The
succession of monarchs has mostly been
hereditary, often building
dynasties. However,
elective and
self-proclaimed monarchies have also often occurred throughout history.
Aristocrats, though not inherent to monarchies, often serve as the pool of persons from which the monarch is chosen, and to fill the constituting institutions (e.g.
diet and
court), giving many monarchies
oligarchic elements.
Monarchs can carry various titles such as
emperor,
empress,
king, and
queen. Monarchies can form
federations,
personal unions and
realms with
vassals through personal association with the monarch, which is a common reason for monarchs carrying several titles.
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
Image 1
Gold dinar minted in
Aleppo in the name of Salih ibn Mirdas and recognizing the suzerainty of
Fatimid caliph
az-Zahir, 1028/29 CE
Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas (
Arabic: ابو علي صالح بن مرداس,
romanized: Abū ʿAlī Ṣāliḥ ibn Mirdās), also known by his laqab (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State'), was the founder of the
Mirdasid dynasty and emir of
Aleppo from 1025 until his death in May 1029. At its peak, his
emirate (principality) encompassed much of the western
Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), northern
Syria and several central Syrian towns. With occasional interruption, Salih's descendants ruled Aleppo for the next five decades.
Salih launched his career in 1008, when he seized the
Euphrates river fortress of
al-Rahba. In 1012, he was imprisoned and tortured by the emir of Aleppo,
Mansur ibn Lu'lu'. Two years later he escaped, capturing Mansur in battle and releasing him for numerous concessions, including half of Aleppo's revenues. This cemented Salih as the paramount emir of his tribe, the
Banu Kilab, many of whose chieftains had died in Mansur's dungeons. With his
Bedouin warriors, Salih captured a string of fortresses along the Euphrates, including
Manbij and
Raqqa, by 1022. He later formed an alliance with the
Banu Kalb and
Banu Tayy tribes and supported their struggle against the
Fatimids of
Egypt. During this tribal rebellion, Salih annexed the central Syrian towns of
Homs,
Baalbek and
Sidon, before conquering Fatimid-held Aleppo in 1025, bringing "to success the plan which guided his [Banu Kilab] forebears for a century", according to historian
Thierry Bianquis. (Full article...)
His reign was marked by multiple wars with the
Lombards, a Germanic people who had arrived in the former
Roman province of
Pannonia under the leadership of their king,
Audoin. Thurisind also had to face the hostility of the
Byzantine Empire, which was resentful of the Gepid takeover of Sirmium and anxious to diminish Gepid power in the
Pannonian Basin, a plain covering most of modern Hungary and partly including the bordering states. The Byzantines' plans to reduce the Gepids' power took effect when Audoin decisively defeated Thurisind in 551 or 552. The Byzantine Emperor
Justinian forced a peace accord on both leaders so that equilibrium in the Pannonian Basin could be sustained. (Full article...)
Albert was born in the
Saxon duchy of
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europe's ruling monarchs. At the age of 20, he married Victoria, his cousin, with whom he went on to have nine children. Initially, he felt constrained by his role as consort, which did not afford him power or responsibilities. He gradually developed a reputation for supporting public causes, such as
educational reform and the
abolition of slavery worldwide, and he was entrusted with running the
Queen's household, office and estates. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the
Great Exhibition of 1851, which was a resounding success. (Full article...)
Image 4
Gold
mancus of Coenwulf from the London mint. Legend: + coenvvulf rex m
Coenwulf (Old English:[ˈkøːnwuɫf]; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph;
Latin: Coenulfus) was the
King of
Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King
Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded
Ecgfrith, the son of
Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, and Coenwulf ascended the throne in the same year that Offa died. In the early years of Coenwulf's reign he had to deal with a revolt in
Kent, which had been under Offa's control.
Eadberht Præn returned from exile in
Francia to claim the Kentish throne, and Coenwulf was forced to wait for papal support before he could intervene. When
Pope Leo III agreed to
anathematise Eadberht, Coenwulf invaded and retook the kingdom; Eadberht was taken prisoner, was
blinded, and had his hands cut off. Coenwulf also appears to have lost control of the kingdom of
East Anglia during the early part of his reign, as an independent coinage appears under King
Eadwald. Coenwulf's coinage reappears in 805, indicating that the kingdom was again under Mercian control. Several campaigns of Coenwulf's against the
Welsh are recorded, but only one conflict with
Northumbria, in 801, though it is likely that Coenwulf continued to support the opponents of the Northumbrian king
Eardwulf.
