Seven Princes of Hell

"The Seven Princes of Hell are the highest and most powerful of all demons, regardless of their origins. They represents each of the seven deadly sins, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Sloth, Envy, Greed, and Wrath. The leader of the princes is Lucifer, who is the Supreme Ruler of Hell, whose authority is beyond that of any other demons, with his most loyal follower Beelzebub by his side."

- Matt Wright.

The Seven Princes of Hell are the highest authority in Hell even above the Ars Goetia and any other demon and Fallen Angel. They are the rivals of the Seven Archangels which were created at the same time as them.

Overview
The Seven Princes were the leaders of the demons that resides in the Abrahamic Underworld, known as Hell. Dark and dangerous beings of immense power and presence. A wave of their hands, and whole swaths of land would be reduced to inhospitable wastelands. A simple command, and an army would charge out to crush their foes, more afraid of failing their leader than the pointed spears of their enemies. They were monsters, both in body and heart. Ruthless and cruel, their souls were hardened by ambition and Faustian efficiency.

For years, Hell has been organized by Lucifer into the ruling body called the Seven Princes, in which the leading seven would rule over different, vast areas of their lands. Each Prince was responsible for their own subjects and lands. Many enjoyed how organized this system was, though a select few hated being forced at the bottom for their others to be on top. Their counterparts and rivals are the Seven Archangels.

Powers and Abilities
The Princes of Hell are high level demons that possess powers over all demons in Hell, totally transcending every lesser demon to the point where they are able to destroy legions of low level demons with the snap of a finger. Many demons and even angels like the cherubim fear coming into a Prince's field of vision, as some of them who have fallen were seraphim level demons and even True Archangels like the Morning Star.

They say that even for a human to summon a prince from Hell is a super risky thing to do, because the more powerful the demon the greater the offering has to be to force a manifestation in the Human Realm. In some cases, they say that the manifestation of a powerful Prince like Asmodeus is capable of causing a blackout across the North American continent. Regarding the offering, to invoke someone like Beelzebub may require sacrifice from several people, although in some cases it is not such a sacrifice (by the Devil's own choice).

Fall from Grace
The Seven Princes were originally high-ranking angels that resided within Heaven. During their time in Heaven they developed a camaraderie with one another and often bonded over certain topics during discussion. Due their high-ranking status amongst the angelic choir they were revered and praised with some even being chiefs of the choirs they were in.

However, it was not until Lucifer declared war against the Almighty that they found themselves uniting as leading forces for the Morning Star's army of rebel angels, starting the War in Heaven. Each of the then-princes would rebel for their own personal reasons or beliefs although the only exception to that would be Belphegor as he chose neither God nor Lucifer's side during the rebellion. These seven rebel angels individually fought some of the mightiest angels only to fall to their power thus developing fiercely antagonistic relationships with said angels for eons to come.

Rulers of Hell
After their fall from grace, each of the beings were twisted and transformed into hideous abominations. The seven rebel angels were either horribly or even fatally injured during their violent battles against the Heavenly Host leaving scars on their bodies as a reminder of their sins as well as their hatred towards their respective enemy archangel. The first three to awaken from their impact in the Abyss were Beelzebub, Asmodeus and Leviathan and as such were regarded as the three most pivotal as well as most powerful monarchs that lord over the rebel angels under Lucifer and Satan. It was they who pushed to free Lucifer from his cage, who overtime grew strong and take dominion over all of Hell.

After awakening and recovering, the fallen angels decided they needed a form of ruling government in their new plane of existence. Some vied for power, but undoubtedly, the ruler of Hell at the time was the leader of the fallen angels, the charismatic Morning Star, Lucifer who established himself as the supreme emperor of Hell or grand sovereign with his second-in-command Beelzebub close behind him. The other rebel angels that make up the Seven as a whole also became supreme rulers that lord over the other lesser nobles as well. Courageous and strong, he made others bow before him through persuasion, bribery, or intimidation.

For centuries, Hell has been organized by Lucifer into the ruling body called the Seven Princes with him alongside his two closets confidants forming the Satanic Triumvirate. Overtime, they grew strong and usurped dominion over all of lower planes with Lucifer and Satan being the true rulers whilst Beelzebub becomes second-in-command of the former, being more or less an aid to the Morning Star. Meanwhile the others would rule over different, vast areas of their lands. Each Prince was responsible for their own subjects and lands. Many enjoyed how organized this system was, though a select few hated being forced at the bottom for the others to be on top.

Corruption of Man
As time would pass it was revealed that due to the nature and actions of the princes they begot the first sins that would plague mankind until the End of Days. As such, each of the Seven Princes became the physical representations of the Seven Deadly Sins, being: Pride, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Envy, and Lust.. This in turn allowed them to mislead humanity into serving their twisted desires and turn them away from God and Heaven instead adding them to Hell's collection so as to use these damned souls for either their own gain or enroll them in Hell's legions during the final battle between Heaven and Hell.

