celebrity.estateAn EGRET.LAW propertyWorld map3D timeline
Home / The law / Royal and church law
Legal tradition

Royal and church law

Succession to crowns and titles, peerage claims and the church's law of inheritance.

214 storiesThe law overview

How does royal and church law decide who inherits?

Under French law an heir who accepts a succession accepts its debts, so a spouse can inherit a liability instead of a fortune. The 1670 charter outlived the company's business, and when the company failed the charter was sold to pay its creditors.

Stories
214
Years
2950 BCE to 2025
Main regions
Europe, Middle East, East Asia
Main subjects
Egypt and Africa, Native nations and islands, Medieval Europe
Updated
30 October 2026

Every royal and church law story, newest first

  1. 2025The Hudson's Bay Company sold Rupert's Land for £300,000 in 1869, went insolvent in 2025, and sold its 1670 charter for $18 millionmanitobamuseum.ca and 7 more
  2. 2025Two half-brothers were each crowned Pakubuwono XIII in 2004, and in 2025 two of the next king's sons each took the title Pakubuwono XIVthejakartapost.com and 8 more
  3. 2021The Order of Malta's Grand Master fired his chancellor in 2016, the Pope forced the Grand Master out, and a 30-million-franc gift from a Geneva trust sat behind the fightNBC News and 2 more
  4. 2017Romania's King Michael was forced to sign a pre-typed abdication, and his grandson was later struck from the successionWikipedia (English) and 1 more
  5. 2016Thailand's new king changed the law to put the Crown Property Bureau's billions in his own nameReuters and 2 more
  6. 2015Yogyakarta's sultan has five daughters and no son, and all 11 of his younger brothers opposed him when he raised the eldest toward the thronenewmandala.org and 3 more
  7. 2005The last Korean imperial heir divorced his American wife after relatives pressed for a son, died in the Tokyo building where he was born, and was given an adopted son after his deathdonga.com and 3 more
  8. 2002The Queen Mother left her estate to her daughter free of inheritance tax under a 1993 deal between the palace and the TreasuryGOV.UK and 2 more
  9. 1993A woman claiming to be heir of the kings of Awadh lived nine years in a Delhi railway station and won a palace; she was the widow of a university registrartribuneindia.com and 4 more
  10. 1991A fugitive baron died in Manila with two infant sons by two women, and the Lords gave his title to his half-brother after DNA ruled out one boy and bigamy the otherpublications.parliament.uk and 4 more
  11. 1986ETA killed the 17th Duke of Veragua, a descendant of Columbus and a Spanish vice admiral, in Madrid in 1986diariodecuyo.com.ar and 3 more
  12. 1982Indian troops disarmed Sikkim's palace guard in 1975; the last king died in New York, his heir died on a mountain road, and a federal committee was still deciding which palace property the family ownshcs.gov.in and 3 more
  13. 1980A father and son found a medieval church hoard with metal detectors; the High Court gave them £5.5 million, and the Supreme Court gave the state the hoardarchivesearch.library.universityofgalway.ie and 2 more
  14. 1973Christabel Russell said she was a virgin when her son was conceived, and the House of Lords made him heir to the Ampthill baronyUK Parliament, Hansard and 3 more
  15. 1967Mohammed bin Laden's sons ran his construction group for decades, and three of them signed their shares over to the state while detainednewarab.com and 5 more
  16. 1963Edith Piaf's body was driven secretly from Grasse to Paris so her death could be announced there, and her husband inherited her debtspariszigzag.fr and 4 more
  17. 1953The Transvaal bought the largest diamond ever found as a birthday gift for Edward VII, the cutter kept the smaller stones as his fee, and South Africans petition for its returnUK Parliament, Hansard and 3 more
  18. 1942Britain blew up Burmah Oil's installations in 1942, the House of Lords ruled the Crown must pay, and Parliament passed a law backdated to cancel the debtlegislation.gov.uk and 2 more
  19. 1941Thailand's finance ministry sued its abdicated king for 6.27 million baht in 1939 and won an order freezing everything he ownedth.wikisource.org and 4 more
  20. 1918Russia buried the last tsar's family 80 years after the shooting, the Church has not accepted the bones, and two of the children's remains have been in archive boxes since 2007meduza.io and 3 more
  21. 1917The priest of Rennes-le-Château put his buildings in his servant's name, a restaurant owner spread a treasure story in 1956, and Pierre Plantard tied it to an invented secret ordercesnur.org and 2 more
  22. 1916King Thibaw handed Burma's crown jewels to a British colonel in 1885, and the Nga Mauk ruby was never seen againInternet Archive and 8 more