Coenwulf came into conflict with
ArchbishopWulfred of Canterbury over the issue of whether laypeople could control religious houses such as monasteries. The breakdown in the relationship between the two eventually reached the point where the archbishop was unable to exercise his duties for at least four years. A partial resolution was reached in 822 with Coenwulf's successor, King
Ceolwulf, but it was not until about 826 that a final settlement was reached between Wulfred and Coenwulf's daughter,
Cwoenthryth, who had been the main beneficiary of Coenwulf's grants of religious property. (Full article...)
Pedro II was born in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh child of Emperor Dom
Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona
Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the
House of Braganza (
Portuguese: Bragança).
His father's abrupt abdication and departure to Europe in 1831 left the five-year-old as emperor and led to a grim and lonely childhood and adolescence, obliged to spend his time studying in preparation for rule. His experiences with court intrigues and political disputes during this period greatly affected his later character; he grew into a man with a strong sense of duty and devotion toward his country and his people, yet increasingly resentful of his role as monarch. (Full article...)
Image 6
Portrait miniature from a thirteenth-century genealogical scroll depicting Edward
Edward the Elder (
c. 874 – 17 July 924) was
King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of
Alfred the Great and his wife
Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin
Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor,
Æthelred I.
Alfred had succeeded Æthelred as king of
Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish
Vikings until his decisive victory at the
Battle of Edington in 878. After the battle, the Vikings still ruled
Northumbria,
East Anglia and eastern
Mercia, leaving only Wessex and western Mercia under Anglo-Saxon control. In the early 880s
Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, the ruler of western Mercia, accepted Alfred's lordship and married his daughter
Æthelflæd, and around 886 Alfred adopted the new title King of the Anglo-Saxons as the ruler of all Anglo-Saxons not subject to Danish rule. Edward inherited the new title when Alfred died in 899. (Full article...)
Image 7
Portrayal of Stephen I on the Hungarian coronation pall (
chasuble) from 1031
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen (
Hungarian: Szent István király[ˌsɛntˈiʃtvaːnkiraːj];
Latin: Sanctus Stephanus;
Slovak: Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký;
c. 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last
Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first
King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001, until his death in 1038. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born in, or after, 975, in
Esztergom. He was given the pagan name Vajk at birth, but the date of his baptism is unknown. He was the only son of Grand Prince
Géza and his wife,
Sarolt, who was descended from a prominent family of gyulas. Although both of his parents were baptized, Stephen was the first member of
his family to become a devout Christian. He married
Gisela of Bavaria, a scion of the imperial
Ottonian dynasty.
After succeeding his father in 997, Stephen had to fight for the throne against his relative,
Koppány, who was supported by large numbers of pagan warriors. He defeated Koppány with the assistance of foreign knights including
Vecelin,
Hont and Pázmány, and native lords. He was crowned on 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001 with a crown sent by
Pope Sylvester II. In a series of wars against semi-independent tribes and chieftains—including the
Black Hungarians and his uncle,
Gyula the Younger—he unified the
Carpathian Basin. He protected the independence of his kingdom by forcing the invading troops of
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, to withdraw from Hungary in 1030. (Full article...)
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until
his execution in 1649.
Charles was born into the
House of Stuart as the second son of
King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603, he moved to England, where he spent much of the rest of his life. He became
heir apparent to the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1612 upon the death of his elder brother,
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. An unsuccessful and unpopular attempt to marry him to
Infanta Maria Anna of Spain culminated in an eight-month visit to Spain in 1623 that demonstrated the futility of the marriage negotiation. Two years later, shortly after his accession, he married
Henrietta Maria of France. (Full article...)
