Imperial and royal styles}}

[[Category:Heads of state]]
[[Category:Royal titles]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership]]