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.
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 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...)
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Silver penny of Wiglaf, struck 827–829. Legend: + vviglaf rex m
Wiglaf (died 839) was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown. Wigstan, his grandson, was later recorded as a descendant of Penda of Mercia, so it is possible that Wiglaf was descended from Penda, one of the most powerful seventh-century kings of Mercia.
Wiglaf succeeded Ludeca, who was killed campaigning against East Anglia. His first reign coincided with the continued rise of the rival Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex under Ecgberht. Ecgberht drove Wiglaf from the throne in 829, and ruled Mercia directly for a year. Wiglaf recovered the kingdom in 830, probably by force, although it may be that Wiglaf remained subject to Ecgberht's overlordship. Mercia never regained the south-eastern kingdoms, but Berkshire and perhaps Essex came back into Mercian control. The causes of the fluctuating fortunes of Mercia and Wessex are a matter of speculation, but it may be that Carolingian support influenced both Ecgberht's ascendancy and the subsequent Mercian recovery. Although Wiglaf appeared to have restored Mercia's independence, the recovery was short-lived, and later in the century Mercia was divided between Wessex and the Vikings. (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 British forces led by Lord Cornwallis until other American and French forces could position themselves for the decisive siege of Yorktown. (Full article...)
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Seal of Domenico Selvo
Domenico Selvo (died 1087) was the 31st Doge of Venice, serving from 1071 to 1084. During his reign as Doge, his domestic policies, the alliances that he forged, and the battles that the Venetian military won and lost laid the foundations for much of the subsequent foreign and domestic policy of the Republic of Venice. He avoided confrontations with the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church at a time in European history when conflict threatened to upset the balance of power. At the same time, he forged new agreements with the major nations that would set up a long period of prosperity for the Republic of Venice. Through his military alliance with the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos awarded Venice economic favors with the declaration of a golden bull that would allow for the development of the republic's international trade over the next few centuries.
Within the city itself, he supervised a longer period of the construction of the modern St Mark's Basilica than any other Doge. The basilica's complex architecture and expensive decorations stand as a testament to the prosperity of Venetian traders during this period. The essentially democratic way in which he not only was elected but also removed from power was part of an important transition of Venetian political philosophy. The overthrow of his rule in 1084 was one of many forced abdications in the early history of the republic that further blurred the lines between the powers of the Doge, the common electorate, and the nobility. (Full article...)
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The Count of Porto Alegre around age 61, c. 1865
Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre (13 June 1804 – 18 July 1875), nicknamed "the Gloved Centaur", was an army officer, politician and abolitionist of the Empire of Brazil. Born into a wealthy family of military background, Manuel Marques de Sousa joined the Portuguese Army in Brazil in 1817 when he was little more than a child. His military initiation occurred in the conquest of the Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), which was annexed and became the southernmost Brazilian province of Cisplatina in 1821. For most of the 1820s, he was embroiled in the Brazilian effort to keep Cisplatina as part of its territory: first during the struggle for Brazilian independence and then in the Cisplatine War. It would ultimately prove a futile attempt, as Cisplatina successfully separated from Brazil to become the independent nation of Uruguay in 1828.
A few years later, in 1835 his native province of Rio Grande do Sul was engulfed in a secessionist rebellion, the Ragamuffin War. The conflict lasted for almost ten years, and the Count was leading military engagements for most of that time. He played a decisive role in saving the provincial capital from the Ragamuffin rebels, allowing forces loyal to the legitimate government to secure a key foothold. In 1852, he led a Brazilian division during the Platine War in an invasion of the Argentine Confederation that overthrew its dictator. He was awarded a noble title, eventually raised from baron to viscount and finally to count. (Full article...)
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The Viscount of Inhaúma around the age of 56, c. 1864
Throughout the chaos that characterized the years when Emperor DomPedro II was a minor, Inhaúma remained loyal to the government. He helped quell a military mutiny in 1831 and was involved in suppressing some of the other rebellions that erupted during that troubled period. He saw action in the Sabinada between 1837 and 1838, followed by the Ragamuffin War from 1840 until 1844. In 1849, after spending two years in Great Britain, Inhaúma was given command of the fleet that was instrumental in subduing the Praieira revolt, the last rebellion in imperial Brazil. (Full article...)
Shepseskare or Shepseskara (Egyptian for "Noble is the Soul of Ra") was an Ancient Egyptianpharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (2494–2345 BC) during the Old Kingdom period. Shepseskare lived in the mid-25th century BC and was probably the owner of an unfinished pyramid in Abusir, which was abandoned after a few weeks of work in the earliest stages of its construction.