Image 10
Portrait by Ferdinand Krumholz, 1850
DomPedro Afonso (19 July 1848 – 10 January 1850) was the Prince Imperial and
heir apparent to the throne of the
Empire of Brazil. Born at the
Palace of São Cristóvão in Rio de Janeiro, he was the second son and youngest child of Emperor Dom
Pedro II and Dona
Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the
House of Braganza. Pedro Afonso was seen as vital to the future viability of the monarchy, which had been put in jeopardy by the death of his older brother Dom
Afonso almost three years earlier.
Pedro Afonso's death from fever at the age of one devastated the Emperor, and the imperial couple had no further children. Pedro Afonso's older sister Dona
Isabel became heiress, but Pedro II was unconvinced that a woman could ever be accepted as monarch by the ruling elite. He excluded Isabel from matters of state and failed to provide training for her possible role as empress. With no surviving male children, the Emperor came to understand that the imperial line was destined to end with his own death. (Full article...)
Image 11
Gold dinar minted in
Fustat in the name of al-Musta'li, 1099/1100
Although not the eldest (and most likely the youngest) of the sons of Caliph
al-Mustansir Billah, al-Musta'li became caliph through the machinations of his brother-in-law, the
vizieral-Afdal Shahanshah. In response, his oldest brother and most likely candidate for their father's succession,
Nizar, rose in revolt in
Alexandria, but was defeated and executed. This caused a major split in the Isma'ili movement. Many communities, especially in
Persia and
Iraq, split off from the officially sponsored Isma'ili hierarchy and formed their own
Nizari movement, holding Nizar and his descendants as the rightful imams. (Full article...)
Image 12
Portrait
c. 1560
Catherine de' Medici (Italian: Caterina de' Medici, pronounced[kateˈriːnadeˈmɛːditʃi]; French: Catherine de Médicis, pronounced[katʁindəmedisis]; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian (
Florentine) noblewoman born into the
Medici family. She was
Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to
King Henry II and the mother of French kings
Francis II,
Charles IX, and
Henry III. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, if at times varying, influence on the political life of France.
Catherine was born in Florence to
Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and
Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1533, at the age of 14, Catherine married Henry, the second son of King
Francis I and Queen
Claude of France, who would become
Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother
Francis in 1536. Catherine's marriage was arranged by her uncle
Pope Clement VII. During his reign, Henry excluded Catherine from state affairs and instead showered favours on his chief mistress,
Diane de Poitiers, who wielded much influence over him. Henry's death in 1559 thrust Catherine into the political arena as mother of the frail 15-year-old FrancisII. When FrancisII died in 1560, she became regent on behalf of her 10-year-old son CharlesIX and was thus granted sweeping powers. After Charles died in 1574, Catherine played a key role in the reign of her third son, HenryIII. He dispensed with her advice only in the last months of her life but outlived her by just seven months. (Full article...)
George IV was the eldest child of King George III and
Queen Charlotte. He led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the
Regency era. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned
John Nash to build the
Royal Pavilion in
Brighton and remodel
Buckingham Palace, and commissioned
Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild
Windsor Castle. George's charm and culture earned him the title "the first gentleman of England", but his dissolute way of life and poor relationships with his parents and his wife,
Caroline of Brunswick, earned him the contempt of the people and dimmed the prestige of the monarchy. He excluded Caroline from
his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular
Pains and Penalties Bill in an unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. (Full article...)
Lafayette was born into a wealthy land-owning family in
Chavaniac in the
province of Auvergne in south central France. He followed the family's martial tradition and was commissioned an officer at age 13. He became convinced that the American revolutionary cause was noble, and he traveled to the
New World seeking glory in it. He was made a major general at age 19, but he was initially not given American troops to command. He was wounded during the
Battle of Brandywine but still managed to organize an orderly retreat, and he served with distinction in the
Battle of Rhode Island. In the middle of the war, he sailed for home to lobby for an increase in French support. He returned to America in 1780 and was given senior positions in the Continental Army. In 1781, troops under his command in Virginia blocked forces led by
Cornwallis until other American and French forces could position themselves for the decisive Siege of Yorktown. (Full article...)
