Succession crisis

A succession crisis is a

crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

that arises when an

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim the Order of succession, right of successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are typic ...

. Examples include (see List of wars of succession): *Multiple periods during the history of the Roman Empire: **

Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...

(69 AD) **

Year of the Five Emperors The Year of the Five Emperors was AD 193, in which five men claimed the title of Roman emperor: Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus. This year started a period of civil war when multiple rulers vie ...

(193 AD) **

Year of the Six Emperors The Year of the Six Emperors was the year AD 238, during which six men made claims to be Roman Emperor, emperors of Rome. This was an early symptom of what historians now call the Crisis of the Third Century, also known as Military Anarchy or t ...

(238 AD) *

Bolesław I's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis The intervention in the Kievan succession crisis of 1015–1019 by the Polish ruler Bolesław the Brave was an episode in the struggle between Sviatopolk I Vladimirovich ("the Accursed") and his brother Yaroslav ("the Wise") for the rulership ...

* 1383–1385 Crisis, the 1383–1385 succession crisis over the throne of Portugal *

Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 The Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 ( pt, Crise de sucessão de 1580) came about as a result of the deaths of young King Sebastian I of Portugal in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578 and his successor and great-uncle Henry I in 1580. As ...

, the 1580 succession crisis over the throne of Portugal *1558–1559, English succession crisis after the death of

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

*1598

Times of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

in Russia *The

succession of Henry IV of France Henry IV of France's succession to the throne in 1589 was followed by a four-year war of succession to establish his legitimacy, which was part of the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598). Henry IV inherited the throne after the assassination of ...

, which provoked persistent Catholic resistance with Spanish support and led to war with Spain in 1595 *

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

(1701–1714) over who would succeed Charles II of Spain *

Monaco succession crisis of 1918 The Monaco succession crisis of 1918 arose because France objected to the prospect of a German national inheriting the throne of the Principality of Monaco. Prince Albert I had only one legitimate child, the Hereditary Prince Louis, then heir a ...

, the 1918 succession crisis over the throne of Monaco *

Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints) The succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement occurred after the death of Joseph Smith, the movement's founder, on June 27, 1844. For roughly six months after Smith's death, several people competed to take over his role, the leading cont ...

, the 1844 leadership crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement after the death of Joseph Smith *The 1841 succession crisis in the United States following the

death of William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

, concerning whether his successor became President of the United States or merely assumed the powers of the office. *

A Game of Thrones ''A Game of Thrones'' is the first novel in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both ...

& Fire and Blood, novels that centre the plot around the repurcussions of kings dying and leaving disputable heirs. Both novels have been adapted to live-action series. {{SIA Political crisis Succession