  23. 1914Nigeria vested ownership of the looted Benin Bronzes in the Oba of Benin in 2023nms.ac.uk and 10 more
  24. 1913Menelik II's death was kept secret in 1913, and his named heir Lij Iyasu was deposed in 1916 and died a prisonerWikisource (primary text) and 7 more
  25. 1899The House of Lords gave the Poulett earldom to the 6th Earl's 15-year-old son over the elder son the Earl disownedUK Parliament, Hansard and 6 more
  26. 1896The British Museum bought the Broighter gold boat for £600, and the Crown sued the Museum in 1903 to send it to DublinInternet Archive and 2 more
  27. 1893A 10-year-old Sikh maharaja signed away the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria, and other countries still claim itWikipedia (English) and 2 more
  28. 1892Borley Rectory passed from father to son for 64 years, drew ghost hunters for a decade, and burned in 1939 with the insurers suspecting arsonpsi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk and 2 more
  29. 1889Austria's crown prince shot his 17-year-old lover and himself at Mayerling, and the throne passed to the man killed at SarajevoWikipedia (English) and 1 more
  30. 1877Nepal's Rana prime ministers passed the office brother to brother by a roll; in 1934 the ruler struck off the sons of low-caste mothers, and their sons joined the party that opposed itcountrystudies.us and 4 more
  31. 1877The church claimed $999,000 of Brigham Young's estate, his heirs sued, and the three apostles who were his executors went to the penitentiarywilfordwoodruffpapers.org and 3 more
  32. 1873The Native Land Court declared Ōrākei inalienable, the Crown took or bought almost all of it, and 800 police and soldiers ended a 506-day occupation with 222 arrestsnvdatabase.swarthmore.edu and 2 more
  33. 1868Tewodros II shot himself at Maqdala in 1868, Britain auctioned his treasury and took his son, and in 2023 Buckingham Palace refused to return the son's remainsarchive.archaeology.org and 8 more
  34. 1867Juárez refused to hand over Emperor Maximilian's body after the 1867 execution, and his widow's fortune went home to Belgium with her under her brother's controlhistory.state.gov and 4 more
  35. 1860In Great Expectations, Pip's secret fortune comes from a transported convict, and the Crown takes it when the convict is condemnedlegislation.gov.uk and 2 more
  36. 1856The 17th Earl of Shrewsbury left his estates to the Duke of Norfolk's baby son; a distant cousin won the earldom and Alton TowersUK Parliament, Hansard and 6 more
  37. 1855Prince Diponegoro was arrested at peace talks in 1830, and the kris the Dutch returned in 2020 had been missing for decadesthejakartapost.com and 3 more
  38. 1851Begum Samru's heir was declared insane on his wife's petition, and after his death she contested his will leaving £200,000 to an Indian collegeUK Parliament, Hansard and 3 more
  39. 1850Margaret Fuller, her husband and their son drowned 100 yards from Fire Island in 1850, and her manuscript history of the Roman Republic was lostWikipedia (English)
  40. 1849Chopin's sister smuggled his heart into Warsaw, an SS officer took it in 1944, and scientists examined it in 2014 without opening the jarSmithsonian Magazine and 1 more
  41. 1847The Navy declared Franklin's crews dead in 1854 while his wife paid for the search, and the wrecks found 160 years later belong partly to the InuitRoyal Museums Greenwich and 3 more
  42. 1844In The Count of Monte Cristo, a cardinal poisoned for his money left his heir only a breviary, and the will hidden in it passed to a prisonerProject Gutenberg and 3 more
  43. 1840The Church refused Paganini burial, and his embalmed body was moved from cellar to cellar for 36 yearshekint.org and 3 more
  44. 1835Raffles made Hussein sultan without the regalia, and in 1897 a court ruled his grandsons' palace land belonged to the Crownsso.agc.gov.sg and 6 more
  45. 1834Pedro I left his heart to Porto, the city council and a church brotherhood fought over where to keep it, and Brazil borrowed it in 2022repositorio-aberto.up.pt and 3 more
  46. 1832The British deposed the last king of Kandy, barred his family from the throne forever, and kept his throne at Windsor until 1934sundaytimes.lk and 4 more
  47. 1828Dingane and Mhlangana killed their half-brother Shaka in 1828, and their brother Mpande took the Zulu throne with Boer help in 1840Internet Archive and 5 more
  48. 1828Goya's grave in Bordeaux was opened in 1888 and his skull was missing; he was reburied in Madrid in 1919 without itSmithsonian Magazine and 2 more
  49. 1825France made Haiti pay 150 million francs in 1825 to compensate its former slaveholders, and Haitians paid on the debt until 1947csmonitor.com and 3 more
  50. 1820Haiti's King Henry shot himself, rebels bayoneted his 16-year-old heir ten days later, and the queen took her daughters into exile in Pisaageofrevolutions.com and 4 more
