The Emperor of Mankind, often referred to by His faithful as the "God-Emperor," the "Master of Mankind," or simply "the Emperor," is the immortal Perpetual and psyker who serves as the reigning monarch of the Imperium of Man, and is described by the Imperial Ecclesiarchy and the Imperial Cult as the Father, Guardian and God of Humanity.

The Chaos Gods and the Daemons of the Warp refer to Him as "the Anathema" for He is the greatest embodiment of universal order in the galaxy today and the most potent foe of Chaos in existence. He was, and remains, the most powerful Human psyker to have ever been born.

He has sat immobile, His body slowly crumbling, within the Golden Throne of Terra for over 10,000 standard years. Although once a living man, His shattered, decaying body can no longer support life, and it is kept intact only by the cybernetic mechanisms of the Golden Throne and a potent mind itself sustained by the daily sacrifice of thousands of lives.