Al-Mu'tadid was the son of
al-Muwaffaq, who was the regent and effective ruler of the Abbasid state during the reign of his brother, Caliph
al-Mu'tamid. As a prince, the future al-Mu'tadid served under his father during various military campaigns, most notably in the suppression of the
Zanj Rebellion, in which he played a major role. When al-Muwaffaq died in June 891 al-Mu'tadid succeeded him as regent. He quickly sidelined his cousin and heir-apparent
al-Mufawwid; when al-Mu'tamid died in October 892, he succeeded to the throne. Like his father, al-Mu'tadid's power depended on his close relations with the army. These were first forged during the campaigns against the Zanj and were reinforced in later expeditions which the Caliph led in person: al-Mu'tadid would prove to be the most militarily active of all Abbasid caliphs. Through his energy and ability, he succeeded in restoring to the Abbasid state some of the power and provinces it had lost during the turmoil of the previous decades. (Full article...)
Neuschwanstein Castle is a
Romanesque Revivalpalace commissioned by
King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1868. This castle on a rugged hill above the village of
Hohenschwangau was intended to be Ludwig's personal retreat, though it was still under construction at the time of his death in 1886. It was soon thereafter opened to tourists, and remains a popular destination. Its architecture has inspired several further buildings, including
Disneyland's
Sleeping Beauty Castle.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct
Western Roman Empire. His general,
Belisarius, swiftly conquered the
Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius,
Narses, and other generals conquered the
Ostrogothic kingdom, restoring
Dalmatia,
Sicily,
Italy, and
Rome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by the
Ostrogoths. The
praetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the
Iberian Peninsula, establishing the province of
Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a million
solidi. During his reign, Justinian also subdued the Tzani, a people on the east coast of the
Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before. He engaged the
Sasanian Empire in the east during
Kavad I's reign, and later again during
Khosrow I's reign; this second conflict was partially initiated due to his ambitions in the west. (Full article...)
Image 2
Stylianos Zaoutzes (
Greek: Στυλιανὸς Ζαούτζης, but Ζαουντζᾶς in
Skylitzes) was a high
Byzantine official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under
Byzantine emperorBasil I (reigned 867–886), he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor
Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), who had a close friendship and possibly an affair with Stylianos's daughter
Zoe Zaoutzaina. Stylianos Zaoutzes was Leo's leading minister during the first half of his reign, and was awarded the unique title of basileopator. His standing and influence declined after 895, but in 898, he became Leo's father-in-law when the Byzantine emperor married Zoe. He died in 899, in the same year as Zoe. Following an attempted coup by his relatives, the Zaoutzes clan was deprived of the considerable power it had amassed under Stylianos's tutelage. (Full article...)
Born into an impoverished family in the
Šumadija region of
Ottoman Serbia, Karađorđe distinguished himself during the
Austro-Turkish War of 1788–1791 as a member of the
Serbian Free Corps, a militia of
Habsburg and Ottoman
Serbs, armed and trained by the
Austrians. Fearing retribution following the Austrians' and Serb rebels' defeat in 1791, he and his family fled to the
Austrian Empire, where they lived until 1794, when a general amnesty was declared. Karađorđe subsequently returned to Šumadija and became a livestock merchant. In 1796, the rogue governor of the
Sanjak of Vidin,
Osman Pazvantoğlu, invaded the
Pashalik of Belgrade, and Karađorđe fought alongside the Ottomans to quash the incursion. (Full article...)
Image 5
Abdollah Mirza as depicted by an anonymous Armenian painter
Abdollah Mirza Qajar (
Persian: شاهزاده عبدالله میرزا قاجار; 25 November 1796 – 18 June 1846) was an Iranian prince (shahzadeh) of the
Qajar dynasty, the 11th son of
Fath-Ali Shah, king of
Qajar Iran from 1797 to 1834. Abdollah was the governor of
Zanjan. He had two children, Mohsen Mirza and Shams al-Molok, with his wife. Other than that, he had 19 sons and 9 daughters from his
concubines.