  51. 1817Bounty mutineers' descendants argued in 2004 that burning the ship in 1790 put Pitcairn outside British law, and the Privy Council rejected it in 2006search.sl.nsw.gov.au and 4 more
  52. 1810The Earl of Berkeley's eldest son was ruled illegitimate in 1811 after the church register entry for a secret 1785 marriage proved forgedInternet Archive and 3 more
  53. 1800When the last Jesuit in Canada died in 1800 the Crown took the order's estates, and 88 years later the Pope divided the compensationDictionary of Canadian Biography and 2 more
  54. 1783Charles Byrne arranged to be buried at sea to escape the anatomists, and John Hunter got his body and displayed his skeleton for 200 yearsThe Irish Times and 2 more
  55. 1782Kalaniʻōpuʻu left Hawaiʻi Island to his son and the war god to his nephew Kamehameha, and the chiefs who got no land started the war that made Kamehameha kingInternet Archive and 2 more
  56. 1782General Chakri took Taksin's throne in 1782 while Taksin's son and heir was away at war, and dug up Taksin's body two years latervajirayana.org and 5 more
  57. 1781A Cuzco chief sued for four years to be recognised as the last Inca's heir, then led the 1780 rebellion with the case still undecidedrevistas.pucp.edu.pe and 3 more
  58. 1778The future Rama I took the Emerald Buddha from conquered Vientiane, and it has stayed in Bangkok for two centuriesvajirayana.org and 2 more
  59. 1775The Pope suppressed the Jesuits in 1773 and their Superior General died a prisoner in Castel Sant'Angelo, declaring the Society innocentnewadvent.org and 3 more
  60. 1767Spain opened sealed orders in every Jesuit town on one night in 1767, seized the order's property, and the Pope's cannon turned the exiles' ships awaynewadvent.org and 2 more
  61. 1764Jean-Marie Leclair was found stabbed three times at his Paris door in October 1764, and his ex-wife sold his belongings and unpublished musicinterlude.hk and 2 more
  62. 1762King Yeongjo locked his heir in a rice chest until he died, and the heir's son became king and moved the body into a new fortressencykorea.aks.ac.kr and 4 more
  63. 1760Kent inherited his dead lover's money, and her "ghost" accused him of poisoning her; a London jury convicted the ghost's handlers in 1762Project Gutenberg and 2 more
  64. 1747Nader Shah's Indian jewels cost his blind grandson his life under torture, and a deposed shah took them into the Russian legationiranicaonline.org and 2 more
  65. 1716The Earl of Derwentwater was beheaded in 1716, Parliament gave his estates to Greenwich Hospital, and in 1868 a woman calling herself his heir moved into the ruined castlenorthumberlandarchives.com and 4 more
  66. 1683The Chamberlen family kept the obstetric forceps secret for over a century, and their instruments were found hidden in the family house two centuries laterdaily.jstor.org and 3 more
  67. 1680Louis XIV jailed Fouquet for life 19 days after his party at Vaux-le-Vicomte, and in 2019 robbers tied up its 90-year-old owner with his own necktiesthelocal.fr and 5 more
  68. 1680Pierre-Paul Riquet spent his fortune on the Canal du Midi, died eight months before it opened, and left his heirs the canal and its debtsstructurae.net and 3 more
  69. 1677A Falun copper miner vanished in 1677, his body came out of the mine 42 years later, his old fiancée named him, and he was put on showsok.riksarkivet.se and 2 more
  70. 1665Elisabetta Sirani died at 27 in Bologna in 1665; her father charged the maid with poisoning her and then withdrew the chargetheflorentine.net and 3 more
  71. 1642The Church refused Galileo a tomb for 95 years, and when his body was moved in 1737 admirers cut off three fingers and a tootharchive.archaeology.org and 2 more
  72. 1616Shakespeare left his wife his "second best bed" and struck his new son-in-law out of the willnationalarchives.gov.uk and 3 more
  73. 1608King Gwanghae's officials killed his eight-year-old half-brother in exile, and the boy's mother gave her name to the coup that deposed himencykorea.aks.ac.kr and 3 more
  74. 1598Beatrice Cenci and her family killed her father at his castle, Rome beheaded them, and most of the Cenci fortune went to the pope's nephewebsco.com and 2 more
  75. 1596The Inquisition burned the heir to Nuevo León's governorship with his mother and three sisters in 1596, and his stolen memoir went back to Mexico in 2017tshaonline.org and 3 more
  76. 1591Tsarevich Dmitry died at Uglich in 1591, a man using his name took the throne in 1605, and Moscow hanged his widow's small son in 1614Wikisource (primary text) and 5 more
  77. 1581Ivan the Terrible struck his heir on the head in November 1581, and his dynasty ended with his surviving son in 1598ru.wikisource.org and 3 more
  78. 1564Michelangelo's nephew smuggled his body out of Rome to Florence in a bale of goods in March 1564, ahead of the pope's tomb plandailyartmagazine.com and 3 more
