royal dynasty
Throne-inheriting family line
A royal dynasty is a succession of rulers from the same family line, where power passes through generations by hereditary right.
The term emphasizes continuity of bloodline: the Tudor dynasty, the Romanov dynasty.
Dynasties may span centuries and define entire historical eras.
A dynasty's reign typically ends when the family line dies out or is overthrown.
- palaceMonarch's official residence
- court politicsPower struggles around rulers
- power struggleContest for dominance
- hereditary monarchyKingship through family descent
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
medieval monarchy · primogeniture · regency · family tree · heir apparent · divine right · throne · king and queen · succession disputes · Romanov · kingdom · Plantagenet · bloodline · blue blood · noble birth · coronation ceremony · feudal system · heir
- JordanAmman, Petra, Dead Sea, Hashemite, Jordan River
- Serbian HistorySerbia, Belgrade
- Burundi historyHutu, Tutsi, coups, ethnic conflict, ethnic violence
- Khmer RoyaltyJayavarman VII
- Romanian RoyaltyQueen Anne, monarch
- SeleucidsSyria, Antioch
royal dynastydemocracy
Rule by the people
republic · elected officials · democratic republic · representative government · meritocracy
royal dynastycommoners
Ordinary citizens, untitled
peasantry · the masses · working class · proletariat · plebeians
royal dynastyusurper
Illegal power seizer
interregnum · provisional government · caretaker government · transitional government · power vacuum