Questions tagged [rulers]
The rulers tag has no usage guidance.
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What empire/state had the most unequal ratio between the number of the ruling elites (native ok, but foreign is better) vs the common populace?
As I study things like the Hyksos Period in Ancient Egypt, and Muslim rule in Iberia, it becomes apparent that a relatively small number of people can get to rule large swathes of (foreign) land and ...
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What is the significance of "Pharaoh" versus "King" in ancient Egypt?
On Wikipedia, I started from the page of Ramses II, who is described as a pharaoh, and kept clicking on the 'predecessor' link. Every predecessor was a pharaoh until I got to Ahmose I.
https://en....
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Is there any example of a monarch being presumed dead but returning after the heir ascended to the throne?
Has there ever been a monarch is incorrectly believed to be dead—perhaps disappeared for many months, incorrectly thought to have fallen in battle, etc—and after some waiting the heir ascends to the ...
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Which head of state had the most gaps in their rule?
Inspired by this question, which head of state in history has had the largest number of non-consecutive periods of rule? One answer on that question has given Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd as an ...
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Did ordinary people during Hatshepsut's reign know she was a woman?
Queen Hatshepsut is probably the most famous female ruler of Ancient Egypt after Cleopatra.
Officially, she ruled jointly with Thutmose III, who had ascended to the throne the previous year as a ...
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Inviting rulers vs taking power [closed]
Throughout the history of mankind it has been common to fight for power (as opposed to being invited to rule). Whenever the "who shall rule?" question pops up, the answer has been mostly either given ...
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Was there ever a series of leaders who passed their positions to the most capable candidate?
There're been many kings and emperors in history that passed their thrones to their children. Often this doesn't work well because although the king can be very capable, the child may not be. I'm ...
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Have there been ruthless rulers who held on to power despite being blinded?
Louis the Blind (c. 880 – 928) was blinded in 905, continued to rule Provence for over twenty years, but his cousin Hugh, Count of Arles, was the dominant figure in the territory.
John the Blind (...
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Who was the first female ruler to be given the suffix, "the great"?
Down through the ages exceptional elite leaders have been referred to with the suffix, the great. Cyrus the Great of Persia, Alexander the Great of Macedonia, and perhaps Alaric the Great of the ...
user27618
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What is the most number of times someone has become leader of a European country?
Among monarchs, Henry VI (1422 to 1461, 1470 to 1471) and Edward IV (1461 to 1470, 1471 to 1483) both ruled England on two separate occasions. Hethum II of Armenia went one better, ruling three ...
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Has an heir ever made the country believe the current ruler died in order to take over the throne?
Before the invention of the semaphore and the telegraph, a message couldn't travel faster than the speed of a horse (or maybe a messenger pigeon or something along those lines - still pretty slow).
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What is the highest number of brothers who became ruler of the same country?
While researching the Danish monarchy for another question on this site (the life expectancy of a Medieval European monarch), I came across the five sons of King Sweyn II who all became kings of ...
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Why did Henry I imprison his older brother and rival Robert for almost 30 years instead of having him killed?
Keeping relatives who were rivals locked up was often seen as too risky – even if these relatives didn’t manage to escape, they could easily become focal points for rebellion. The English Kings John, ...
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Why was the Mughal Empire Persian oriented?
I have read that Mughals were used to Persian traditions. They used Persian language as the language of administration under their rule. I have also read that they were the descendants of both Timur, ...
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Did Queen Victoria become more flexible during later years? [closed]
I came across a English exam practice question that basically says Queen Victoria was initially very stubborn but became more flexible during her later years (on formal matters such as the state, ...
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Who is the oldest ruler whose remains can be positively identified?
I realize this question can be quite controversial since "positive identification" is rather subjective especially with regards to ancient history. Regardless, I am curious to know which ancient ...
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Dictators who came back through elections?
Were there any dictators1 who, after being toppled by a revolution or the like, managed to get back to power via what is (or was considered by the norms applied at the time) free and transparent2 ...
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Was there public resistance to Queen Hatshepsut's reign in ancient Egypt?
Queen Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh over ancient Egypt from 1479-1458 BC. From what I can tell, she was a highly successful pharaoh, both in wartime activities early on in her reign and later in ...
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Who was the first woman ruler?
I've found that speaking of the first woman ruler in history, most common materials (like Wikipedia or Britannica) point at the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut, living in the 16th century BCE. As a source ...
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What was the role of Indian princes and aristocratic landowners under British colonial rule?
I am currently reading Ludwig von Mises' Human Action and find it rewarding in various ways. For instance, von Mises points out the following about volunteers' roles even around autocratic rulers:
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Absolute rulers who voluntarily resigned their power [closed]
I am looking for examples of absolute rulers who voluntarily resigned their power. To get the ball going, here are two from Roman history:
Sulla
Diocletian.
Chandragupta Maurya
Jigme Singye Wangchuk
...
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