Abdollah Mirza distinguished himself early on in the
Russo-Iranian War of 1826. Though his administration was accompanied by growth and development, he was twice ousted from the government due to complaints. The second time, Fath-Ali Shah handed over the rule of Zanjan to his other son, Fathollah Mirza. Following the death of Fath-Ali Shah, Abdollah tried to reclaim his rule by mobilizing and attacking Zanjan but failed. When during the early reign of
Mohammad Shah (
r. 1834-1848) the eldest sons of Fath-Ali Shah rebelled against him, Abdollah Mirza, unlike his other brothers, went on to confirm his rule. (Full article...)
As empress, Domna was famous for her political, social, and philosophical influence. She received titles such as "Mother of the Invincible Camps". After the elder of her sons, Caracalla, started ruling with his father, she was briefly co-empress with Caracalla's wife,
Fulvia Plautilla, until the latter fell into disgrace. Following the death of Severus in 211, Domna became the first
empress dowager to receive the title combination "Pia Felix
Augusta", which may have implied greater powers being vested in her than what was usual for a Roman empress mother. Her sons succeeded to the throne. They had a conflictual relationship and Domna acted as their mediator, but Caracalla had his brother Geta assassinated later that year. (Full article...)
Image 7
Boris in 1934
Boris Mikhailovich Skossyreff (Russian: Бори́с Миха́йлович Ско́сырев, romanized: Boris Mikhailovich Skosyrev;
Catalan: Borís Mikhàilovitx Skóssirevpronounced[boˌɾis.mikˌaj.lo.vit͡ʃˈsko.si.ɾef]; 12 June 1896 – 27 February 1989) was a Belarusian adventurer, international swindler and
pretender who attempted to seize the monarchy of the
Principality of Andorra during the early 1930s, styling himself King Boris I of Andorra.
Pacorus I (also spelled Pakoros I;
Parthian: 𐭐𐭊𐭅𐭓; died 38 BC) was a
Parthian prince, who was the son and heir of
Orodes II (
r. 57–37 BC). The
numismatist David Sellwood deduced that Pacorus ruled in
c. 39 BC. It is uncertain whether Pacorus ruled alongside his father, or ruled independently. His wife was an unnamed
Armenian princess, who was a sister of the
Artaxiad king of Armenia,
Artavasdes II (
r. 55–34 BC).
Following the Parthian victory against the
Romans at the
Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, the Parthians attempted to capture Roman-held territories in
Western Asia, with Pacorus acting as one of the leading commanders. Although they were initially successful, they were repelled by the Romans. Pacorus himself was defeated and killed at the
Battle of Mount Gindarus by the forces of the
Publius Ventidius Bassus. His death spurred a succession crisis in which Orodes II, deeply afflicted by the death of his favourite son, relinquished the throne to his other son
Phraates IV (
r. 37–2 BC) as his new heir. (Full article...)
Image 9
Ermengard of Italy (died 896/897) was
Queen of Provence as the spouse of
King Boso. She was the second and only surviving child of
Emperor Louis II. In her early life, she was betrothed to
Constantine, the junior
Byzantine emperor, but whether the marriage actually occurred or not is still debated among historians. In 871, Ermengard and her family were taken hostage by
Adelchis of Benevento but were later freed. In 876, Ermengard married Boso, a nobleman with connections to the
Carolingian dynasty, and became queen upon his accession to the throne of Provence in 879. After her husband's death in 887, she served as
regent of the kingdom during the minority of her son
Louis the Blind. (Full article...)
Ridwan was born to the Seljuk prince
Tutush, who had established a principality in Syria after his brother, Sultan
Malik-Shah I granted him the region and its adjacent areas as an
appanage. After the death of Malik-Shah, Tutush claimed the Seljuk crown, but he was killed by the forces of his nephew
Berkyaruq near
Ray, Iran. Following this, Ridwan moved to Aleppo and proclaimed himself the new emir. His brother
Duqaq's declaration of a new emirate in
Damascus split the Syrian Seljuk state in two and started a rivalry between the brothers which continued even after the arrival of the
First Crusade in 1097. Ridwan tried to banish the Crusaders with gold, and fought the
Principality of Antioch, a
Crusader state established after the end of the
Siege of Antioch in 1098.
