This title has tables giving years of rule and family relationships (in the male line unless otherwise indicated) for the reigning families of the world, from Horus Aha, first pharoah of Egypt, to Abdallah, present king of Saudi Arabia. Included in the tables are data regarding regencies and co-regencies, abdications and depositions, interregna and dynastic unions, mandates and protectorates, canonizations and beatifications, and the end of monarchic rule through conquest or overthrow. Notes provide information on chronological problems and uncertainties, non-Western dating systems, and names and titles; bibliographies document the research and guide the reader to additional information.

Throughout history, royal dynasties have dominated countries and empires around the world. Kings, queens, emperors, chiefs, pharaohs, czars - whatever title they ruled by, monarchs have shaped institutions, rituals, and cultures in every time period and every corner of the globe. The concept of monarchy originated in prehistoric times and evolved over centuries right up to the present. Efforts to overthrow monarchies or evade their rule - such as the American, French, Chinese, and Russian revolutions - are considered turning points in world history. Even today, many countries retain their monarchies, although in vastly reduced form with little political power. One cannot understand human history and government without understanding monarchs and monarchies. This fully-illustrated encyclopedia provides the first complete survey of all the major rulers and ruling families of the world, past and present. No other reference work approaches the topic with the same sense of magnitude or connection to historical context. Arranged in A-Z format for ease of access, World Monarchies and Dynasties includes information on major monarchs and dynasties from ancient time to the present. This set: includes overviews of reigns and successions, genealogical charts, and dynastic timelines; addresses concepts, problems, and theories of monarchy; provides background and information for further research; highlights important places, structures, symbols, events, and legends related to particular monarchs and dynasties; includes a master bibliography and multiple indexes.

A vibrant and broad-ranging study of dynastic power in the late medieval and early modern world.

This handy little reference book, first published in hardback in 1989, has now been updated and is available for the first time as part of the Oxford Paperback Reference series. With guidance from a small number of expert scholars from a variety of academic fields (such as Egyptologists and scholars in Islamic history) John E. Morby has created this compact and useful reference book ideal for anyone needing highly accurate but accessible data on monarchs, reigning princes,and ruling families.Motivated by the lack of any book of this type on the market John E. Morby here has combined his interest in the subject with his own extensive research. Ranging from Horus Aha, the first ruler of the first dynasty of Ancient Egypt, to Muhammad VII, King of Morocco since 1999, the text is composedof clearly designed chronological tables which show not only the various kings, queens, emperors, and empresses who have ruled the countries of the world but also the regencies, joint reigns, abdications and depositions, interregna and foreign rule, mandates, protectorates and dynastic unions.Lineages follow each ruler''s name and are given in the male line (unless otherwise indicated) thus setting each reign in the historical context of that particular dynasty. The book charts the progress of rulers and ruling families through revolution and conquest, from autonomy to independence, andfrom independence back to autonomy. The tables are supplemented with notes providing further information on such issues as the problems of chronology and dating, non-western calendrical systems and early calendrical systems, and the meanings of certain monarchical titles throughout the world and throughout history. There are alsobibliographies at the end of each table to provide the reader with a guide to the principal sources used and point the way to possible further research.Examples of some of the rulers and dynasties included:The Ancient Near East: Ancient Egypt (Horus Aha to Senedjemibre Nectanebo II), Assyria (Sulili to Ashur-uballit II), The Kingdom of Lydia (Gyges to Croesus)The Hellenistic World: The Kingdom of Macedonia (Perdiccas I to Perseus), Bithynia and Pontus (Zipoites to Pharnaces II), The Parthian Empire (Arsaces I to Artabanus IV)The Roman and Byzantine Worlds: The Roman Empire (Augustus to Romulus Augustus), The Herodian Kingdoms (Herod the Great to Agrippa II), The Kingdom of Armenia (Ashot I the Great to Gurgen II), The Empire of Trebizond (Alexius I to David)The Barbarian West: The Visigothic Kingdom (Alaric I to Agila II), The Ostrogothic Kingdom (Theoderic the Great to Teias)The British Isles: The Kingdom of England (Egbert to Elizabeth II), The Principality of Wales (Merfyn the Freckled to David III)France: The Duchy of Brittany (Alan I Wrybeard to Anne), The Principality of Monaco (Lambert Grimaldi to Rainier III)The Low Countries: The County of Holland (Dirk I to Jacqueline), The County of Brabant (Godfrey I the Bearded to Philip of St Pol), The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg (Adolf to John)Italy: The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily (Robert Guiscard to Francis II), The Este in Ferrara and Modena (Azzo I to Francis V), The House of Savoy (Humbert I Whitehands to Humbert II)The Iberian Peninsula: The Kingdom of Aragon (Ramiro I to Ferdinand II the Catholic), The Kingdom of Portugal (Henry to Manuel II)The German-speaking States: The Holy Roman Empire (Charles I the Great to Francis II), The House of Hesse (Henry I the Child to Ernest Louis)Scandinavia: The Kingdom of Norway (Harald I Fairhair to Olav V)Eastern Europe: The Kingdom of Bohemia (Borivoj I to Ferdinand I), Medieval Serbia (Stephen Nemanja to Stephen Tomasevic)Russia: The Princedom of Kiev (Oleg to Gleb)Crusader States: The Kingdom of Jerusalem (Godfrey of Bouillon to Henry II), The Empire of Constantinople (Baldwin I to Baldwin II)Islamic Dynasties (except India): The Caliphate of Cordoba (''Abd al-Rahman I to Hisham III, al-Mu''tadd), The Kingdom of Granada (Muhammad I to Muhammad XII), The Seljuqid Dynasty (Toghril Beg to Toghril III)India: The Maurya Empire (Chandragupta Maurya to Brihadratha), The Delhi Sultanate (Aybak to Ibrahim II), The Mogul Empire (Babur to Bahadur Shah II)The Far East: China (Shih Huang Ti to Hsuan T''ung), Japan (Jimmu to Akihito), The Kingdom of Laos (Kingkitsarat to Savangvatthana)Africa: The Ethiopian Empire (Yekuno ''Amlak to Asfa Wossen), The Kingdom of Madagascar (Andriantsimitoviaminandriana to Ranavalona III)The New World: The Inca Empire (Manco Capac to Tupac Amaru), The Aztec Empire (Acamapichtli to Cuauhtemoc), The Kingdom of Hawaii (Kamehameha I to Liliuokalani)

This fully-illustrated encyclopedia provides the first complete survey of all the major rulers and ruling families of the world, past and present. No other reference work approaches the topic with the same sense of magnitude or connection to historical context.

A guide to the over 150 families that ruled the Classical world, from the 10th century BC to the 8th century AD, from western Europe to central Asia. Ancient Dynasties is a unique study of the ruling families of the ancient world known to the Greeks and Romans. The book is in two parts. The first offers analysis and discussion of various features of the ruling dynasties (including the leading families of republican Rome). It examines patterns, similarities and contrasts, categorizes types of dynasty and explores common themes such as how they were founded and maintained, the role of women, and the various reasons for their decline. The second part is a catalog of all the dynasties (over 150 of them) known to have existed between approximately 1000 BC and AD 750 from the Atlantic Ocean to Baktria (roughly modern Afghanistan). It provides genealogical tables as well as information on where and when they held power. Altogether, Ancient Dynasties offers an invaluable reference to ancient history buffs interested in the families that wielded power in the Classical world.