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.
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (Arabic: الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, romanized: al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; c. 674 – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (Arabic: الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyadcaliph, ruling from October 705 until his death in 715. He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705). As a prince, he led annual raids against the Byzantines from 695 to 698 and built or restored fortifications along the Syrian Desert route to Mecca. He became heir apparent in c. 705, after the death of the designated successor, Abd al-Malik's brother Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan.
Under al-Walid, his father's efforts to centralize government, impose a more Arabic and Islamic character on the state, and expand its borders were continued. He heavily depended on al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, his father's powerful viceroy over the eastern half of the caliphate. During his reign, armies commissioned by al-Hajjaj conquered Sind and Transoxiana in the east, while the troops of Musa ibn Nusayr, the governor of Ifriqiya, conquered the Maghreb and Hispania in the west, bringing the caliphate to its largest territorial extent. War spoils from the conquests enabled al-Walid to finance impressive public works, including his greatest architectural achievement, the Great Mosque of Damascus, as well as the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. He was the first caliph to institute programs for social welfare, aiding the poor and handicapped among the Muslim Arabs of Syria, who held him in high esteem. (Full article...)
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Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, died on either 10 or 12 August, 30 BC, in Alexandria, when she was 39 years old. According to popular belief, Cleopatra killed herself by allowing an asp (Egyptian cobra) to bite her, but according to the Roman-era writers Strabo, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, Cleopatra poisoned herself using either a toxic ointment or by introducing the poison with a sharp implement such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the validity of ancient reports involving snakebites as the cause of death and whether she was murdered. Some academics hypothesize that her Roman political rival Octavian forced her to kill herself in a manner of her choosing. The location of Cleopatra's tomb is unknown. It was recorded that Octavian allowed for her and her husband, the Roman politician and general Mark Antony, who stabbed himself with a sword, to be buried together properly.
Stephen was born in the County of Blois in central France as the fourth son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois, and Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror. His father died while Stephen was still young, and he was brought up by his mother. Placed into the court of his uncle Henry I of England, Stephen rose in prominence and was granted extensive lands. He married Matilda of Boulogne, inheriting additional estates in Kent and Boulogne that made the couple one of the wealthiest in England. Stephen narrowly escaped drowning with Henry I's son, William Adelin, in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120; William's death left the succession of the English throne open to challenge. When Henry died in 1135, Stephen quickly crossed the English Channel and, with the help of his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester and Abbot of Glastonbury, took the throne, arguing that the preservation of order across the kingdom took priority over his earlier oaths to support the claim of Henry I's daughter, the Empress Matilda. (Full article...)
John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (29 August 1347 – 16 April 1375), was a fourteenth-century English nobleman and soldier. He also held the titles of Baron Abergavenny and Lord of Wexford. He was born in Sutton Valence, the son of Lord Hastings, and Agnes Mortimer. His father died when John Hastings was around one year old, and he became a ward of King Edward III while remaining in his mother's care. The King arranged for John to marry Edward's daughter Margaret in 1359, which drew John into the royal family. However, Margaret died two years later. John Hastings inherited his father's earldom, subsidiary titles and estates in 1368. The same year, he made a second marriage, to Anne, daughter of Walter, Lord Mauny. The following year, Pembroke began the career in royal service that continued for the rest of his life.
The Hundred Years' War had recently resumed in France, and in 1369 Pembroke journeyed to Aquitaine. There he took part in a sequence of raids, sieges, and counter-measures against the French, with both notable successes and failures. The latter were compounded by his apparent inability to work alongside the famed soldier Sir John Chandos, who, although head of the King's forces there, was far below Pembroke in rank. He was, however, far above Pembroke in ability, and his subsequent death led to even more problems for Pembroke in France. A couple of years later, the Earl was summoned to Parliament and returned to England. There, perhaps exasperated by the political failures of the King's ecclesiastical ministers, or by their self-indulgence in office, he was responsible for forcing them from power. (Full article...)
Charlotte's parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage and soon separated. The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte's care to governesses and servants, only allowing her limited contact with Caroline, who eventually left the country. As Charlotte grew to adulthood, her father pressured her to marry William, Hereditary Prince of Orange (later King of the Netherlands). After initially accepting him, Charlotte soon broke off the intended match. This resulted in an extended contest of wills between her and her father, who finally permitted her to marry Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later King of the Belgians). After a year and a half of happy marriage, Charlotte died after delivering a stillborn son. (Full article...)
