 Kōgyoku abdicated in favor of her son and crown prince, Naka no Ōe, but Naka no Ōe insisted Kōtoku should ascend to the throne instead.Kōtoku's contemporary title would not have been "tennō", as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō.Rather, it was presumably "Sumeramikoto" or "Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi" (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven".