Princely rebellion
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Aprincely rebellionorprincely revoltis anintrastatearmed conflictby aprince(orprincess) against a reigningmonarchof his (or her) own family, the rulingdynasty.A prince may rebel against a well-established monarch (usually his father, brother, or uncle, or sometimes mother) in order to seize the throne for himself immediately (either because he is impatient to wait for the current monarch todieorabdicate,or wants to prevent potential rivals from acceding first), to ensure hissupposed right to sit on the throne in the future,or to secure other rights, privileges or interests such asappanages,alliances or sources of revenue that the monarch allegedly encroached upon, or failed to deliver or guarantee.[1]
Likewars of succession,princely rebellions were a common type of war in human history, but have seldom occurred after 1900 due to the disappearance ofabsolute monarchies.[2][3]
Terminology
[edit]Princely rebellions or revolts may also be described with ambiguous terms such as 'dynastic struggles/conflicts' or 'succession struggles/conflicts/disputes', but they aren't always synonymous. Although these terms are sometimes used interchangeably withwars of succession,princely rebellions are not (necessarily) caused bysuccession crises,but directed against well-established monarchs which are commonly recognised aslegitimate.[note 1]Scholars sometimes disagree which term fits a certain conflict best, for example the1657–1661 Mughal dynastic conflict,which consisted of several subconflicts, phases, and factions.[note 2]Both types of conflict could have the same causes, however, such as the creation ofcollateral dynastic branches,which stimulated wars of succession upon a monarch's death, as well as princely revolts bycadetsand cousins while they were still alive.[4]
Princely revolts are also to be distinguished from broadernobles'rebellions (such asThe Fronde,theSecond Barons' War,theRevolt of the Three Feudatories,or the1626 rebellion by Mughal nobleman Mahabat Khan), which may involve participants from (only) otheraristocratic families.[5]
Africa
[edit]Egypt
[edit]- Ptolemaic war(132–124 BCE), betweenCleopatra IIandPtolemy VIII Physconover the rightful succession ofPtolemy VI Philometor.[citation needed]
Libya
[edit]- 1817, 1826, and July 1832–1835:Mehmed Karamanli's rebellionsagainst the beyYusuf Karamanliof Tripoli. Yusuf abdicated in favour of his son Ali II Karamanli in August 1832. This transfer of power did not appease unrest, and Mehmed Karamanli continued to claim the throne for himself with support of various tribes who revolted due to Yusuf's recent tax increase.[6]
Nigeria
[edit]- 1845–1851: Lagos succession dispute.Kosokoagainst his nephew obaAkitoyeof Lagos, who had been enthroned in 1841. It started with the Ogun Olomiro (Salt Water War) of July 1845, which brought Kosoko into power, and ended with the British-backed Akitoye returning with theReduction of Lagosin 1851.[7]
Asia
[edit]Burmese Empire
[edit]- February 1782: princely rebellion against kingSingu Minof theKonbaung dynasty,in which Singu was killed,Phaungkaza Maung Maungseized the throne for seven days, beforeBodawpayakilled him as well and replaced him.[8]
Chinese Empire
[edit]Some examples include:
- 657–651 BCE: TheLi Ji Unrestor Rebellion was a series of destabilising events in the ancient Chinese state ofJine,wrought byDuke Xian of Jin's concubineLi Ji,who sought (and briefly succeeded) in discrediting many princes of the ducal family, in order to put her own sonXiqion the Jin throne.[citation needed]
- 635 BCE: Prince Dai ofEastern Zhou's rebellion against his brother,King Xiang of Zhou,who managed to keep his throne with the assistance of the state of Jin.[citation needed]
- 154 BCE:Rebellion of the Seven Statesby princes of theWestern Han dynasty.[citation needed]
- 91 BCE: Rebellion ofLiu Ju.[citation needed]
- 1510:Prince of Anhua rebellionbyZhu Zhifan.[citation needed]
- 1519:Prince of Ning rebellionbyZhu Chenhao.[citation needed]
Indonesia
[edit]- 1619: Kuti rebellion againstJayanegaraofMajapahit..[citation needed]
- 1674–1681:Trunajaya rebellionby theMadureseprinceTrunajayaagainstAmangkurat Iof theMataram Sultanate.With the latter's ousting and death in 1677, it also became a war of succession betweenAmangkurat IIand his brotherPrince Puger(who became Trunajaya's co-belligerent).[9]
Israelite kingdom
[edit]- (historicity contested) c. 1000 BCEAbsalom'srevolt at Hebronaccording to2 Samuel.[citation needed]
Mughal Empire
[edit]Dynamics
[edit]
In theMughal Empire(1526–1857), anIslamicdynasty in theIndian subcontinent,princely rebellions revolved around the tensions between the expected solemn loyalty to the supposed absolute authority of the emperor and the imperial court on the one hand, which rejected the very idea of rebellion as unacceptable disobedience, and the alleged patrimonial rights violations, imperial malice and unfair dealings by the emperor towards the princes, against which efforts to justify and conduct princely revolts were made.[11]According to Faruqui (2012), there were 'seven significant princely rebellions' from 1526 to 1707,[11]five of which took place during 'the high period of Mughal rule (1585–1680s)'.[11]From 1556 to 1606, these focused especially on the entitlement of princes toappanages(a province of the empire to govern personally as a semi-independent kingdom), and their right to rebel if the emperor broke his supposed promise of granting appanages to princes, as this was 'imperial encroachment on their territory'. However, the Mughal emperors managed to centralise and increase their powers by abolishing the system, and successfully crushed all princely rebellions (the last in 1606 byKhusrau Mirzaagainst his father, emperorJahangir) against its abolition.[5]The focus of princely revolts thereafter shifted towards the princes' entitlement to an equal claim upon the imperial throne and the realm's entire territory after the monarch's death.[12]This meant that the princes opposed the designation of an heir, let alone any fixation of the order of succession, and would wage war against the emperor whenever they felt that this entitlement was being undermined in some way.[12]
Major princely rebellions
[edit]- 1540–1552 rebellion:Kamran Mirzaagainst his brother, emperorHumayun,over the imperial throne and Kamran's appanage ofKabul.[13]
- 1561–1566 (and 1581–1582) rebellion:Mirza Muhammad Hakimagainst his brother, emperorAkbar,over the imperial throne and Hakim's appanage ofKabul.[10]
- 1599–1604 rebellion:Salim (later Jahangir)against his father, emperorAkbar,over Salim's appanage ofAllahabad.[14]
- 1606 rebellion:Khusrau Mirzaagainst his father, emperorJahangir,for breaking his promise to grant Khusrau the governorship ofBengal.[15]
- 1622–1627 rebellion:Khurram (later Shah Jahan)against his father, emperorJahangir,over his right to imperial succession in the face ofShahryar Mirzapossibly becoming the designated heir.[13]
- 1659 rebellion:Muhammad Sultanagainst his fatherAurangzeb.[note 2]
- 1681 rebellion:Muhammad Akbaragainst his father, emperorAurangzeb.[10]
Although all Mughal emperors faced opposition by princes and often princely rebellions, none of the major rebellions succeeded, and no emperor was ever killed by a prince.[10]
Historiography
[edit]According to Faruqui (2012),official court chroniclersshowed a strong tendency to engage in what he termed 'post-rebellion apologetics', in an effort to downplay the seriousness of dynastic conflicts to the harmony within the royal family, the impact on the political and socio-economic stability of the empire, and to minimise or deflect the blame away from the main players in order to exonerate them. In attempts to restore the sense of quasi-infallibility of the emperor, and the princely loyalty to him, blame is placed on the bad or malicious influences of advisers and allies around the princes and the emperor. It was, after all, only everotherpeople who deceived and manipulated the 'young and impressionable' prince, led him astray, and forced him to reluctantly rebel against his own father, the wise and mighty emperor who represented the cosmic order. On the other hand, the ill advice of unfaithful courtiers are to be held responsible for the emperor's failure to prevent the rebellion, with the emperor's inexperience or 'simple nature' (in the case ofAkbar) providing further mitigating circumstances.[16]
Even linguistically, the official chronicles took care to avoid controversial words likefitna( "internal/civil war", "intra-Muslim war/strife" ), preferring insteadmukhalafat( "opposition" ),fasad( "mischief/corruption" ), andshorish( "rebellion/revolt" ), and thus be lenient in their criticism of princely-imperial conflicts.[5]No such care was taken when describing noble-led rebellions, however, such as the1626 failed rebellion by nobleman Mahabat Khan,which is frequently labelled afitnaand other more incendiary and powerfully negative terms of condemnation in order to stress how completely unacceptable such heretical disobedience to the emperor supposedly was. By contrast, princely rebellions were tacitly permitted as a justifiable option of last resort in certain situations.[17]
Empire of Trebizond
[edit]- 1284–1285: rebellions againstJohn II of Trebizond,whose early reign was unstable, having gained the throne after his brother emperorGeorge of Trebizondwas betrayed and overthrown in 1280, the 1281 Papadopoulos revolt against John II, and theSiege of Trebizond (1282)byDavid VI of Georgiawhile John was getting married in Constantinople.