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King Władysław II Jagiełło, detail of the Triptych of Our Lady of Sorrows in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków
Jogaila was the last pagan ruler of medieval Lithuania. After he became King of Poland, as a result of the Union of Krewo, the newly formed Polish-Lithuanian union confronted the growing power of the Teutonic Order. The allied victory at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, followed by the Peace of Thorn, secured the Polish and Lithuanian borders and marked the emergence of the Polish–Lithuanian alliance as a significant force in Europe. The reign of Władysław II Jagiełło extended Polish frontiers and is often considered the beginning of Poland's Golden Age. (Full article...)
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Part of a door jamb showing the cartouche of Djedkare Isesi, Neues Museum, Berlin
Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid-24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in turn succeeded by Unas. His relationship to both of these pharaohs remain uncertain, although it is often conjectured that Unas was Djedkare's son, owing to the smooth transition between the two.
Djedkare likely enjoyed a reign of more than 40 years, which heralded a new period in the history of the Old Kingdom. Breaking with a tradition followed by his predecessors since the time of Userkaf, Djedkare did not build a temple to the sun god Ra, possibly reflecting the rise of Osiris in the Egyptian pantheon. More significantly, Djedkare effected comprehensive reforms of the Egyptian state administration, the first undertaken since the inception of the system of ranking titles. He also reorganised the funerary cults of his forebears buried in the necropolis of Abusir and reformed the corresponding priesthood. (Full article...)
Menkauhor ruled for possibly eight or nine years, following king Nyuserre Ini, and was succeeded in turn by Djedkare Isesi. Although Menkauhor is well attested by historical sources, few artefacts from his reign have survived. Consequently, his familial relation to his predecessor and successor is unclear, and no offspring of his have been identified. Khentkaus III may have been Menkauhor's mother, as indicated by evidence discovered in her tomb in 2015. (Full article...)
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The Repton Stone which may depict Æthelbald
Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to the throne after the death of his cousin, King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the strong reigns of Mercian kings Penda and Wulfhere between about 628 and 675.
When Æthelbald came to the throne, both Wessex and Kent were ruled by stronger kings, but within fifteen years the contemporary chronicler Bede describes Æthelbald as ruling all England south of the Humber estuary. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not list Æthelbald as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain", though this may be due to the West Saxon origin of the Chronicle. (Full article...)
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Jugate bronze coin depicting Cleopatra Selene in the foreground with her son Antiochus XIII in the background
Cleopatra Selene (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη; c. between 135 and 130 – 69 BC) was the Queen consort of Egypt (Cleopatra Selene or Cleopatra V Selene) from 115 to 102 BC, the Queen consort of Syria from 102 to 92 BC, and the monarch of Syria (Cleopatra II) from 82 to 69 BC. The daughter of Ptolemy VIII Physcon and Cleopatra III of Egypt, Cleopatra Selene was favoured by her mother and became a pawn in Cleopatra III's political manoeuvres. In 115 BC, Cleopatra III forced her son Ptolemy IX to divorce his sister-wife Cleopatra IV, and chose Cleopatra Selene as the new queen consort of Egypt. Tension between the king and his mother grew and ended with his expulsion from Egypt, leaving Cleopatra Selene behind; she probably then married the new king, her other brother Ptolemy X.
Following the marriage of the Syrian Seleucid princess Cleopatra I to Ptolemy V of Egypt, dynastic marriages between the two kingdoms became common. In 102 BC, Cleopatra III decided to establish an alliance with her nephew Antiochus VIII of Syria; Cleopatra Selene was sent as his bride. After his assassination in 96 BC, she married his brother and rival Antiochus IX. Cleopatra Selene lost her new husband in 95 BC and married a final time to Antiochus IX's son Antiochus X, who disappeared from the records and is presumed to have died in 92 BC, but may have remained in power until 89/88 BC (224 SE (Seleucid year)). Cleopatra Selene then hid somewhere in the kingdom with her children. Eventually, Syria split between the sons of Antiochus VIII with Philip I ruling in the Syrian capital Antioch and Antiochus XII in the southern city Damascus. (Full article...)
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant. During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council because Edward never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1550–1553).
Edward's reign was marked by economic problems and social unrest that in 1549 erupted into riot and rebellion. An expensive war with Scotland, at first successful, ended with military withdrawal from Scotland and Boulogne-sur-Mer in exchange for peace. The transformation of the Church of England into a recognisably Protestant body also occurred under Edward, who took great interest in religious matters. His father, Henry VIII, had severed the link between the English Church and Rome, but continued to uphold most Catholic doctrine and ceremony. It was during Edward's reign that Protestantism was established for the first time in England with reforms that included the abolition of clerical celibacy and the Mass, and the imposition of compulsory English in church services. (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...)
Septimia Zenobia (Palmyrene Aramaic: 𐡡𐡶𐡦𐡡𐡩, Bat-Zabbai; c. 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city, Odaenathus. Her husband became king in 260, elevating Palmyra to supreme power in the Near East by defeating the Sasanian Empire of Persia and stabilizing the Roman East. After Odaenathus' assassination, Zenobia became the regent of her son Vaballathus and held de facto power throughout his reign.
In 270, Zenobia launched an invasion that brought most of the Roman East under her sway and culminated with the annexation of Egypt. By mid-271 her realm extended from Ancyra, central Anatolia, to Upper Egypt, although she remained nominally subordinate to Rome. However, in reaction to the campaign of the Roman emperor Aurelian in 272, Zenobia declared her son emperor and assumed the title of empress, thus declaring Palmyra's secession from Rome. The Romans were victorious after heavy fighting; the empress was besieged in her capital and captured by Aurelian, who exiled her to Rome, where she spent the remainder of her life. (Full article...)
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Tiglath-Pileser III (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: [] Error: {{Lang}}: no text (help)Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, meaning "my trust belongs to the son of Ešarra"; Biblical Hebrew: תִּגְלַת פִּלְאֶסֶרTīglaṯ Pīlʾeser) was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to his death in 727. One of the most prominent and historically significant Assyrian kings, Tiglath-Pileser ended a period of Assyrian stagnation, introduced numerous political and military reforms and more than doubled the lands under Assyrian control. Because of the massive expansion and centralization of Assyrian territory and establishment of a standing army, some researchers consider Tiglath-Pileser's reign to mark the true transition of Assyria into an empire. The reforms and methods of control introduced under Tiglath-Pileser laid the groundwork for policies enacted not only by later Assyrian kings but also by later empires for millennia after his death. (Full article...)
Charles came to the Kingdom of Hungary upon the invitation of an influential Croatian lord, Paul Šubić, in August 1300. Andrew III died on 14 January 1301, and within four months Charles was crowned king, but with a provisional crown instead of the Holy Crown of Hungary. Most Hungarian noblemen refused to yield to him and elected Wenceslaus of Bohemia king. Charles withdrew to the southern regions of the kingdom. Pope Boniface VIII acknowledged Charles as the lawful king in 1303, but Charles was unable to strengthen his position against his opponent. Wenceslaus abdicated in favor of Otto of Bavaria in 1305. Because it had no central government, the Kingdom of Hungary had disintegrated into a dozen provinces, each headed by a powerful nobleman, or oligarch. One of those oligarchs, Ladislaus III Kán, captured and imprisoned Otto of Bavaria in 1307. Charles was elected king in Pest on 27 November 1308, but his rule remained nominal in most parts of his kingdom even after he was crowned with the Holy Crown on 27 August 1310. (Full article...)
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Mulhim ibn Yunus Ma'n was the paramount Druzeemir of Mount Lebanon and head of the Ma'n dynasty after succeeding his uncle Fakhr al-Din II in 1633. The Ottomans executed Fakhr al-Din, Mulhim's father Yunus, and his brothers and cousins during and after a massive expedition to end their control over large parts of the Levant. After Mulhim defeated his principal Druze rival, Ali Alam al-Din, in 1641, the Ottomans granted him tax farms previously held by his uncle and father Yunus in southern Mount Lebanon, namely for the subdistricts of the Chouf, Gharb, Matn and Jurd. In 1657 he was appointed governor and tax farmer of Safed. He held onto the tax farms of southern Mount Lebanon until his death in 1658, after falling ill attempting to collect taxes in Safed.
Mulhim and his subordinates, including the Maronite Khazen family of Keserwan, reestablished the core of Fakhr al-Din's former territory. Like his uncle, he maintained good ties with the Maronite Church. He remained on good terms with the authorities throughout most of his career. The tax farms he held were largely inherited by his sons Qurqumaz and Ahmad, the latter retaining them until his death in 1697. Ahmad was the last Ma'nid emir and afterward the dynasty's tax farms and paramountcy over the Druze passed to their Sunni Muslim marital relatives, the Shihab dynasty. (Full article...)