  79. 1560An Inca princess was married to the captain who captured her uncle, their daughter got a Spanish marquisate with the Inca estate of Yucay, and Inca claimants fought for it after the line died outBoletín Oficial del Estado and 4 more
  80. 1560Burma's king offered a fortune for the Buddha's tooth, Goa's archbishop ground it to powder, and two new teeth appeared within six yearsmanushi.in and 2 more
  81. 1559Chenonceau was taken for a royal debt, taken from a king's mistress by his widow, and auctioned to a bank after its owner's ruinchenonceau.com and 2 more
  82. 1553Pedro de Valdivia's wife waited 27 years in Spain, learned on her voyage that he was dead, and the governor married to his former mistress did not pay her pensionmemoriachilena.gob.cl and 3 more
  83. 1552A Nahua healer's 1552 herbal was sent to Spain, passed through a royal pharmacist and a cardinal to the Vatican, and a pope returned it to Mexico in 1990library.csun.edu and 2 more
  84. 1546Charles V gave the Welser bank Venezuela for its loans, and a Spanish governor had the head of the firm's son killed there in 1546deutsche-biographie.de and 4 more
  85. 1540Ethiopia's emperors held their brothers and sons on Amba Geshen for life until Ahmad ibn Ibrahim's army took the mountain in 1540Project Gutenberg and 2 more
  86. 1538Diego de Almagro willed his governorship of New Toledo to his mestizo son, Pizarro ignored the will, and the son's followers killed Pizarrorevista.agn.gob.pe and 2 more
  87. 1527Atahualpa's captains hanged Huáscar's wives and children on the Cuzco road, burned a dead king's mummy, and killed Huáscar so Pizarro could not free himInternet Archive and 3 more
  88. 1526Count Stephan Schlick minted the first thalers from his silver mine, vanished at Mohács in 1526, and the new king took the mint from his familymachogalleries.com and 2 more
  89. 1524Vasco da Gama was ordered out of his home town of Sines in 1507 and asked to leave Portugal before the King made him a count in 1519Project Gutenberg and 4 more
  90. 1508Isaac Abravanel lost an inherited fortune in Portugal, offered Spain 30,000 ducats to stop the expulsion, and lost everything again in Naplesplato.stanford.edu and 3 more
  91. 1504Isabella of Castile's will made her daughter Joanna queen, and Joanna's father and son kept her locked in Tordesillas for 46 yearscapillarealgranada.com and 2 more
  92. 1503Pope Alexander VI built a state in central Italy for his son Cesare Borgia, and Cesare lost it after his father's deathProject Gutenberg and 4 more
  93. 1502The last Byzantine emperor's nephew signed his imperial rights over to the King of France in 1494 for 4,400 ducats a yearhfrir.jvolsu.com and 4 more
  94. 1500Hawaiian tradition says Līloa left the kingdom to his son Hākau and the gods to his low-born son ʻUmi, and ʻUmi killed Hākau and took the islandInternet Archive and 2 more
  95. 1487Queen Charlotte of Cyprus lost her throne to her father's illegitimate son and signed her crowns of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia over to Savoymedievalists.net and 3 more
  96. 1485Malory says Uther's heir was raised in secret, the lords refused the boy who pulled the sword, and the common people made him kingProject Gutenberg and 3 more
  97. 1483Parliament declared Edward IV's sons illegitimate, they vanished in the Tower, and two child skeletons found in 1674 have never been DNA-testedwestminster-abbey.org and 3 more
  98. 1477Charles the Bold died at Nancy, the King of France seized Burgundy from his 19-year-old heiress, and her marriage gave the Netherlands to the Habsburgsdeutsche-biographie.de and 2 more
  99. 1472The chronicles say Nezahualcóyotl had his bride's betrothed killed in battle, executed their son for treason, and named a 7-year-old heir on his deathbeddocs.enriquedussel.com and 2 more
  100. 1459John Paston claimed Sir John Fastolf's lands under a deathbed spoken will, and the Duke of Norfolk besieged Caister Castle to take themthisispaston.co.uk and 4 more
  101. 1457Danjong's uncle took his throne, and three Joseon records give three accounts of how the 16-year-old died in exileencykorea.aks.ac.kr and 2 more
  102. 1456Jacques Coeur financed Charles VII's war, then the king charged him with poisoning the royal mistress and confiscated everythingWikisource (primary text) and 2 more
  103. 1441Sejo dug up Queen Hyeondeok's tomb after her son's fall; the legend says her coffin was thrown into the sea, and her rank came back 56 years laterih.snu.ac.kr and 2 more
  104. 1440Gilles de Rais sold his castles to the Duke of Brittany, seized a priest in church, and was hanged; his heirs then claimed the lands backfamous-trials.com and 1 more
  105. 1439A lady-in-waiting stole the Holy Crown of Hungary in 1440 so a baby born hours later could be crowned kinggermanhistorydocs.org and 5 more
