dynasti

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers who come to power and rule a state or empire from the same family or lineage, often for a long period. The term typically implies hereditary rule, but some dynasties have relied on strategic marriages, political arrangements, or elections to sustain succession. A dynasty is usually associated with a dynastic house, whose name becomes the label for an era or regime, such as the Ming Dynasty or the House of Bourbon.

Key features include a hereditary framework for succession, institutional continuity, and the legitimacy of rule linked to family authority. Dynasties often centralize power, shape state institutions, and influence culture, law, and military policy. Succession rules can be patrilineal, but cognatic or elective arrangements have occurred in various contexts. Dynastic legitimacy may be reinforced by rituals, religion, or the control of key offices and lands, creating a recognizable political narrative across generations.

Dynastic rule has appeared in many civilizations. Examples include China’s Zhou, Qin, Han, and subsequent imperial lines; the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates in the Islamic world; European houses such as the Capetians, Bourbons, and Habsburgs; the Mughal and Maurya in South Asia; the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt; and the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and Europe.

A dynasty ends when it becomes extinct, is overthrown, or abdicates, often replaced by another dynasty or a non-dynastic regime. Even after its fall, a dynasty can leave lasting cultural, legal, and institutional legacies, and its name may continue to denote the era it governed.