Before you is the history of the emperors of modern times. This is not the biography of a select few who wore the imperial crown, nor the history of a dynasty, nor the general history of Germany. Before you is a historical work of an unusual nature. The design of this book was based on two motives. First, the emperors, whose lives and activities are described below in chronological order, in modern times - up to 1918 - personified the highest state power over the German-speaking peoples. These emperors have never been purely representative figures at the top of the state, which most modern monarchs are. Secondly, in recent decades there has been a growing interest of scientists and publicists both in Germany and Austria, and in other countries, in the German Empire in that its form, in which it existed in the initial era of modern times, that is, from the era of imperial reform at the turn of the 16th century until the end of the 18th century. The book is offered to a wide range of readers.