Sigismund Ernuszt (Hungarian: csáktornyai Ernuszt Zsigmond; c. 1445;– summer 1505) was Bishop of Pécs in the Kingdom of Hungary from 1473 to 1505. Ernuszt was also Ban of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia from 1494 to 1498. He was the son of John Ernuszt, a converted Jew, who started his career as a custom's duty collector during the reign of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. Sigismund studied at the universities of Vienna and Ferrara in the early 1470s. When the king made him bishop of Pécs, the Holy See confirmed him as the administrator of the diocese, but he was most probably never ordained bishop. Matthias Corvinus also tasked him with the administration of the newly conquered Archduchy of Austria in 1486.
After Matthias's death, he was the only bishop to support the bid of Matthias's illegitimate son, John Corvinus, for the throne. After the united armies of Corvinus's supporters were defeated in the battle of Bonefield, he swore fealty to Vladislaus II Jagiellon. The new king made him royal treasurer in 1494, but he was dismissed after being accused of embezzlement at the Diet of Hungary in 1496. Pécs Cathedral and the castle at Pécs were renovated during his tenure. His three retainers strangled him to seize his wealth. (Full article...)
Kulottunga I (/kʊˈloʊtʊŋɡə/; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (lit.'The Exalter of His Race'), born Rajendra Chalukya (Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola Emperor who reigned from 1070 to 1122 succeeding his cousin Athirajendra Chola. He also served as the Eastern Chalukya monarch from 1061 to 1118, succeeding his father Rajaraja Narendra. He is related to the Chola dynasty through his mother's side and the Eastern Chalukyas through his father's side. His mother, Ammangaidevi, was a Chola princess and the daughter of emperor Rajendra I. His father was king Rajaraja Narendra of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty who was the nephew of Rajendra and maternal grandson of Rajaraja I. According to historian Sailendra Nath Sen, his accession marked the beginning of a new era and ushered in a period of internal peace and benevolent administration.
Kulottunga had diplomatic relations with the northern Indian city Kannauj and also with distant countries like Cambodia, Srivijaya, Khmer, Pagan (Burma) and China. He established Chola overlordship over the Srivijayan province of Kedah in Malay Peninsula. An inscription in a Taoist temple in Guangzhou, dated to 1079, declares Kulottunga, King of Chulien (Chola) to be the supreme chief of the Land of San-fo-tsi (Srivijaya). According to Tan Yeok Seong, the editor of the inscription, Kulottunga ruled both the Chola and Srivijayan kingdoms. In the small Leyden grant that is dated to 1090, the king of Kadaram (Srivijaya) is mentioned as a vassal of Kulottunga. Like his predecessors, Kulottunga was a patron of arts and literature and the much celebrated Tamil poem Kalingattuparani was composed during his rule by poet Jayamkondaan who lived in his court. His records also testify to the highly organised system of fiscal and local administration. During his reign Kulottunga carried out a massive land survey that formed the basis for taxation. (Full article...)
After Alexander Aldea died in 1436, Vlad seized Wallachia with Hungarian support. Following the death of Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1437, Hungary's position weakened, causing Vlad to pay homage to Murad II, which included participating in Murad II's invasion of Transylvania in the summer of 1438. John Hunyadi, Voivode of Transylvania, came to Wallachia to convince Vlad to join a crusade against the Ottomans in 1441. After Hunyadi routed an Ottoman army in Transylvania, the sultan ordered Vlad to come to Edirne where he was captured in 1442. Hunyadi invaded Wallachia and made Vlad's cousin, Basarab II, voivode. (Full article...)
Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero, known as Tiberius Gemellus (10 October AD 19 – 37/38), was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of the Emperor Tiberius, and the cousin of the Emperor Caligula. Gemellus is a nickname meaning "the twin". His twin brother, Germanicus Gemellus, died as a young child in AD 23. His father and older cousins died, and are suspected by contemporary sources as having been systematically eliminated by the powerful praetorian prefectSejanus. Their removal allowed Gemellus and Caligula to be named joint-heirs by Tiberius in 35, a decision that ultimately resulted in Caligula assuming power and having Gemellus killed (or forced to kill himself) in late 37 or early 38. (Full article...)
