A succession crisis is a
crisis that arises when an
order of succession fails, for example when a king dies without an indisputable heir. It may result in a
war of succession.
Examples include (see
List of wars of succession):
*Multiple periods during the history of the Roman Empire:
**
Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD)
**
Year of the Five Emperors (193 AD)
**
Year of the Six Emperors (238 AD)
*
Bolesław I's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis
*
1383–1385 Crisis, the 1383–1385 succession crisis over the throne of Portugal
*
Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, 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. She ...
*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 dyn ...
in Russia
*The
succession of Henry IV of France, 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 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 &
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