  106. 1438Sarmiento records that Inca Viracocha named his illegitimate son Urco heir, fled the Chanca attack, and died stripped of his property after his other sons killed UrcoInternet Archive and 2 more
  107. 1431Joan of Arc's mother sued to clear her daughter's name, and in 1456 the church declared the 1431 trial nullarchive.joan-of-arc.org and 2 more
  108. 1430Polish lords stopped the crown sent for Vytautas in 1430, he died uncrowned, and his grave in Vilnius Cathedral has never been foundold.lituanus.org and 2 more
  109. 1428A Highland family kept St Fillan's crozier for 500 years, took it to Canada, and sold it back to Scotland for $500journals.socantscot.org and 3 more
  110. 1426Tezozómoc named one son heir; another son took the throne and killed him, and the cities he had ruled destroyed Azcapotzalcoisabelbueno.es and 2 more
  111. 1424Two princes of Ayutthaya killed each other on elephants in 1424, and looters robbed their crypt in 1957vajirayana.org and 2 more
  112. 1418Nicolas Flamel left his property to his Paris parish church, a 1612 book made him an alchemist, and treasure hunters ransacked his house for golduniversalis.fr and 3 more
  113. 1409France's grand master was beheaded and hung at Montfaucon; his son won back his name and body, then died at Agincourtherodote.net and 4 more
  114. 1406Two heirs of Majapahit went to war, 170 Ming soldiers died in the crossfire, and China billed the winner 60,000 liang of goldjv.wikisource.org and 5 more
  115. 1362Tradition says Pedro the Cruel took the "Black Prince's Ruby" from a Granadan sultan he killed with his own lance; it is a spinel in the front of Britain's crowngia.edu and 4 more
  116. 1343Edward III did not repay the Bardi and Peruzzi, and both Florentine banks failed in the 1340sbritish-history.ac.uk and 4 more
  117. 1343King Robert's will left Naples to Joanna, her husband was strangled, and she sold the city of Avignon to the pope while the murder was examinedTreccani and 3 more
  118. 1331Serbia's King Milutin ordered his son blinded, and that son was later deposed by his own son and died in prison at Zvečan in 1331tib.oeaw.ac.at and 3 more
  119. 1330Edward III hanged Roger Mortimer without a trial and took his lands, and Mortimer's grandson won them back in 1354Wikisource (primary text) and 2 more
  120. 1328France kept two kings' daughters off the throne, passed over Edward III, and later cited a Frankish land rule to justify itavalon.law.yale.edu and 4 more
  121. 1324Mansa Musa said he took Mali's throne because his predecessor sailed into the Atlantic and never came backcambridge.org and 6 more
  122. 1321Florence demanded Dante's bones for 200 years; friars took them out of the tomb, and a worker found them in 1865Wikipedia (English)
  123. 1315Philip IV's treasurer was hanged on the Montfaucon gallows he had built, and the king who let him hang left legacies to his childrenEncyclopaedia Britannica and 2 more
  124. 1314Philip IV arrested every Templar in France in one morning, the pope gave their property to the Hospitallers, and the Hospitallers paid the king 200,000 livresblogs.loc.gov and 3 more
  125. 1308One Templar said under torture in 1308 that he saw a brother leading 50 horses and heard of 18 galleys, and that is the only medieval source for a Templar treasure fleetjasoncolavito.com and 2 more
  126. 1297A Colonna cardinal kept his brothers' lands, the pope razed Palestrina in the fight, and a Colonna seized the pope at AnagniTreccani and 2 more
  127. 1296Edward I took Scotland's coronation stone in 1296; four students took it back on Christmas Day 1950 and broke it in twoperthmuseum.co.uk and 4 more
  128. 1258Hulagu took Baghdad and killed the last Abbasid caliph in 1258, chroniclers gave seven different deaths, and a surviving kinsman was made caliph in Cairocambridge.org and 3 more
  129. 1247The Pararaton says a smith cursed the kris that killed him, and that it killed three rulers of Singhasari in turnInternet Archive and 3 more
  130. 1244Henry III took a third of David of Oxford's estate in 1244 and held his widow Licoricia in the Tower until it was settledmajw.uvic.ca and 5 more
  131. 1236Sultan Iltutmish named his daughter Razia heir over his sons; the nobles crowned a son, and the people of Delhi put her on the throneInternet Archive and 1 more
  132. 1224The Sundiata epic says the king wanted his crippled son to rule, the council crowned his half-brother, and the exiled son came back to found Malibu.edu and 2 more
  133. 1222The Church gave Raymond VI's county to the crusade leader and refused his body burial, and his granddaughter's childless marriage handed Toulouse to Francenewadvent.org and 4 more
  134. 1213Georgia's King George III had no son and crowned his daughter Tamar co-ruler, and the place of her grave is still disputedgeorgianencyclopedia.ge and 3 more