Following historical sources, Shepseskare was traditionally believed to have reigned for seven years, succeeding Neferirkare Kakai and preceding Neferefre on the throne, making him the fourth ruler of the dynasty. He is the most obscure ruler of this dynasty and the EgyptologistMiroslav Verner has strongly argued that Shepseskare's reign lasted only a few months at the most, after that of Neferefre. This conclusion is based upon the state and location of Shepseskare's unfinished pyramid in Abusir as well as the very small number of artefacts attributable to this king. Verner's arguments have now convinced several Egyptologists such as Darrell Baker and Erik Hornung. (Full article...)
Thekla (Greek: Θέκλα; early 820s or 830s – after 870), Latinized as Thecla, was a princess of the Amorian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. The daughter and eldest child of Byzantine emperorTheophilos and empress Theodora, she was proclaimed augusta in the late 830s. After Theophilos's death in 842 and her mother becoming regent for Thekla's younger brother Michael III, Thekla was associated with the regime as co-empress alongside Theodora and Michael.
Thekla was deposed by Michael III, possibly alongside her mother, in 856 and consigned to a convent in Constantinople. Some time later, she allegedly returned to imperial affairs and became the mistress of Michael III's friend and co-emperor Basil I. After Basil murdered Michael in 867 and took power as the sole emperor, Thekla was neglected as his mistress and she took another lover, John Neatokometes. Once Basil found out about the affair, Thekla fell out of favor, was beaten and had her property confiscated. (Full article...)
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in WelshYr Arglwydd Rhys, although this title may have not been used in his lifetime. He usually used the title "Proprietary Prince of Deheubarth" or "Prince of South Wales", but two documents have been discovered in which he uses the title "Prince of Wales" or "Prince of the Welsh". Rhys was one of the most successful and powerful Welsh princes, and, after the death of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd in 1170, the dominant power in Wales.
Rhys's grandfather, Rhys ap Tewdwr, was king of Deheubarth, and was killed at Brecon in 1093 by Bernard de Neufmarché. Following his death, most of Deheubarth was taken over by the Normans. Rhys's father, Gruffydd ap Rhys, eventually was able to become ruler of a small portion, and more territory was won back by Rhys's older brothers after Gruffydd's death. Rhys became ruler of Deheubarth in 1155. He was forced to submit to King Henry II of England in 1158. Henry invaded Deheubarth in 1163, stripped Rhys of all his lands and took him prisoner. A few weeks later he was released and given back a small part of his holdings. Rhys made an alliance with Owain Gwynedd and, after the failure of another invasion of Wales by Henry in 1165, was able to win back most of his lands. (Full article...)
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Demetrius III's portrait on the obverse of a tetradrachm
Demetrius III Theos Philopator Soter Philometor Euergetes Callinicus (Ancient Greek: Δημήτριος θεός Φιλοπάτωρ σωτήρ Φιλομήτωρ Εὐεργέτης Καλλίνικος, surnamed Eucaerus; between 124 and 109 BC – after 87 BC) was a HellenisticSeleucid monarch who reigned as the King of Syria between 96 and 87 BC. He was a son of Antiochus VIII and, most likely, his Egyptian wife Tryphaena. Demetrius III's early life was spent in a period of civil war between his father and his uncle Antiochus IX, which ended with the assassination of Antiochus VIII in 96 BC. After the death of their father, Demetrius III took control of Damascus while his brother Seleucus VI prepared for war against Antiochus IX, who occupied the Syrian capital Antioch.
The civil war dragged on; Seleucus VI eliminated his uncle, whose heir Antiochus X counterattacked and drove Seleucus VI to his death. Then the twins Antiochus XI and Philip I, brothers of Demetrius III, attempted to avenge Seleucus VI; it ended with the death of Antiochus XI and the interference of Demetrius III on the side of Philip I in a war against Antiochus X that probably lasted until 88 BC. In 89 BC, Demetrius III invaded Judaea and crushed the forces of its king, Alexander Jannaeus; his near victory was cut short by the death of Antiochus X. Demetrius III rushed to Antioch before Philip I could take advantage of the power vacuum and strengthen his position relative to Demetrius III. (Full article...)
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya (Arabic: مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, romanized: Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya; 623 or 626 – April/May 685), commonly known as MarwanI, was the fourth Umayyad caliph, ruling for less than a year in 684–685. He founded the Marwanid ruling house of the Umayyad dynasty, which replaced the Sufyanid house after its collapse in the Second Fitna and remained in power until 750.
