Royalty & Dynasties

Hereditary rule was the standard arrangement for most of recorded history in most of the world, and its logic explains a great deal of what looks arbitrary in the historical record. This category covers the major dynasties across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the titles and what they signified, and the succession rules that caused as many wars as they prevented. It stretches from the pharaohs to surviving constitutional monarchies. The explanations describe how power actually passed and what a title obliged its holder to do, which varied enormously by place and period.