Curated category
Monarchy
- MonarchyA monarchy is a form of government where political power passes legally to the family members of a ruler who holds the position for life.
- Constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy is a form of government that places a crown on someone's head while simultaneously clipping the wings of that crown.
- Absolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy is a form of government in which a single ruler holds political power with no constitutions, legislatures, or other checks standing in the…
- EmpireAn empire is a realm controlled by a monarch or other official and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries.
- RegentA regent is a person who steps into the shoes of a monarch when the monarch cannot rule. The reasons vary: the monarch might be a child too young to govern…
- Habsburg monarchyThe Habsburg monarchy began with a single castle in present-day Switzerland, built by a man named Radbot of Klettgau in the late 10th century.
- Enlightened absolutismEnlightened absolutism sits at one of history's most uncomfortable intersections: absolute power dressed in the language of reason.
- Absolutism (European history)Absolutism names a form of monarchical power that answers to no outside check: no church, no legislature, no social elite.
- Divine right of kingsIn the year 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket died after being murdered by knights loyal to King Henry II of England. This violent event marked a turning point…
- TetrarchyThe Tetrarchy was Diocletian's answer to a Roman Empire that had spent decades tearing itself apart. In place of one emperor struggling to hold three…
- The CrownThe Crown is a political concept that sits at the heart of every Commonwealth realm, yet no one can agree on exactly what it means.