During the reign of his cousin Uthman (r. 644–656), Marwan took part in a military campaign against the Byzantines of the Exarchate of Africa (in central North Africa), where he acquired significant war spoils. He also served as Uthman's governor in Fars (southwestern Iran) before becoming the caliph's katib (secretary or scribe). He was wounded fighting the rebel siege of Uthman's house, in which the caliph was slain. In the ensuing civil war between Ali (r. 656–661) and the largely Qurayshite partisans of A'isha, Marwan sided with the latter at the Battle of the Camel. Marwan later served as governor of Medina under his distant kinsman Caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), founder of the Umayyad Caliphate. During the reign of Mu'awiya's son and successor Yazid I (r. 680–683), Marwan organized the defense of the Umayyad realm in the Hejaz (western Arabia) against the local opposition. After Yazid died in November 683, the Mecca-based rebel Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr declared himself caliph and expelled Marwan, who took refuge in Syria, the center of Umayyad rule. With the death of the last Sufyanid caliph Mu'awiya II in 684, Marwan, encouraged by the ex-governor of Iraq Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, volunteered his candidacy for the caliphate during a summit of pro-Umayyad tribes in Jabiya. The tribal nobility, led by Ibn Bahdal of the Banu Kalb, elected Marwan and together they defeated the pro-Zubayrid Qays tribes at the Battle of Marj Rahit in August of that year. (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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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...)
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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...)
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A Serbian Orthodoxicon of Prince Jovan Vladimir, who was recognized as a saint shortly after his death
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Владимир; c. 990 – 22 May 1016) was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. Vladimir was acknowledged as a pious, just, and peaceful ruler. He is recognized as a martyr and saint, with his feast day being celebrated on 22 May.
Jovan Vladimir had a close relationship with Byzantium but this did not save Duklja from the expansionist Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who conquered the principality around 1010 and took Vladimir prisoner. A medieval chronicle asserts that Samuel's daughter, Theodora Kosara, fell in love with Vladimir and begged her father for his hand. The tsar allowed the marriage and returned Duklja to Vladimir, who ruled as his vassal. Vladimir took no part in his father-in-law's war efforts. The warfare culminated with Tsar Samuel's defeat by the Byzantines in 1014 and death soon after. In 1016, Vladimir fell victim to a plot by Ivan Vladislav, the last ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire. He was beheaded in front of a church in Prespa, the empire's capital, and was buried there. He was soon recognized as a martyr and saint. His widow, Kosara, reburied him in the Prečista Krajinska Church, near his court in southeastern Duklja. In 1381, his remains were preserved in the Church of St Jovan Vladimir near Elbasan, and since 1995 they have been kept in the Orthodoxcathedral of Tirana, Albania. The saint's remains are considered Christian relics, and attract many believers, especially on his feast day, when the relics are taken to the church near Elbasan for a celebration. (Full article...)
Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), the King of Macedonia, as depicted in a detail from the Alexander Mosaic. Originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii and dated to c. 100 BC, the mosaic depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. It is believed to be a copy of an early 3rd century BC Hellenistic painting, probably by Philoxenos of Eretria. The whole mosaic measures 2.72 × 5.13 m (8 ft 11 in × 16 ft 9 in).
... that Holy Roman EmperorMaximilian I commissioned the Triumphal Arch(pictured), a monumental woodcut print over 3½ m (11½ ft) tall and nearly 3 m (10 ft) wide printed from 192 separate wood blocks?
The money provided by the papacy was gradually cut back and Manuel eventually left Rome in 1474 in order to seek his fortune by offering military service to various nobles and rulers in Europe, including Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan and Charles the Bold of Burgundy. Disappointed with the offers he received, and with the papacy cutting the money back further, Manuel surprised the establishment in Rome by travelling to Constantinople in 1476 and throwing himself on the mercy of the Sultan Mehmed II, who had conquered the city 23 years earlier. The sultan generously received Manuel, who stayed in Constantinople for the rest of his life. The Ottomans called him "el Ghazi" ("holy warrior"). (Full article...)
Gabriel made an alliance with the Hajdús—irregular troops stationing along the borders of Transylvania and Royal Hungary—and laid claim to Transylvania against the elderly prince, Sigismund Rákóczi in February 1608. Rákóczi abdicated and the Diet of Transylvania elected Gabriel prince without resistance. Both the Sublime Porte and the Habsburg ruler Matthias II acknowledged Gabriel's election. He ignored the privileges of the Transylvanian Saxons and captured their wealthiest town, Szeben (now Sibiu in Romania), provoking an uprising in 1610. His attempts to expand his authority over the Ottoman vassal Wallachia and his negotiations with Matthias II outraged the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I. The Sultan decided to replace Gabriel with an exiled Transylvanian nobleman, Gabriel Bethlen, and sent troops to invade the principality in August 1613. Transylvania was unable to resist and the Diet dethroned Gabriel. He was murdered by Hajdú assassins. (Full article...)
