Wikipedia

Dynasty

(Redirected from Ruling family)
This article is about the general concept of a line of rulers. For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Political dynasty.
"Ruling family" redirects here. For other uses, see Royal family.
"Royal house" redirects here. For royal residences and headquarters, see Palace and Royal household.

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,[1] usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.

Family photograph of the Imperial House of Japan, the world's oldest continuous royal dynasty since at least 539, with three generations (from left) Empress Michiko, Emperor Akihito, their son Emperor Naruhito and his consort Empress Masako, Prince Akishino and Princess Akishino, and behind them the children (2021)

Historians periodize the histories of many states and civilizations, such as Ancient Iran (3200–539 BC), Ancient Egypt (3100–30 BC), and Ancient and Imperial China (2070 BC – AD 1912), using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the term "dynasty" may be used to delimit the era during which a family reigned.

Before the 18th century, most dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as those that follow the Frankish Salic law. In polities where it was permitted, succession through a daughter usually established a new dynasty in her husband's family name. This has changed in all of Europe's remaining monarchies, where succession law and conventions have maintained dynastic names de jure through a female.

Dynastic politics has declined over time, owing to a decline in monarchy as a form of government, a rise in democracy, and a reduction within democracies of elected members from dynastic families.[2]

Terminology

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The word "dynasty" (from the Greek: δυναστεία, dynasteía "power", "lordship", from dynástes "ruler")[3] is sometimes used informally for people who are not rulers but are, for example, members of a family with influence and power in other areas, such as a series of successive owners of a major company, or any family with a legacy, such as a dynasty of poets or actors. It is also extended to unrelated people, such as major poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team.[1]

The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a "noble house",[4] which may be styled as "imperial", "royal", "princely", "ducal", "comital" or "baronial", depending upon the chief or present title borne by its members, but it is more often referred by adding the name afterwards, as in "House of Habsburg".

Definition

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The Spanish royal family of the House of Bourbon dates its roots to the Capetian dynasty of the 9th century, thus making it the oldest still reigning dynasty in Europe (photograph of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, the Princess of Asturias and her younger sister Infanta Sofía, in 2019)

A ruler from 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 a right to succeed to a throne. For example, King Edward VIII ceased to be a dynast of the House of Windsor following his abdication.

In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a "dynast" is a family member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchy's rules still in force. For example, after the 1914 assassinations of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his morganatic wife, their son Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg, was bypassed for the Austro-Hungarian throne because he was not a Habsburg dynast. Even after the abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Duke Maximilian 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 only to refer to agnatic descendants of a realm's monarchs, and sometimes to include 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, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, a nephew of Queen Elizabeth II, is in the line of succession to the British crown, making him a British dynast. On the other hand, since he is not a patrilineal member of the British royal family, he is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor.

Comparatively, the German aristocrat Prince Ernst August of Hanover, a male-line descendant of King George III, possesses no legal British name, titles or styles (although he is entitled to reclaim the former royal dukedom of Cumberland). He was born in the line of succession to the British throne and was bound by Britain's Royal Marriages Act 1772 until it was repealed when the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 took effect on 26 March 2015.[5] Thus, he requested and obtained formal permission from Queen Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco in 1999. Yet, a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time, stipulating that dynasts who marry Roman Catholics are considered "dead" for the purpose of succession to the British throne.[6] That exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts before triggering it by marriage to a Roman Catholic.[5]

Dynastic marriage

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Family portrait of Empress Maria Theresa of the Habsburg dynasty, surrounded by her children who were married into various European dynasties. Marriage policy amongst dynasties led to the Pax Austriaca.

A "dynastic marriage" is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, so that the descendants are eligible to inherit the throne or other royal privileges.[7] For example, the marriage of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, making their eldest child, Princess Catharina-Amalia, the heir apparent to the Crown of the Netherlands. The marriage of his younger brother, Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, in 2003 lacked government support and parliamentary approval. Thus, Prince Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession to the Dutch throne, and consequently lost his title as a "Prince of the Netherlands", and left his children without dynastic rights.

Empress Maria Theresa of the Habsburg dynasty had her children married into various European dynasties. Habsburg marriage policy amongst European dynasties led to the Pax Austriaca.

History

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Historians periodize the histories of many states and civilizations, such as Ancient Iran (3200–539 BC), Ancient Egypt (3100–30 BC) and Ancient and Imperial China (2070 BC – AD 1912), using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the term "dynasty" may be used to delimit the era during which a family reigned, and also to describe events, trends and artifacts of that period (e.g., "a Ming dynasty vase"). Until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty: that is, to expand the wealth and power of his family members.[8]

Before the 18th century, most dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as those that follow the Frankish Salic law. In polities where it was permitted, succession through a daughter usually established a new dynasty in her husband's family name. This has changed in all of Europe's remaining monarchies, where succession law and conventions have maintained dynastic names de jure through a female. For instance, the House of Windsor is maintained through the children of Queen Elizabeth II, as it did with the monarchy of the Netherlands, whose dynasty remained the House of Orange-Nassau through three successive queens regnant. The earliest such example among major European monarchies was in the Russian Empire in the 18th century, where the name of the House of Romanov was maintained through Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna. This also happened in the case of Queen Maria II of Portugal, who married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, but whose descendants remained members of the House of Braganza, per Portuguese law; in fact, since the 1800s, the only female monarch in Europe who had children belonging to a different house was Queen Victoria and that was due to disagreements over how to choose a non German house. In Limpopo Province of South Africa, Balobedu determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mother's dynasty when coming into her inheritance. Less frequently, a monarchy has alternated or been rotated, in a multi-dynastic (or polydynastic) system—that is, the most senior living members of parallel dynasties, at any point in time, constitute the line of succession.

Longevity

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King Tupou VI of Tonga and Queen Nanasipau'u, head of one of the oldest still ruling royal dynasties in the world, dating back to c. 950 CE of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire

Dynasties lasting at least 250 years include the following. Legendary lineages that cannot be historically confirmed are not included.

Era Dynasty Length of rule
400 BCE – 1618 Pandya 2,018 years (estimation)
c. 300 BCE – 1279 Chola 1,579 years (estimation)
c. 493 – present Imperial House of Japan 1,458 years
c. 5th century – 1947 Eastern Ganga dynasty 1,454 years (estimation)
c. 5th century – 1971 Guhila / Sisodia 1,371 years (estimation)
c. 730 – 1855 Bohkti 1,125 years (estimation)
c. 780 – 1812 Bagrationi 1,032 years (estimation)
c. 900 – 1930 Borjigid 1,030 years (estimation)
987 – present Capetian 1,037 years
57 BCE – 935 Silla 992 years (estimation)
c. 1700 – 722 BCE Adaside 978 years (estimation)
950s – present (title Tuʻi Tonga to 1865) Tonga 974 years (estimation)
c. 891 – 1846 Sayfawa 955 years (estimation)
665 – 1598 Baduspanids 933 years
1128 – 1971 Kachhwaha 843 years
1046 – 256 BCE Zhou 790 years
750 – 1258, 1261 – 1517 Abbasid 764 years
862 – 1598 Rurikid 736 years
1243 – 1971 Rathore 728 years
37 BCE – 668 Goguryeo 705 years
1270 – 1975 Solomon 705 years
651 – 1349 Bavand dynasty 698 years
18 BCE – 660 Baekje 678 years
1360s – present Bolkiah 664 years (estimation)
1278 – 1914 Habsburg 636 years
1299 – 1922 Ottoman 623 years
543 BCE – 66 Vijaya 608 years
1228 – 1826 Ahom 598 years
1600 BCE – 1046 BCE or 1766 BCE – 1122 BCE Shang 554 years or 644 years
1392 – 1910 Joseon and Korean Empire 518 years
1370 – 1857 Timurid 487 years
918 – 1392 Goryeo 474 years
247 BCE – 224 Arsacid 471 years
1154 – 1624 Nabhani 470 years
202 BCE – 9, 25 – 220 Han and Shu Han 448 years
858 – 1301 Árpád 443 years
1586 – present Mataram 438 years (estimation)
224 – 651 Sassanian 427 years
1010 BCE – 586 BCE Davidic 424 years
220 – 638 Jafnid 418 years
960 – 1370 Piast 410 years
730 – 330 BCE Achaemenid 400 years
1220 – 1597 Siri Sanga Bo 377 years
661 – 750, 756 – 1031 Umayyad 364 years
1271 – 1635 Yuan and Northern Yuan 364 years
1057 – 1059, 1081 – 1185, 1204 – 1461 Komnenos 363 years
1428 – 1527, 1533 – 1789 Later Lê (Primitive and Revival Lê) 355 years
1047 – 1375, 1387 – 1412 Estridsen 353 years
c. 653 – 309 BCE Argead 344 years
1371 – 1651, 1660 – 1714 Stuart 334 years
1154 – 1485 Plantagenet 330 years
905 – 1234 Jiménez 329 years
1699 – present Bendahara 325 years (estimation)
960 – 279 Song 319 years
1613 – 1917 Romanov 304 years
300 BCE – 602 Lakhmid 302 years
916 – 1218 Liao and Western Liao 302 years
1616 – 1912 Later Jin and Qing 296 years
1368 – 1662 Ming and Southern Ming 294 years
305 BCE – 30 BCE Ptolemaic 275 years
618 – 690, 705 – 907 Tang 274 years
909 – 1171 Fatimid 262 years
1230 – 1492 Nasrid 262 years
1550 BCE – 1292 BCE Thutmosid 258 years
1034 – 1286 Dunkeld 252 years