Several thousand years pass when Mundus temporary usurped Lucifer's throne and replaced as the head prince amongst the Seven. The six other ruling kings found Mundus to be nothing more than a whiny and bratty child that mulled over the expansion of his kingdom across all foreign realms despite the policy and treaties that were established between the Abrahamic Hell and the Hellenic underworlds. Regardless, the princes were given the opportunity to truly plunge the world into darkness and sin and that was by the use of the Convergence.

Mundus had Mulciber craft the Seven Gates of Hell across the seven continents of the world. The gates in question would act as conduits for the dimensional energy that would run amok through the main plane of reality, which in turn would allow the demons of Hell safe passage through the gates and unto the Earth. Furthermore, each of the princes would be positioned over their respective gates and given that they were across the seven points of the world would offer them more freedom to exert their influence across the planet. Because of the darkness they spread all manner of fiends, monsters from the night, and other abominations emerged from the darkest corners. Kingdoms fell into ruin, religious folk forsook their faith, alchemists went mad and so forth. They garnered the servitude of several humans who would plead to be in their employ, becoming Shaliahs. That particular era was dubbed by authors and scholars as the Dark Age.

End of the Dark Reign
The Dark Age came to its end when Sparda, the Legendary Dark Knight, rebelled against his masters, having been inspired and enlightened by a maiden who showed him the strength and beauty of humanity. Mundus and his armies were the first to fall by his might, with the Gate used by the Dark Emperor destroyed before being sealed using a powerful spell that required the blood of the maiden and Sparda's own power, splitting into two locks that were fashioned into amulets.

Each of the other six kings would be confronted by Sparda and the allies he made along the way. The devil kings would meet their end by his sword and instead of using the original method to seal Mundus away, Sparda destroyed the Gates used by the devil princes with Yamato, a dark-forged blade that served to counter the dimensional energies of the Convergence. With each defeat of the kings, their influence over the lands where the Gates were built wanes and fades completely. After Sparda's legendary final battle against Satan and his subsequent imprisonment by the Dark Knight, the Age of Darkness finally came to an end with the defeat of the Seven Princes and the destruction of the Gates of Hell.

Myths and Legends
In ancient times, the Seven Princes were once believed to be the Gods that once created humanity, and as a result were worshiped by them. When Judeo-Christian Regime began those "Gods" had been demonized, by genocide committing Judeo/Christians who were attempting to cut the world of from spiritual knowledge.

The Seven Princes

 * Lucifer - Pride (also Wrath)
 * Beelzebub - Gluttony (also Pride and Sloth)
 * Asmodeus - Lust
 * Leviathan - Envy
 * Belphegor - Sloth (also Vanity)
 * Mammon - Greed
 * Satan - Wrath (also Pride)

Additional Princes of Hell

 * Mundus - Pride
 * Pythius - Despair
 * Merihem - Lust
 * Dis - Wrath
 * Mephistopheles - Pride (also Wrath)
 * Lilith - Lust (also Pride and Wrath)
 * Dagon - Envy
 * Belial - Sloth (also Wrath)
 * Bael - Wrath
 * Barbelo - Pride
 * Astaroth - Sloth (also Gluttony)
 * Abaddon - Sloth (also Wrath and Discord)
 * Amaymon - Wrath
 * Levistus - Wrath (also Envy)
 * Dispater - Pride

Quotes

 * "They are our greatest enemies. The leader of the group is Lucifer who had rebelled against father and caused the death of thousands of our siblings." - An Angel.

Trivia

 * Even though it is known as the "seven" princes, there had always been far more than seven.
 * Each member of the group was 'blessed' by Ayin.
 * Out of all members, Satan was blessed the most which made him the strongest demon to rule Hell, above even Lucifer.
 * The original princes were all high-ranking angels that joined Lucifer's rebellion.

Image Sources

 * (Demon lord by forge t d4wl8i7-fullview.jpg) Demon Lord by Forge-T
 * (Pentagrama Satânico 2.png) Satanic Pentagram from ???
 * (Schongauer Anthony.jpg) The Temptation of St. Anthony by Martin Schongauer
 * (Seven princes of hell by jaqualm92 d4l50a5-fullview.jpg) seven princes of hell by JaqualM92
 * (Seven great demon lords by thezoe611 dclq7jw-fullview.jpg) Seven Great Demon Lords by TheZoe611
 * (Seven Incarnations of Evil.jpg) Seven Incarnations of Evil by Bob-Raigen
 * (S i n s by kumie san-d7lsax9.jpg) S I N S + by Kumie-san
 * (Seven Princes of Hell (BW).jpg) Seven Princes of Hell [BW] by Grimoirelle
 * (7 Mortal Sins (anime).jpg) Seven Sins by Nitroplus
 * (Ceuaoinferno.jpg) Seven Leaders of Hell by André Toma
 * (Demon Lord.jpg) Demon Lord by artozi
 * (3 Kings.jpg) The Three Kings from Yu Yu Hakusho
 * (7PH.jpg) 7 Princes of Hell by Antibottlepotions