  135. 1199Richard I's nephew Arthur disappeared in his uncle King John's prison, and Arthur's sister was held for 39 years until she diedbritish-history.ac.uk and 4 more
  136. 1186When Aaron of Lincoln died in 1186, Henry II took his whole estate and set up a separate exchequer to collect his debtsJournal article (DOI) and 4 more
  137. 1143Rahere founded St Bartholomew's Hospital after a vow in Rome, Henry VIII seized its income in 1539, and the City of London saved it weeks before the king diednationalarchives.gov.uk and 2 more
  138. 1137Eleanor inherited Aquitaine at about 13, took it back when France annulled her marriage, and married the future king of England eight weeks laterfontevraud.fr and 2 more
  139. 1135Henry I's barons swore to make his daughter queen, and his nephew Stephen took the crown within weeks of his deathavalon.law.yale.edu and 4 more
  140. 1115The Mixtec codices record that Lord Eight Deer killed his wife's father to take Tilantongo, and that the boy he spared later killed him and married his daughterfamsi.org and 2 more
  141. 1099El Cid's widow carried his body out of Valencia, and his bones were moved five times between 1102 and 1921encyclopedia.com and 4 more
  142. 1066Domesday shows Count Alan holding 33 of the 40 estates of Edith the Fair, and in 1094 Archbishop Anselm wrote to her daughter, King Harold's daughter, who had left Wilton Abbey with Alanpase.ac.uk and 4 more
  143. 1063Al-Bakri wrote that Ghana's king took every gold nugget and his heir was his sister's son, and in 1063 a nephew took the throne over the dead king's Muslim sonbu.edu and 2 more
  144. 1030Mahmud of Ghazni left his throne to one son; the other blinded him, and the blind brother's son later killed the victorInternet Archive and 2 more
  145. 1020Tradition says Sultan Mahmud's gold for the Shahnameh reached Ferdowsi's town as his coffin left it, and his daughter refused itjls.um.ac.ir and 2 more
  146. 1003Kalhana's chronicle says Queen Didda of Kashmir killed three grandsons on the throne and chose her heir with a heap of applesInternet Archive and 2 more
  147. 969The Chola heir Aditya Karikala was murdered, and his brother Rajaraja seized the killers' lands and their relatives' lands years laterInternet Archive and 2 more
  148. 912Leo VI married his mistress as his fourth wife to make their son legitimate, and the patriarch who refused was forced outjohnsanidopoulos.com and 4 more
  149. 899Alfred the Great's will answered his nephews' claim to their father's land, and one nephew rose against Alfred's sonbl.uk and 3 more
  150. 841Jang Bogo ruled the seas between China, Korea and Japan, tried to make his daughter a queen, and was stabbed over wine by an envoy who said he had fled the courtworldhistory.org and 2 more
  151. 814Charlemagne's 811 division left two-thirds of his treasure to 21 archbishoprics and a silver table engraved with Constantinople to St Peter'ssourcebooks.fordham.edu and 2 more
  152. 790Bonampak's king had his heir presented on the painted walls of his temple, and the heir never ruledlugares.inah.gob.mx and 2 more
  153. 750Looters had dug all around it, but the Wari tomb at Castillo de Huarmey held 58 noblewomen and their queens, untouchednationalgeographic.com and 2 more
  154. 742Yaxchilan had no recorded king for ten years after Shield Jaguar died, and the son of his foreign second wife took the thronecambridge.org and 3 more
  155. 683Pakal took Palenque's throne at 12 after an enemy sacked the city and the king died, and his son cut three rulers out of the official king listmesoweb.com and 2 more
  156. 671Emperor Tenji passed over his brother for his son in 671, and the brother raised an army, won the throne and had the official history written by his own sonWikisource (primary text) and 4 more
  157. 649A Tang emperor sent an agent in disguise to take Wang Xizhi's Orchid Pavilion Preface from an old monk, and took it into his tombzh.wikisource.org and 2 more
  158. 628Persia's crown prince overthrew his father to stop a half-brother's succession, executed him, killed his brothers, and died of plague within monthsiranicaonline.org and 2 more
  159. 626Li Shimin killed his two brothers at the Xuanwu Gate, executed their ten sons and had the throne from his father within two monthszh.wikisource.org and 2 more
  160. 524Theodoric had Boethius clubbed to death and seized his estates, and the king's daughter gave them back to his sonsUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 more
  161. 520The exilarch Mar Zutra II ruled a Jewish state at Mahoza for seven years and was crucified on its bridge; his son was born the same dayencyclopedia.com and 2 more
  162. 473The Culavamsa says Kassapa walled up his father alive after the king showed him a reservoir as his only treasurebooks.lakdiva.org.lk and 2 more