Extant sovereign dynasties

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For non-sovereign dynasties currently ruling subnational monarchies, see Non-sovereign monarchy and List of current constituent monarchs.

There are 43 sovereign states with a monarch as head of state, of which 41 are ruled by dynasties.[a] There are currently 26 sovereign dynasties.

Dynasty Realm Reigning monarch Dynastic founder[b] Dynastic place of origin[c]
House of Windsor[d][e]   Antigua and Barbuda King Charles III King-Emperor George V[f] Thuringia and Bavaria
(in modern Germany)
  Commonwealth of Australia[g]
  Bahamas
  Belize
  Canada
  Grenada
  Jamaica
  New Zealand[h]
  Papua New Guinea
  Saint Kitts and Nevis
  Saint Lucia
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  Solomon Islands
  Tuvalu
  United Kingdom[i]
House of Khalifa   Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed Najd
(in modern Saudi Arabia)
House of Belgium[j]   Belgium King Philippe King Albert I[k] Thuringia and Bavaria
(in modern Germany)
Wangchuck dynasty   Bhutan Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck Trongsa, Bhutan
House of Bolkiah   Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Sultan Muhammad Shah Tarim in Hadhramaut[l]
(in modern Yemen)
House of Norodom[m]   Cambodia King Norodom Sihamoni King Norodom Prohmbarirak Cambodia
House of Glücksburg[n]   Denmark[o] King Frederik X Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Glücksburg
(in modern Germany)
  Norway King Harald V
House of Dlamini   Eswatini King Mswati III Chief Dlamini I East Africa
Imperial House of Japan[p]   Japan Emperor Naruhito Emperor Jimmu[q] Nara
(in modern Japan)
House of Hashim[r]   Jordan King Abdullah II King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi Hejaz
(in modern Saudi Arabia)
House of Sabah   Kuwait Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sheikh Sabah I bin Jaber Najd
(in modern Saudi Arabia)
House of Moshesh   Lesotho King Letsie III Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe I Lesotho
House of Liechtenstein   Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II Prince Karl I Lower Austria
(in modern Austria)
House of Luxembourg-Nassau[s]   Luxembourg Grand Duke Henri Grand Duke Adolphe Nassau
(in modern Germany)
House of Temenggong[t]   Malaysia[u] Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim III Temenggong Tun Abdul Jamal I Johor
(in modern Malaysia)
House of Grimaldi   Monaco Prince Albert II François Grimaldi Genoa
(in modern Italy)
'Alawi dynasty   Morocco King Mohammed VI Sultan Abul Amlak Sidi Muhammad as-Sharif ibn 'Ali Tafilalt
(in modern Morocco)
House of Orange-Nassau[v]   Netherlands[w] King Willem-Alexander Prince William I Nassau
(in modern Germany)
House of Busaid   Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Sultan Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi Oman
House of Thani   Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Thani bin Mohammed Najd
(in modern Saudi Arabia)
House of Saud   Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Emir Saud I Diriyah
(in modern Saudi Arabia)
House of Bourbon-Anjou[x]   Spain King Felipe VI King Philip V Bourbon-l'Archambault
(in modern France)
House of Bernadotte   Sweden King Carl XVI Gustaf King Charles XIV John Pau
(in modern France)
Chakri dynasty   Thailand King Vajiralongkorn King Rama I Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
(in modern Thailand)
House of Tupou   Tonga King Tupou VI King George Tupou I Tonga
House of Nahyan[y]   United Arab Emirates[z] President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa Al Nahyan Liwa Oasis
(in modern United Arab Emirates)