Bohemond I of Antioch invaded Ridwan's domain and reached Aleppo's surroundings. Bohemond's successor,
Tancred, regent of Antioch, also warred against Ridwan, but the two later allied in a conflict against the emir of Mosul,
Jawali Saqawa, supported by
Baldwin II of Edessa and
Joscelin I, the Lord of Turbessel. (Full article...)
Image 11
Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was
King of Hungary and
Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and
Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of
King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father's lifetime in 1214. His father, who strongly opposed Béla's coronation, refused to give him a province to rule until 1220. In this year, Béla was appointed
Duke of Slavonia, also with jurisdiction in
Croatia and
Dalmatia. Around the same time, Béla married
Maria, a daughter of
Theodore I Laskaris,
Emperor of Nicaea. From 1226, he governed
Transylvania as
duke. He supported Christian missions among the pagan
Cumans who dwelled in the plains to the east of his province. Some Cuman chieftains acknowledged his suzerainty and he adopted the title of King of Cumania in 1233. King Andrew died on 21 September 1235 and Béla succeeded him. He attempted to restore royal authority, which had diminished under his father. For this purpose, he revised his predecessors' land grants and reclaimed former royal estates, causing discontent among the
noblemen and the
prelates.
The
Mongols invaded Hungary and annihilated Béla's army in the
Battle of Mohi on 11 April 1241. He escaped from the battlefield, but a Mongol detachment chased him from town to town as far as
Trogir on the coast of the
Adriatic Sea. Although he survived the invasion, the Mongols devastated the country before their unexpected withdrawal in March 1242. Béla introduced radical reforms in order to prepare his kingdom for a second Mongol invasion. He allowed the barons and the prelates to erect stone fortresses and to set up their private armed forces. He promoted the development of fortified towns. During his reign, thousands of colonists arrived from the
Holy Roman Empire, Poland and other neighboring regions to settle in the depopulated lands. Béla's efforts to rebuild his devastated country won him the epithet of "second founder of the state" (
Hungarian: második honalapító). (Full article...)
Born
between 1155 and 1167 and given the name Temüjin, he was the oldest child of
Yesugei, a Mongol chieftain of the
Borjigin clan, and his wife
Hö'elün. When Temüjin was eight, his father died and his family was abandoned by its tribe. Reduced to near-poverty, they managed to survive, although Temüjin killed his half-brother
Behter to secure his position. As he grew to manhood, he began to gain followers, and he made alliances with two prominent
steppe leaders named
Jamukha and
Toghrul; they worked together to retrieve Temüjin's kidnapped wife
Börte. As his reputation grew, his relationship with Jamukha deteriorated into open warfare. Temüjin was decisively defeated in
c. 1187, possibly spending the following years as a subject of the
Jin dynasty; upon reemerging in 1196, he swiftly began gaining power. Toghrul came to view Temüjin as a threat, and
launched a surprise attack on him in 1203. Temüjin retreated, then
regrouped and overpowered Toghrul; after defeating the
Naiman tribe and executing Jamukha, he was left as the sole ruler in the Mongolian steppe. (Full article...)
Credit: Sébah & Joaillier; restoration:
Adam Cuerden
Mehmed VI (1861–1926) was the 36th and last
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was girded with the
Sword of Osman in June 1918, with his reign beginning the following month after
his brother's death. Following the Ottoman defeat in World War I, Mehmed VI was tasked with reconciliation with the Allies. However, his settlements were denounced by Turkish nationalists, and in 1922 the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolished the sultanate. Mehmed VI spent the rest of his life in exile.
I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts, in people's hearts, but I don't see myself being Queen of this country. I don't think many people will want me to be Queen.
Image 24British India and the princely states within the Indian Empire. The princely states (in yellow) were sovereign territories of Indian princes who were practically suzerain to the Emperor of India, who was concurrently the British monarch, whose territories were called British India (in pink) and occupied a vast portion of the empire. (from Non-sovereign monarchy)
Image 25The constituent states of the German Empire (a federal monarchy). Various states were formally suzerain to the emperor, whose government retained authority over some policy areas throughout the federation, and was concurrently King of Prussia, the empire's largest state. (from Non-sovereign monarchy)
Image 26Elizabeth II was the monarch of independent countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. (from Monarch)
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