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Miniature portrait in a manuscript of George Pachymeres' Historia, early 14th century
It was also at this time that the focus of the Byzantine military shifted to the Balkans, against the Bulgarians, leaving the Anatolian frontier neglected. His successors could not compensate for this change of focus, and both the Arsenite schism and two civil wars which occurred from 1321–1328 and 1341–1347 undermined further efforts toward territorial consolidation and recovery, draining the empire's strength, economy, and resources. Regular conflict between Byzantine successor states such as Trebizond, Epirus, Bulgaria and Serbia resulted in permanent fragmentation of former Byzantine territory and opportunity for increasingly successful conquests of expansive territories by post-SeljukAnatolian beyliks, most notably that of Osman, later called the Ottoman Empire. (Full article...)
Al-Mustakfi was a younger son of Caliph al-Muktafi, and hence a rival to the line of Caliph al-Muqtadir that reigned in 908–944, a period during which the Abbasid Caliphate nearly collapsed, and caliphs became puppets at the hands of rival warlords. Al-Mustakfi himself was installed on the throne by Tuzun, a Turkish general who deposed and blinded the previous caliph, al-Muttaqi. In the power vacuum left after Tuzun's death in August 945, al-Mustakfi tried to regain some of his freedom of action, initiating anti-Shi'a measures, but the same vacuum allowed the Buyids to capture Baghdad. Al-Mustakfi was forced to recognize the Buyids as legitimate rulers and awarded them regnal titles, but was soon accused of plotting against them and deposed in January (or March) 946. He spent the final years of his life in prison. His son attempted to claim the caliphate in c. 968, but failed. (Full article...)
Tiberius (Medieval Greek: Τιβέριος, romanized: Tibérios) was Byzantine co-emperor from 659 to 681. He was the son of Constans II and Fausta, who was elevated in 659, before his father departed for Italy. After the death of Constans, Tiberius' brother Constantine IV, ascended the throne as senior emperor. Constantine attempted to have both Tiberius and Heraclius removed as co-emperors, which sparked a popular revolt, in 681. Constantine ended the revolt by promising to accede to the demands of the rebels, sending them home, but bringing their leaders into Constantinople. Once there, Constantine had them executed, then imprisoned Tiberius and Heraclius and had them mutilated, after which point they disappear from history. (Full article...)
Grand Prince Ferdinando died from syphilis in 1713, leaving his childless widow without purpose at the Tuscan court. Upon the return of the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, daughter of the then reigning, Cosimo III, thus Violante Beatrice's sister-in-law, the Dowager Grand Princess contemplated retiring to her brother's court at Munich; however, Gian Gastone convinced her to stay, and Cosimo III appointed her Governor of Siena, where she then resided. As Governor, she formally defined the boundaries, names and number of Sienese Contrade — akin to administrative divisions — in 1729. (Full article...)
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Marcus Agrippa Postumus (12 BC – AD 14), later named Agrippa Julius Caesar, was a grandson of Roman Emperor Augustus. He was the youngest child of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. Augustus initially considered Postumus as a potential successor and formally adopted him as his heir, before banishing Postumus from Rome in AD 6 on account of his ferocia ("beastly nature"). In effect, though not in law, the action cancelled his adoption and virtually assured Tiberius' emplacement as Augustus' sole heir. Postumus was ultimately executed by his own guards shortly after Augustus' death in AD 14.
15th-century portrait of Constantine, from the Mutinensis gr. 122 manuscript
Constantine Lekapenos or Lecapenus (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Λακαπηνός, translit.Kōnstantínos Lakapenós) was the third son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944), and co-emperor from 924 to 945. With his elder brother Stephen, he deposed Romanos I in December 944, but was overthrown and exiled by the legitimate emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959) a few weeks later. Constantine Lekapenos was exiled to the island of Samothrace, where he was killed while attempting to escape sometime between 946 and 948. (Full article...)
Abu Abdullah Muhammad VI ibn Ismail (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل, 1332 – 27 April 1362), also known by his Castilian nickname el Bermejo ("The Red One") and the regnal namesal-Ghālib bi 'llāh (Arabic: الغالب بالله, lit. 'Victor by the Grace of God') and al-Mutawakkil ʿalā 'llāh (Arabic: المتوكل على الله, lit. 'He who relies on God'), was the tenth Sultan of the Emirate of Granada. A member of the Nasrid dynasty, he ruled for a brief period between June or July 1360 and April 1362.