  163. 250Looters emptied a Moche tomb at Sipán in 1987, police shot their leader, and the archaeologist called in found the Lord of Sipán untouched below itmotherjones.com and 3 more
  164. 80Christian tradition says the body of Luke "the beloved physician" was moved from Thebes to Constantinople and Padua, and an emperor took the head to Praguebiblegateway.com and 2 more
  165. 30The Gospel of John says soldiers diced for the executed Jesus's seamless robe, and three churches claim to have itbiblegateway.com and 2 more
  166. 30 BCECleopatra filled her tomb with treasure and torchwood so Octavian could not take it from her, and the tomb has never been foundUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 more
  167. 30 BCEPliny says Cleopatra drank one of the two greatest pearls she inherited from eastern kings, and Rome cut the other in half for a statue of VenusUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 more
  168. 41 BCECleopatra's sister Arsinoe IV fought Caesar, walked in chains in his triumph and was killed at a temple on Antony's orders, and the skeleton said to be hers was a boy'sUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 5 more
  169. 51 BCEPtolemy XII's will named Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII joint heirs under Roman protection, and the heirs went to warclassics.mit.edu and 3 more
  170. 55 BCEBerenice IV took her father's throne, had one husband strangled within days, and was executed when Rome restored her father for 10,000 talentsUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 more
  171. 74 BCENicomedes IV left Bithynia to Rome, Mithridates said the queen had borne him a son, and Mithridates invadedUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 4 more
  172. 80 BCESulla sent Ptolemy XI to marry Queen Berenice III, he had her killed within three weeks, the Alexandrians killed him, and Rome produced a will leaving Egypt to RomeUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 4 more
  173. 96 BCEPtolemy VIII willed Cyrene to Rome in 155 BC, and his son Ptolemy Apion's will handed it over in 96 BCigcyr2.unibo.it and 4 more
  174. 133 BCEKing Attalus III left his kingdom to Rome in his will, and a man claiming to be a royal bastard fought Rome for itUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 more
  175. 175 BCESecond Maccabees says a king's minister came to seize the widows' and orphans' deposits in the Jerusalem Temple; a stele pieced together in 2005 and 2006 names the minister and a royal order on temple fundsbiblegateway.com and 4 more
  176. 204 BCECourtiers hid Ptolemy IV's death, killed his queen, read out a will naming themselves regents, and the Alexandrian crowd killed them and their familyUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 more
  177. 235 BCESima Qian writes that a merchant bought a hostage prince the throne of Qin, then drank poison when the new king turned on himzh.wikisource.org and 3 more
  178. 269 BCEArsinoe II married her half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos to protect her sons, he had two of them killed in her arms, and she then married her full brotherUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 more
  179. 323 BCEAlexander the Great left his empire "to the strongest", and his general Ptolemy hijacked his bodyWikisource (primary text) and 3 more
  180. 400 BCEThe Mahabharata says the blind elder brother lost the throne, and his cousin staked the kingdom, his brothers, himself and his wife at diceWikisource (primary text) and 4 more
  181. 400 BCEThe Mahabharata says Bhishma gave up the Kuru throne and vowed never to marry so his father could wed, and the line ran out of heirsWikisource (primary text) and 2 more
  182. 400 BCEThe Mahabharata says King Yayati passed over four sons who refused to take his old age, and made the youngest his heirWikisource (primary text) and 2 more
  183. 474 BCEThe Book of Esther says the king hanged Haman on his own gallows and gave his house to Queen Esther the same daysefaria.org and 4 more
  184. 486 BCEDarius passed over his eldest son for Xerxes, grandson of Cyrus, on an argument supplied by an exiled Spartan kingWikisource (primary text) and 2 more
  185. 530 BCEAlexander found Cyrus the Great's tomb robbed and the body thrown out, and tortured its hereditary guards, who named no oneWikisource (primary text) and 2 more
  186. 539 BCEBabylon took the Temple vessels; Daniel says Belshazzar drank from them the night he was killed, and Ezra says Cyrus returned 5,400mechon-mamre.org and 4 more
  187. 681 BCESennacherib named his younger son Esarhaddon heir; his elder sons killed him, and Esarhaddon then bound the empire by oath to his own chosen heiroracc.museum.upenn.edu and 5 more