- 1284: unsuccessful rebellion by John's brother, the former emperorGeorge.
- 1284–1285: successful rebellion by John's half-sister,Theodora of Trebizond(enthroned with the help ofDavid VI of Georgia), who reigned as empress for several months, while John probably took refuge inTripolis.John II managed to reassert his reign some time in 1285.
Europe
[edit]Byzantine Empire
[edit]- Byzantine civil war of 1373–1379,which began as a rebellion of crown princeAndronikos IV Palaiologosagainst his father emperorJohn V Palaiologosof theByzantine Empire.Andronikos managed to capture and imprison his father and ascend to the throne (1376), but John managed to escape and re-establish his reign (1379).[citation needed]
England
[edit]- Revolt of 1173–1174.Rebellion of princesHenry the Young King,Richard, Duke of AquitaineandGeoffrey, Duke of Brittanywith their mother, queenEleanor of Aquitaine,against their father kingHenry II of England
- Despenser War(1321–22). A baronial revolt againstEdward II of Englandled by theMarcher LordsRoger MortimerandHumphrey de Bohun.The rebellion was fuelled by opposition toHugh Despenser the Younger,theroyal favourite.[citation needed]
- Epiphany Rising(1400), a rebellion against kingHenry IV of Englandby noblemen loyal toRichard II of Englandwho had been deposed in June 1399.[citation needed]
Francia and Kingdom of France
[edit]- c. 560:Chramagainst his fatherChlothar I.[citation needed]
- 1465:War of the Public Weal,a rebellion of French princes against kingLouis XI.[18]
Holy Roman Empire
[edit]- 1459, 1465–1468, 1471–1473: rebellion ofAdolf, Duke of Gueldersagainst his fatherArnold, Duke of Guelders.The war ended with Arnold selling his ducal rights to dukeCharles the Boldof Burgundy, who imprisoned Adolf and conquered Guelders in March 1473.
Kievan Rus'
[edit]- Rebellion ofMstislav of Chernigov(1024–1026). In the aftermath of theKievan succession crisis of 1015–1019following the death ofVolodimer I of Kiev,Yaroslav the Wisegained the throne of Kiev and consolidated his power. A few years later, one of his other brothers, princeMstislav of Chernigov,rebelled and tried to seize Kiev in Yaroslav's absence, but failed. Yaroslav then attacked, but was defeated at theBattle of Listven.Two years later, the brothers agreed to divideKievan Rus'along theDnipro.[19]
- Rebellion ofVseslav of Polotsk(1065–1069). This conflict began when princeVseslav of Polotskclaimedagnatic seniorityover grand princeIziaslav Yaroslavichof Kiev. Due to theKiev uprising of 1068,he briefly secured the throne.[20][21]
- Chernihiv internecine war (1226),betweenMichael of Chernihivand Oleh of Kursk. Although the war was evidently about who would succeedMstislav II Svyatoslavich(who was killed in theBattle of the Kalka Riverin 1223) as prince of Chernihiv, it took place three years after his death, suggesting that Michael was already well-established as prince before Oleh revolted against his rule. Oleh attempted to change the decisions made at the 1206Chernihiv Congress.[citation needed]
Lithuania
[edit]- Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384):broke out whenAlgirdas' brotherKęstutisrebelled against Algirdas' sonJogailaand claimed the throne for himself while Jogaila was besieging Algirdas' other sonAndreiatPolotsk.Jogaila and Andrei were half-brothers, already fighting a war over the succession of their father Algirdas since 1377; Kęstutis had initially recognised Jogaila, and had supported him in his conflict against Andrei.
- Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392):Kęstutis' sonVytautasrebelled againstJogailaand his sonSkirgaila.[citation needed]
Portugal
[edit]- 1640–1668:Portuguese Restoration War.Rebellion of theForty Conspiratorsled by theDuke of Braganza,John IV,againstPhilip III of Portugal.John's grandfatherJoão I, Duke of Braganzain 1565 marriedCatherine,granddaughter ofManuel I of Portugal.Philip III's grandfather wasPhilip II of Spain(Habsburg), grandson of Manuel I of Portugal. During theWar of the Portuguese Succession(1580–1583), cousins Catherine and Philip II both claimed the Portuguese throne, and the latter won, acceding as "Philip I of Portugal". Thus theHouse of Habsburgbecame theruling dynastyof Portugal. The Portuguese Restoration War essentially continued the dynastic conflict fought between the intertwined houses of Braganza and Habsburg two generations earlier, but this time Braganza won.[22]
Serbia
[edit]- 1331:Stefan Dušan's rebellionagainst his father, kingStefan Dečanskiofmedieval Serbia.[citation needed]
Sweden
[edit]- 1304–1318: Civil disorder. Rebellions ofEricandValdemar Magnussonand against their brother, kingBirger of Swedenand his regent and protectorTorkel Knutsson.[23]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^The monarch doesn't have to be widely popular at the start of the princely rebellion, but theirlegitimacyneeds to be broadly recognised. If their legitimacy is commonly questioned if they recently began their reign, however, the situation is commonly described as asuccession crisisin which the monarch has acceded to the throne, or is trying to, without broad support. If a prince starts a war against this newly acceded/acceding monarch, it is more aptly described as a 'war of succession' than as a 'princely rebellion', because the word 'rebellion' implies that the current monarch enjoys broadly supported legitimacy and the prince does not (yet), and because the war is motivated by challenging the acceding monarch's very right to rule itself rather than securing the prince's interests during the remainder of that monarch's rule.
- ^abFaruqui (2012) decided 'not to count the conflict between Aurangzeb and his brothers (1657–9) as a rebellion. This is an arguable choice since the conflict started out as a rebellion against Shah Jahan but then morphed into a succession struggle once Shah Jahan had been forced to abdicate his throne in the summer of 1658.' He regarded it as a 'war of succession', while noting that S. M. Azizuddin Husain (2002) did characterise it as a 'rebellion'.[10]
References
[edit]- ^Faruqui 2012,p. 186–189.
- ^Holsti 1991,p. 308.
- ^Braumoeller 2019,p. 160–163.
- ^Sandberg 2016,p. 179.
- ^abcFaruqui 2012,p. 189–190.
- ^Lea, David; Rowe, Annamarie (2003).A Political Chronology of Africa.Abingdon: Routledge. p. 239.ISBN9781135356668.Retrieved7 April2022.
- ^Flint 1975,p. 216.
- ^Ooi 2004,p. 735.
- ^Ooi 2004,p. 692–693.
- ^abcdeFaruqui 2012,p. 182.
- ^abcFaruqui 2012,p. 189.
- ^abFaruqui 2012,p. 190.
- ^abFaruqui 2012,p. 182, 187.
- ^Faruqui 2012,p. 182, 186.
- ^Faruqui 2012,p. 182, 189.
- ^Faruqui 2012,p. 187–188.
- ^Faruqui 2012,p. 190–191.
- ^David-Chapy, Aubrée (2022).Anne de France: Gouverner au féminin à la Renaissance(in French). Paris: Humensis. p. 21.ISBN9782379332784.Retrieved6 December2022.
Bien qu'issu d'une lignée relativement fidèle au pouvoir royal, Pierre participe néanmoins, comme ses frères, à la guerre du Bien public, rébellion princière dirigée contre Louis XI en 1465. ( "Although he came from a line that was relatively loyal to the royal power, Pierre, like his brothers, took part in the War of the Public Good, a princely rebellion against Louis XI in 1465." )
- ^Martin 2007,p. 26.
- ^Martin 1995,p. 28–29.
- ^Martin 2007,p. 31.
- ^Upton, Anthony F. (2001)."3. Politics: Protest, rebellion, revolution: a mid-century crisis?".The Seventeenth Century: Europe 1598–1715.Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 88–90.ISBN9780198731689.Retrieved30 September2021.
- ^(Appendix) Kokkonen & Sundell 2017,p. 23.
Bibliography
[edit]- Braumoeller, Bear F. (2019).Only the Dead: The Persistence of War in the Modern Age.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 288.ISBN9780190849542.
- Faruqui, Munis D. (2012).The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 181–234.ISBN9781139536752.Retrieved13 April2022.doi:10.1017/CBO9781139135474.009
- Flint, John E. (1975).The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 5. From c. 1790 to c. 1870.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521207010.Retrieved4 August2022.
- Holsti, Kalevi (1991).Peace and War: Armed Conflicts and International Order, 1648–1989.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 379.ISBN9780521399296.
- (Appendix) Kokkonen, Andrej; Sundell, Anders (September 2017).Online supplementary appendix for "The King is Dead: Political Succession and War in Europe, 1000–1799"(PDF).Gothenburg: University of Gothenburg. p. 40.Retrieved22 March2022.
- Ooi, Keat Gin (2004).Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor.ABC-CLIO. p. 1791.ISBN9781576077702.Retrieved16 February2022.
- Martin, Janet (1995).Medieval Russia, 980–1584.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 450.ISBN9780521368322.Retrieved22 August2022.
- Martin, Janet (2007).Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-511-36800-4.
- Sandberg, Brian (2016).War and Conflict in the Early Modern World: 1500–1700.Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 284.ISBN9781509503025.Retrieved7 April2022.