A second cousin and brother-in-law of both Muhammad V and Ismail II, he led a coup that deposed the former and enthroned the latter in August 1359. He increasingly held the power of government during Ismail's rule, and in June or July 1360 he had the new Sultan killed and took the throne to himself. Muslim chronicles portrayed him negatively, describing him as a tyrannical ruler with coarse manners. In October 1360, he allied himself with Peter IV of Aragon against Peter I of Castile in the War of the Two Peters, but had to face Castile alone when Aragon agreed to a separate peace in May 1361. Castile allied itself with Muhammad V who returned from exile in August. The war against this coalition began with partial successes for Muhammad VI, but from February 1362 onwards Peter I and Muhammad V won a string of major victories. On 13 April Muhammad VI fled Granada, allowing his rival to retake the throne. The desperate Muhammad VI then unexpectedly surrendered himself to Peter I in Seville. However, the Castilian king—still outraged at his previous alliance with Aragon—personally killed him with a lance on 27 April and sent his severed head to Granada. (Full article...)
Ptolemy I was the son of Arsinoe of Macedon by either her husband Lagus or Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander. However, the latter is unlikely and may be a myth fabricated to glorify the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Ptolemy was one of Alexander's most trusted companions and military officers. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Ptolemy retrieved his body as it was en route to be buried in Macedon, placing it in Memphis instead, where it was later moved to Alexandria in a new tomb. Afterwards he joined a coalition against Perdiccas, the royal regent over Philip III of Macedon. The latter invaded Egypt but was assassinated by his own officers in 320 BC, allowing Ptolemy I to consolidate his control over the country. After a series of wars between Alexander's successors, Ptolemy gained a claim to Judea in southern Syria, which was disputed with the Seleukid king Seleucus I. He also took control of Cyprus and Cyrenaica, the latter of which was placed under the control of Ptolemy's stepson Magas. Ptolemy also had the Library of Alexandria built. (Full article...)
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Sharaf ad-Din Isa ibn Muhanna at-Ta'i, better known as Isa ibn Muhanna (d. 1284/85), was an Arabemir (commander/prince) of the Al Fadl, a Bedouin dynasty that dominated the Syrian Desert and steppe during the 13th–15th centuries. He was appointed amir al-ʿarab (commander of the Bedouin) by the Mamluks after their conquest of Syria in 1260. Isa's father served the same post under the Ayyubids. His assignment gave him command over the nomadic Arab tribes of Syria and obliged him to provide auxiliary troops in times of war and guard the desert frontier from the Mongol Ilkhanate in Iraq. As part of his emirate, he was granted Salamiyah and Sarmin. He participated in numerous campaigns against the Mongol Ilkhanate on behalf of the Mamluks during Sultan Baybars' reign (1260–1277).
In 1279/80, Isa defected from Baybars' successor, Qalawun, and joined the rebellion of the Mamluk viceroy of Syria, Sunqur al-Ashqar. However, Isa dissuaded Sunqur from joining the Ilkhanids' army, and was dismissed from his post when Qalawun's forces suppressed the rebellion. Isa was reinstalled by 1280, and in the following year, played a decisive role as a commander in the Mamluk victory over the Ilkhanate at the Second Battle of Homs. After his death, Isa was succeeded by his son Muhanna, and throughout the 14th century, Isa's direct descendants held the office of amir al-ʿarab with occasional interruption. (Full article...)
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Burial site of Kaʻiminaʻauao, Kalakaua Crypt, Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum
Marcus (Greek: Μᾶρκος; died August 476) was the son of the Eastern Roman general and usurper Basiliscus and Zenonis. He was acclaimed caesar in 475 and later promoted to augustus, ruling as junior co-emperor to his father. When Zeno reoccupied Constantinople in late August 476, Marcus, with his parents, hid in a church. Zeno swore he would not spill their blood, and instead had them exiled to Limnae in Cappadocia, where they were then starved to death. (Full article...)
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands with her daughter and successor Princess Juliana, circa 1914. Wilhelmina was queen regnant from 1890 to 1948, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Outside the Netherlands she is primarily remembered for her role in the Second World War, in which she proved to be a great inspiration to the Dutch resistance, as well as a prominent leader of the Dutch government in exile. Juliana became queen regnant in 1948 after her mother's abdication and ruled until her own abdication in 1980, succeeded by her daughter, Beatrix.
Image 15British 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 22The 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 23Francisco Pizarro meets with the Inca emperor Atahualpa, 1532 (from Monarch)
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