Philip III (Basque: Filipe, Spanish: Felipe, French: Philippe; 27 March 1306 – 16 September 1343), called the Noble or the Wise, was King of Navarre from 1328 until his death. He was born a minor member of the French royal family but gained prominence when the Capetianmain line went extinct, as he and his wife and cousin, Joan II of Navarre, acquired the Iberian kingdom and a number of French fiefs.
Philip and Joan's accession signified the end of the 44-year-long personal union between France and Navarre. Although neither succeeded in claiming the crown of France, Philip and Joan were powerful vassals of the Valois king Philip VI as well as successful co-monarchs in Navarre. Despite initial reluctance by the Navarrese to accept him as king alongside Joan, Philip in particular is credited with improving the kingdom's legislature. The couple resided chiefly in their French lands but spent enough time in Navarre to earn them substantial popularity in the country. (Full article...)
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Nebuchadnezzar II (/nɛbjʊkədˈnɛzər/; Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Historically known as Nebuchadnezzar the Great, he is typically regarded as the empire's greatest king. Nebuchadnezzar remains famous for his military campaigns in the Levant, for his construction projects in his capital, Babylon, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and for the role he plays in Jewish history. Ruling for 43 years, Nebuchadnezzar was the longest-reigning king of the Babylonian dynasty. By the time of his death, he was among the most powerful rulers in the world. (Full article...)
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Andrew I on the throne (Thuróczi's Chronicle)
Andrew I the White or the Catholic (Hungarian: I. Fehér or Katolikus András/Endre; c. 1015 – before 6 December 1060) was King of Hungary from 1046 to 1060. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. After he spent fifteen years in exile, an extensive revolt by the paganHungarians enabled him to take the throne from King Peter Orseolo. He strengthened the position of Catholicism in the Kingdom of Hungary and successfully defended its independence against the Holy Roman Empire.
His efforts to ensure the succession of his son, Solomon, resulted in the open revolt of his brother Béla. Béla dethroned Andrew by force in 1060. Andrew suffered severe injuries during the fighting and died before his brother was crowned king. (Full article...)
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Shahrbaraz (also spelled Shahrvaraz or Shahrwaraz; New Persian: شهربراز), was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurping the Sasanian throne he was a spahbed (general) under Khosrow II (590–628). He is furthermore noted for his important role during the climactic Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, and the events that followed afterwards. (Full article...)
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Portrait by Jules-Louis Lejeune, c. 1826
Teriitaria II or Teri'itari'a II, later known as Pōmare Vahine and Ari'ipaea Vahine, baptized Taaroamaiturai (c. 1790 – 1858), became Queen consort of Tahiti when she married King Pōmare II and later, she ruled as Queen of Huahine and Maiao in the Society Islands.
Teriitaria was the eldest child of King Tamatoa III of Raiatea and Tura’iari’i Ehevahine, a member of the royal family of Huahine. In 1809, Tamatoa arranged for the marriage of Teriitaria and her sister, Teriʻitoʻoterai Teremoemoe, to their widowed second cousin, Pōmare II of Tahiti. Teriitaria became Queen of Huahine in 1815, but did not govern it during the first decades of her rule. In 1815, she fought in the Battle of Te Feipī, which consolidated her husband's rule. Teriitaria had no children with Pōmare II, but Pōmare fathered the next two Tahitian monarchs, Pōmare III (r. 1821–1827) and Pōmare IV (r. 1827–1877), by Teremoemoe. Pōmare II died in 1821, and Teriitaria and Teremoemoe served as regents for Pōmare III and (after his death in 1827) Pōmare IV. (Full article...)
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Zeynab Begum (Persian: زینب بیگم; died 31 May 1640) was the fourth daughter of Safavid king (shah) Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576), is considered to be one of the most influential and powerful princesses of the Safavid era. She lived during the reigns of five successive Safavid monarchs, and apart from holding diverse functions, including at the top of the empire's bureaucratic system, she was also the leading matriarch in the royal harem for many years, and acted on occasion as kingmaker. She reached the apex of her influence during the reign of King Safi (r. 1629–1642). In numerous contemporaneous sources, she was praised as a "mainstay of political moderation and wisdom in Safavid court politics". She was eventually removed from power by Safi in 1632. (Full article...)
Image 16The 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 17Elizabeth II was the monarch of independent countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. (from Monarch)
Image 19British 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)
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