Political families

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Main articles: Political family and List of political families

Though in elected governments, rule does not pass automatically by inheritance, political power often accrues to generations of related individuals in the elected positions of republics and constitutional monarchies. Eminence, influence, tradition, genetics, and nepotism may contribute to the phenomenon.

Hereditary dictatorship

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See also: Absolute monarchy

Hereditary dictatorships are personalist dictatorships in which political power stays within a strongman's family due to the overwhelming authority of the strongman, rather than by the democratic consent of the people. The strongman typically fills government positions with their relatives. They may groom a successor during their own lifetime, or a member of their family may manoeuvrer to take control of the dictatorship after the strongman's death.

Current hereditary dictatorships
Dynasty Regime Current leader Dynastic founder Year founded[aa]
Gnassingbé family[9]   Togo Faure Gnassingbé Gnassingbé Eyadéma 1967
Aliyev family[10]   Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev Heydar Aliyev 1993
Hun family[11][12][13]   Cambodia Hun Manet Hun Sen 1985
Berdimuhamedow family[14]   Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow 2006
Kim family[15][16]   North Korea Kim Jong Un Kim Il Sung 1948
Déby family[17]  Chad Mahamat Déby Idriss Déby 1991
Former hereditary dictatorships
Dynasty Regime Dynastic founder Last ruler Year founded Year ended Length of rule
Duvalier dynasty   Haiti François Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier 1957 1986 29 years
Bongo family[18][verification needed]   Gabon Omar Bongo Ali Bongo 1967 2023 56 years
Assad family[19][20]   Syria Hafez al-Assad Bashar al-Assad 1971 2024 53 years

Influential wealthy families

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Main article: List of wealthiest families

See also

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Main article: Lists of dynasties

Notes

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  1. ^ Existing sovereign entities ruled by non-dynastic monarchs include:
  2. ^ The founder of a dynasty need not necessarily equate to the first monarch of a particular realm. For example, while William I was the dynastic founder of the House of Orange-Nassau which currently rules over the Kingdom of the Netherlands, he was never a monarch of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
  3. ^ Not to be confused with dynastic seat.
  4. ^ The House of Windsor is descended from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which is a branch of the House of Wettin. The dynastic name was changed from "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to "Windsor" in AD 1917.
  5. ^ A sovereign state with Charles III as its monarch and head of state is known as a Commonwealth realm.
  6. ^ George V was formerly a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha before AD 1917.
  7. ^ Including:
  8. ^ The Realm of New Zealand consists of:
  9. ^ Including: The crown dependencies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and the Isle of Man are neither part of the United Kingdom nor British overseas territories.
  10. ^ The House of Belgium is descended from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which is a branch of the House of Wettin. The dynastic name was changed from "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to "Belgium" in AD 1920.
  11. ^ Albert I was formerly a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha before AD 1920.
  12. ^ Claimed by the royal house, but the historicity is questionable.
  13. ^ The House of Norodom is a branch of the Varman dynasty.
  14. ^ The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg is a branch of the House of Oldenburg.
  15. ^ Including:
  16. ^ The Imperial House of Japan, or Kōshitsu (皇室), is the world's oldest continuous dynasty. The dynasty has produced an unbroken succession of Japanese monarchs since the legendary founding year of 660 BC.
  17. ^ Most historians regard Emperor Jimmu to have been a mythical ruler. Emperor Ōjin, traditionally considered the 15th emperor, is the first who is generally thought to have existed, while Emperor Kinmei, the 29th emperor according to traditional historiography, is the first monarch for whom verifiable regnal dates can be assigned.
  18. ^ The House of Hashim is descended from Banu Qatada, which was a branch of the House of Ali.
  19. ^ The House of Luxembourg-Nassau is descended from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, which is a branch of the House of Nassau and the House of Bourbon-Parma.
  20. ^ The Temenggong dynasty is the ruling dynasty of Johor and a cadet branch of the Bendahara dynasty. The Sultan of Johor is the reigning Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
  21. ^ The throne of Malaysia rotates among the nine constituent monarchies of Malaysia, each ruled by a dynasty. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected by the Conference of Rulers.
  22. ^ The House of Orange-Nassau is a branch of the House of Nassau. Additionally, Willem-Alexander is also linked to the House of Lippe through Beatrix of the Netherlands.
  23. ^ The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of:
  24. ^ The House of Bourbon-Anjou is a branch of the House of Bourbon.
  25. ^ The House of Nahyan is the ruling dynasty of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Emir of Abu Dhabi is the incumbent President of the United Arab Emirates.
  26. ^ The President of the United Arab Emirates is elected by the Federal Supreme Council. The office has been held by the Emir of Abu Dhabi since the formation of the United Arab Emirates in AD 1971.
  27. ^ Year authoritarian system began

