Rajasarjat

Rajasarjat is a Finnish historiographical term used to refer to royal dynasties, that is, the lineages of rulers within monarchies. The word combines raj, meaning rule or realm, with sarja, meaning series, and is used to denote a continuous dynastic lineage within a royal house. In scholarly writing it serves to discuss the historical succession, state-building, and political networks connected to ruling families.

Dynasties are defined by a sequence of rulers who claim legitimacy through a common line, but they may extend across different territories or include cadet branches. The continuity of a rajasarja depends on factors such as lawful succession, formal recognition of legitimacy, and the ability to exercise power over territory. Transitions can involve interregna, regencies, or disputes that reshape the dynastic landscape.

Rajasarjat are not limited to a single region; they appear in many parts of the world and are a central concept in comparative history and genealogical study. Historians trace dynastic histories through regnal lists, genealogies, and chronicles, paying attention to marriages that linked houses, conquests that altered lines, and inheritances that changed borders or priorities of states.

In Finnish scholarship, the term is primarily used to discuss dynastic histories in a global context rather than to describe contemporary Finnish governance. See also royal house, dynasty, monarchy, and royal genealogy.