200px|thumb|right|[[Tutankhamun was a member of the
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt.]]
A
dynasty is a succession of people belonging to the same family, who, through various means and forms maintain
power,
influence or
authority over the course of generations. Most commonly the term is used specifically in reference to
royal houses and
imperial dynasties — their authority manifests itself as the
sovereign of a state or territory. Usually in much of the world, such dynasties and
noble houses are defined
patrilineally, with
inheritance and
kinship being predominantly viewed and legally calculated through descent from a common ancestor in the
male line. The female line is normally only considered once the male lineage has died out. Other forms of dynasties include
political families in
republics and also with the rise of
mercantilism prominent business and
financial dynasties. These do not carry the public prestige of a monarch but are influential.
Dynasts
A ruler in a dynasty is sometimes referred to as a
dynast, but this term is also used to describe any member of a reigning family who retains
succession rights to a throne. For example, following his abdication,
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a
dynastic member of the
House of Windsor.
A "dynastic
marriage" is one that complies with monarchical
house law restrictions, so that the descendants are eligible to inherit the throne and/or other
royal privileges. For instance, the 2002 marriage of
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange to
Máxima Zorreguieta was dynastic, and their
eldest child is expected to eventually inherit the
Dutch crown. But the marriage of his younger brother
Prince Friso to
Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support and
parliamentary approval. Thus Friso forfeited his place in the
order of succession, lost his title as a
Prince of the Netherlands, and his children have no dynastic rights.
In historical and
monarchist references to formerly reigning families,
dynastic describes a family member who would have succession rights if the monarchy's rules were still in force. For example, after the 1914 assassinations of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his
morganatic wife
Sophie von Hohenberg, their son
Max was bypassed for the Austrian throne because he was not a
Habsburg dynast. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful
pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position.
The term "dynast" is sometimes used to refer to
agnatic descendants of a
realm's monarchs, and sometimes to those who hold succession rights through
cognatic royal descent. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people. For example,
David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, a nephew of
Queen Elizabeth II through her late sister,
Princess Margaret, is in the line of succession to the British crown, and in that sense is a British dynast. Yet he is not a
male-line member of the
royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor.
On the other hand, the German
aristocrat Ernst August, Prince of Hanover (born 1954), although a male-line descendant of
George III of the United Kingdom, is a remote descendant with no legal British titles and styles (although he is entitled to re-claim the once-
royal dukedom of
Cumberland). Yet he was born in the
line of succession to the British crown and is bound by the
Royal Marriages Act 1772. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained formal permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic
Princess Caroline of Monaco. But immediately upon marriage he forfeited his right to the British throne because the English
Act of Settlement 1701 dictates that dynasts married to a Roman Catholic are considered dead for the purpose of succession. However, the couple's daughter, Princess Alexandra of Hanover (born 1999), remains a legal dynast of both the United Kingdom and Monaco , not to mention her father's claim to dynasticity as
pretender to the former royal crown of
Hanover.
Dynasties by region
- Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC) (Several of the Dynasties in the Warring States were descended from the Zhou royal family)
[THE TIMES ATLAS OF WORLD HISTORY- THIRD EDITION, ISBN, 0-7230-0304-1]
- *State of Song (part of warring states) The rulers of the state of Song were descendants of the Shang royal family.
- *State of Yue (part of warring states) The kings of Yueh claimed descent from the royal family of the Xia dynasty.
- Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC) (The royal family of Qin ruled the State of Qin during warring states) (They also claimed descent from one of the Five emperors, Zhuanxu)
- *Minyue - same royal family as state of yueh- they fled when conquered by Chu and established Minyue, Min yue coexisted with the Warring states period, Qin, and Han dynasty until han conquered it.
- * Xin Dynasty (9 AD- 23) Xin dynasty inturepted the han dynasty, splitting it into east and west periods
- Three Kingdoms (220–265) (The emperor of Shu was a descandant of the Han Dynasty royal family)
- Northern Wei (controlled northern China to the Huai river) (386-534)
- Tang Dynasty (618–907) (The Tang Emperors were members of the Li family, descended from a ruler in the Southern and Northern Dynasties)
- Liao Dynasty (Khitan) (907-1125) (controlled the 16 prefectures)
- (1692-1701) Kings who do not belong to a particular dynasty.
- (1953-1953) Republic (President Muhammad Amin Didi).
- (1968-1978) Republic (President Ibrahim Nasir).
- (1978-2008) Republic (President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom).
Royal FamiliesBusiness HousesPolitical Dynasties in the Republic- The Aquino Revolutionary Dynasty (1874-Present)
- The Lacson Family (1857-Present)
- Hari Pun Chai dynasty (663-1293)
- Phra Roung dynasty (Sukhothai Empire) (1237-1438)
- Mangrai dynasty (1261- 1578)
- Eu Thong dynasty (1350-1370),(1388-1409)
- Suphanabhumi dynasty (1370-1350),(1409-1569)
- Phra Roung Dynasty (Ayuthaya Empire) (1569-1629)
- Prasart Thong dynasty (1629-1688)
- Bann Plu Luang dynasty (1688-1767)
- Thonburi dynasty (1767-1782)
- 8th dynasty (1044 - 1074)
- 9th dynasty (1074 - 1139)
- 10th dynasty (1139 - 1145)
- 11th dynasty (1145 - 1190)
- 12th dynasty (1190 - 1318)
- 13th dynasty (1318 - 1390)
- 14th dynasty (1390 - 1458)
- 15th dynasty (1458 - 1471)
- Dynasty of Po Saktiraidaputih (1695 - 1822)
- Krum's Dynasty (probably Dulo) (777 - 976/997)
- ** House of Bourbon-Vendome (1589-1792, 1814-1830)
- ** House of Bourbon-Orléans (1830-1848)
- Peláyez Dynasty (718-739)
- House of Lara (930-1032), counts
- House of Íñiguez (824-905)
- House of Champagne (1234-1305)
- House of Albret (1483-1572)
Before the unification of Castile and Aragon
After the unification of Castile and Aragon
The crown of the Kingdom of England and Ireland merged with that of the Kingdom of Scotland to form a personal union between England-Ireland and Scotland (the former a personal union itself)
Personal Union between Great Britain and Ireland (1707-1801)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1921)
Personal Union of the UK [of GB and NI] and several other Irish states (1921-1949)
UK [of GB and NI] (Without the personal union with Ireland) (1949-present)
Political families in Republics
Though in elected governments rule does not pass automatically by inheritance, political power often accrues to generations of related individuals even in Republics. Eminence,
Influence, familiarity,
tradition,
genetics, and even
nepotism may contribute to this phenomenon.
Family dictatorships are a slightly different concept, where political power passes within a family due to the overwhelming authority of the leader, rather than informal power accrued to the family.
Some political dynasties:
