Coregency

A coregency is the situation where a

regency where the monarch in most cases infant or incapacitated particularly has a senior above him and exercises no power whatsoever apart from legally holding the position of head of state

.

Andorra

Co-principality is a distinct but related system employed in contemporary Andorra, where monarchical power is formally divided between two rulers.^[1]

Historical examples

Coregencies were common in the

Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Castile, Philip I and Joanna of Castile, Peter III and Maria I of Portugal, etc.). In Navarre, the husbands of queens regnant were styled as co-rulers.^{[citation needed}

]

In Ancient Egypt, coregency was quite problematic as the Pharaoh was seen as the incarnation/representation of the god Horus. Therefore, according to the divine order Ma'at, only one King could exist at the same time. Yet, exceptions can be found, mainly in the Middle Kingdom, where the pharaoh occasionally appointed his successor (often one of his sons) as coregent, or joint king, to ensure a smooth succession. “This system was used, from at least as early as the Middle Kingdom, in order to ensure that the transfer of power took place with the minimum of disruption and instability”.^[3] Coregencies are highly probable for Amenemhat I > Senusret I > Amenemhat II > Senusret II.^[4] Most probably the real king in power was the older one (father) adopting the younger ruler (son), while the co-regent had to wait until after the death of the older one to really have access to full royal power. Yet, the years of reigns normally were counted from the beginning of the coregency on. Due to this and to the fragmentary character of known sources, the establishment of Egyptian chronology was quite complicated and remains disputed up to date. Yet, understanding the existence of co-regency reduced the chaos quite a lot.

The institution of coregency is different from that of vice-regency, where an adult person (in Ancient Egypt often the mother of the king) functions as

Maatkare. For later periods of Pharaonic Egyptian history, the existence of the institution of coregency has been put into question by Egyptologists,^[6] while, "the Ptolemaic and Roman period examples being the most securely identified".^[3]

Ancient Israel

In the book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings,

King Solomon occurred before the death of his father David

.

Britain

King Henry II of England installed his eldest surviving son, also named Henry, as junior king. Henry the Young King was not permitted to exercise royal authority and his title as co-king was effectively a sinecure to denote his status as his father's chosen heir. Young Henry predeceased his father without ever ascending to the throne and is not included in the official list of English monarchs.

The

Mary II and her husband William III

held joint sovereignty over the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1688 to 1694.

China

Co-regency was common amongst the Chinese ethnics both formally or informally dating far back to the Han dynasty to the Late Qing dynasty, if it happened to be so that a new Emperor ascended the throne and was mature but not well adept with politics, it was a national concern for stability in which the monarch was the head of state de jure whereas a co-regent was its de facto ruler.

The requirements for the position of co-regent depended on the power of an individual along with their ability to command the Confidence of the Parliament and it could be an official in the Imperial Court, a close and trustworthy

Empress Dowager

. The absence of all these specific personalities could rarely pave way for the monarch's wife if she seemed more competent.

The most outstanding co-regencies were those of Empress Wu Zetian during the Tang dynasty in the reign of her husband that

Yehenara clan served as Co-regents from 1861 until Ci'an's death in 1881 where Ci'xi became sole regent for the Guanxu Emperor

until she was overthrown in 1908, it was more interesting during her time that Ci'an particularly specialized in handling the affairs of the Imperial family and left Ci'xi to dominate the political scene much as contemporary history suggests that Ci'an was more willing to keep Ci'xi as her ally than to make her an enemy given the fact that Ci'xi welded more political power than she ever did she in turn eliminated any form of competition for supremacy with the latter even if she was Senior to her.

France

Following the extinction of the

King of France from an elected monarch to a hereditary one.^[8]

Lithuania

The Lithuanian Grand Dukes typically selected submonarchs from their families or loyal subjects to assist controlling the Grand Duchy. However, the Grand Dukes remained superior.

Vytenis (superior) and Gediminas
Gediminas (superior) and an unknown duke of Trakai, presumably Gediminas's son.
Algirdas (superior) and Kęstutis
Jogaila (superior) and Kęstutis

A slightly different system developed for a brief period after

Pact of Horodlo

, which guaranteed that Jogaila would have to approve the selection of a Lithuanian Grand Duke. The title was not used by any other king of Poland after Jogaila.

Jogaila
(Supreme Duke)
Švitrigaila declared war on Poland
Jogaila
(Supreme Duke) until Jogaila's death.

Roman Empire

It was common during the Principate for a Roman emperor or Augustus to appoint Caesar as designated heir and junior co-emperor, in many cases adopting them as their son, who did not necessarily have to be biologically related to them. This was merely a tradition and not a formal office until the Tetrarchy, which attempted to codify this arrangement, but quickly fell apart. It regained significance, including under Zeno, as well as when Justin I had his nephew Justinian named co-emperor shortly before his own death, Constantine IV was also named co-emperor by his father Constans II and who himself had several other co-emperors, and the practice was common in the centuries to come up through the Palaiologans.

Russia

Following the death of Tsar Feodor III of Russia in 1682, his brother Ivan and half-brother Peter were both crowned autocrats of Russia. This compromise was necessary because Ivan was unfit to rule due to physical and mental disabilities, while Peter's exclusive rule was opposed by Feodor and Ivan's older sister Sofia Alekseyevna, who led a Streltsy uprising against him and his mother's family. Because neither Tsar was of age to rule, Sofia subsequently claimed regency until she was removed from power by Peter in 1689. Ivan V and Peter I's joint reign continued, however, with Ivan maintaining formal seniority despite having little participation in the affairs of the state until his death in 1696, at which point Peter became the sole ruler.

Sweden

The monarchy in

Philip and Inge II

.

Vietnam

Coregency is a special feature of the Trần dynasty, in which a senior king abdicated in favor of his chosen heir. This abdication, however, is only in name, as the abdicated king continued to rule while his successor sat on the throne as a learner.^[9]

References

^ "The constitution of the Principality of Andorra". www.andorramania.com.
S2CID 191525385
.

^ ^a ^b Shaw, Ian; Nicholson, Paul (2008). The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. British Museum Press. p. 81.

^ Schneider, Thomas (1994). Lexikon der Pharaonen. Artemis. pp. 52–54, 264–267.

OCLC 39109151
.

^ Taterka, Filip. "The Co-Regency of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II Revisited." The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Archaeology 105.1 (2019): 43-57.

^ "Robert II king of France". Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica. July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

^ Daileader, Philip (November 13, 2020). "Capetian Dynasty and the End of Civil Wars in France". Wondrium Daily. Wondrium Daily. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

^ THE MONGOL NAVY: KUBLAI KHAN’S INVASIONS IN ĐẠI VIỆT AND CHAMPA by Vu Hong Lien

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coregency&oldid=1194652407"

[1] "The constitution of the Principality of Andorra". www.andorramania.com.

[2] S2CID 191525385
.

[:0-3] Shaw, Ian; Nicholson, Paul (2008). The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. British Museum Press. p. 81.

[4] Schneider, Thomas (1994). Lexikon der Pharaonen. Artemis. pp. 52–54, 264–267.

[5] OCLC 39109151
.

[6] Taterka, Filip. "The Co-Regency of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II Revisited." The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Archaeology 105.1 (2019): 43-57.

[7] "Robert II king of France". Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica. July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[8] Daileader, Philip (November 13, 2020). "Capetian Dynasty and the End of Civil Wars in France". Wondrium Daily. Wondrium Daily. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[9] THE MONGOL NAVY: KUBLAI KHAN’S INVASIONS IN ĐẠI VIỆT AND CHAMPA by Vu Hong Lien

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