References

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Look up dynasty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "dynasty, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897.
  2. ^ Van Coppennolle, Brenda; Smith, Daniel (2023). "Dynasties in Historical Political Economy" (PDF). The Oxford Handbook of Historical Political Economy. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  3. ^ Harper, Douglas. "dynasty". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "house, n.1 and int, 10. b." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2011.
  5. ^ a b Statement by Nick Clegg MP, UK parliament website Archived 5 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 26 March 2015 (retrieved on same date).
  6. ^ "Monaco royal taken seriously ill". BBC News. London. 8 April 2005. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  7. ^ "The Dynastic Marriage". ieg-ego.eu (in German). Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. ^ Thomson, David (1961). "The Institutions of Monarchy". Europe Since Napoleon. New York: Knopf. pp. 79–80. The basic idea of monarchy was the idea that hereditary right gave the best title to political power...The dangers of disputed succession were best avoided by hereditary succession: ruling families had a natural interest in passing on to their descendants enhanced power and prestige...Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, Maria Theresa of Austria, were alike infatuated with the idea of strengthening their power, centralizing government in their own hands as against local and feudal privileges, and so acquiring more absolute authority in the state. Moreover, the very dynastic rivalries and conflicts between these eighteenth-century monarchs drove them to look for ever more efficient methods of government
  9. ^ "Togo votes as Faure Gnassingbe seeks to extend dynasty's rule". Al Jazeera. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  10. ^ Balci, Bayram (14 October 2023). "Presidential Elections in Azerbaijan Fail to End the Aliyev's Dynastic and Autocratic Rule". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  11. ^ "What to expect from Cambodia's new 'dynastic' prime minister". Deutsche Welle. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  12. ^ Syed, Armani (26 July 2023). "What to Know About the Army Chief Who Will Be Cambodia's Next Leader". Time. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  13. ^ Hunt, Luke (23 August 2023). "Assessing Cambodia's New Political Leadership". The Diplomat. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  14. ^ Clement, Victoria (14 March 2023). "The Aura of Governance in Turkmenistan". The Diplomat. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  15. ^ Williamson, Lucy (27 December 2011). "Delving into North Korea's mystical cult of personality". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  16. ^ "North Korea - The Kim Dynasty". Deutsche Welle. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  17. ^ "Chad: Political Transition Ends with Déby's Election | Human Rights Watch". 13 May 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  18. ^ "Gabon's coup will worry regional autocrats". Emerald Expert Briefings. 30 August 2023. doi:10.1108/oxan-es281583. ISSN 2633-304X.
  19. ^ "The rise and fall of the Assad Dynasty". The Business Standard. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  20. ^ McCarthy, Simone (8 December 2024). "Who is Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader whose family ruled with an iron fist for more than 50 years?". CNN. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
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