  188. 687 BCEThe Bible says King Hezekiah showed Babylon's envoys his treasury, and Isaiah told him his heirs would lose it; Babylonian tablets record rations for a captive king of Judahbiblegateway.com and 2 more
  189. 690 BCEThe Han Feizi says two kings cut off Bian He's feet for calling a stone jade, and the Shiji says Qin later offered 15 cities for the disczh.wikisource.org and 2 more
  190. 750 BCEGeoffrey of Monmouth says King Leir split Britain between two flattering daughters, who took all of it and cut his household from 60 knights to oneyorku.ca and 4 more
  191. 750 BCEThe Ramayana says a queen used two old promises to disinherit the heir, and his brother ruled for 14 years in the name of his sandalsvalmikiramayan.net and 3 more
  192. 753 BCELivy says Amulius broke his father's will, took the throne of Alba Longa, and made his niece a Vestal virgin so his brother would have no heirsperseus.tufts.edu and 3 more
  193. 814 BCEKing Pygmalion of Tyre killed his sister's husband for his buried gold, and she sailed away with it after dumping sacks of sand into the seatertullian.org and 2 more
  194. 860 BCEKings says Naboth refused to sell King Ahab "the inheritance of my fathers," and Queen Jezebel had him and his sons killed for itmechon-mamre.org and 2 more
  195. 970 BCEKings says Solomon's mother and the prophet Nathan had the dying David name Solomon over his elder brother Adonijah, who was later executedmechon-mamre.org and 2 more
  196. 1147 BCEAn Egyptian papyrus says the gods argued for 80 years over whether the dead king Osiris's throne went to his son Horus or his brother Sethriull.ull.es and 3 more
  197. 1157 BCEQueen Tiye plotted to put her son Pentawere on the throne of Ramesses III, and a 2012 CT scan found the king's throat had been cutInternet Archive and 5 more
  198. 1192 BCEChancellor Bay put a boy king on the throne and was given a tomb among the kings, and a potsherd records that the king had him killedifao.egnet.net and 2 more
  199. 1200 BCEFu Hao led the Shang king's armies, the oracle said her childbirth was "not good" because she had a girl, and hers is the only Shang royal tomb found intactenglish.henan.gov.cn and 2 more
  200. 1213 BCERamesses II outlived his first three crown princes, his thirteenth son succeeded him, and his sons' tomb KV5 has more than 130 roomskirkusreviews.com and 4 more
  201. 1250 BCETheseus forgot to change his black sail, his father Aegeus threw himself down from the Acropolis, and Theseus became king of AthensUniversity of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 more
  202. 1261 BCEMes sued to recover land granted to his ancestor Neshi under Ahmose I, after a court ruled against his mother on a false registerInternet Archive and 1 more
  203. 1319 BCEAy had himself painted burying Tutankhamun and took the throne, and Horemheb then erased Ay and dated his own reign from Amenhotep IIIworldhistory.org and 3 more
  204. 1323 BCEDNA tests in 2010 found that Tutankhamun's parents were brother and sister, and that the two stillborn girls buried in his tomb were his daughtersjamanetwork.com and 3 more
  205. 1327 BCEThe Deeds of Suppiluliuma say a widowed Egyptian queen asked the Hittite king for a son to marry, and the prince Zannanza died on the wayworldhistory.org and 5 more
  206. 1353 BCEAmenhotep III promised the king of Mittani solid-gold statues for his daughter, and after Amenhotep died his son sent gold-plated woodrepository.bilkent.edu.tr and 3 more
  207. 1458 BCEHatshepsut took the throne from her stepson Thutmose III, who had her statues smashed and her images erased two decades after her deathworldhistory.org and 3 more
  208. 1500 BCEAfter four reigns of Hittite princes killing each other, King Telipinu wrote the order of succession into law and spared the men who had plotted against himInternet Archive and 2 more
  209. 1555 BCEKing Seqenenre Tao died with his hands tied and his skull broken by Hyksos weapons, and his sons finished his warfrontiersin.org and 3 more
  210. 1962 BCEAmenemhat I was attacked by his own guards after supper, and his son raced back from a war in Libya to take the thronemaat.sofiatopia.org and 3 more
  211. 2180 BCEHerodotus says Queen Nitocris drowned the men who killed her brother the king at a banquet, and a modern scholar argues she never existedProject Gutenberg and 2 more
  212. 2550 BCEQueen Puabi of Ur was buried in gold, and the attendants Woolley said drank poison were killed with blows to the headalmanac.upenn.edu and 4 more
  213. 2580 BCEThe hidden tomb of Khufu's mother Hetepheres held her organs in a sealed chest, but her sealed sarcophagus was empty when it was opened in 1927giza.fas.harvard.edu and 2 more
  214. 2950 BCEMerneith ruled for her young son Den, was buried at Abydos in a king's tomb ringed by servants' graves, and later king lists left her outpenn.museum and 3 more