War of succession

In historiography and literature, a war of succession may also be referred to as a succession dispute, dynastic struggle, internecine conflict,[3][4] fratricidal war,[5] or any combination of these terms. Not all of these are necessarily describing armed conflict, however, and the dispute may be resolved without escalating into open warfare. Wars of succession are also often referred to as a civil war, when in fact it was a conflict within the royalty, or broader aristocracy, that civilians were dragged into.[6] It depends on the circumstances whether a war of succession is also a civil war in the sense of intrastate war (if it is limited to armed conflict inside one state), or it may be an interstate war (if foreign powers intervene; sometimes called 'international' war), or both.[7] Therefore, names or descriptions of a war may simply depend on one's perspective; for example, Nolan (2008) stated: 'The Williamite War of 1689–1691, sometimes known as the Jacobite War, was a war of succession in England and an international war for or against France for most non-Irish participants. But it was a civil war in Ireland.'[8] Similarly, scholars sometimes disagree whether the 1657–1661 Mughal dynastic conflict (which consisted of several subconflicts, phases, and factions) should be labelled a 'war of succession' or a '(princely) rebellion'.[note 1]

There are several different typs of orders of succession, some of which may not have been enshrined in law, but only established in local custom or tradition. Across times and places, orders of succession have switched from one system to another.[10] Some prominent examples are:

• None: Every death of a monarch results in a succession crisis that is resolved ad hoc, either diplomatically or by violence. This pattern has been observed in cultures around the world, for example in the Buyid dynasty (934–1062),[4] Đại Cồ Việt (968–1054),[11] Ayutthaya (17th century),[12] and Mataram (17th–18th century).[13]
• Heir designation or selection: The reigning monarch had the sole right to personally designate his or her preferred heir while still alive, sometimes far ahead of time (perhaps already giving them important functions and dignities), sometimes only in their last will or verbally on their deathbed. This pattern has been observed in cultures around the world. For example, from Peter the Great (1721) to the Pauline Laws (1797), the Russian Empire had this system. It was also common in high medieval Mediterranean Europe to accept heir designation by will.[14]
  • Co-rulership or abdication/delegation: In many states in cultures around the world, the reigning monarch gave their designated heir already a prominent role in running the realm to prevent a power vacuum upon the monarch's death, and to train the co-ruler in their future duties. The Roman Tetrarchy had two Augusti (senior emperors) and two Caesari (junior emperors, chosen by the Augusti). The Capetian kings France had their sons elected 'co-king' by his noblemen to ensure loyalty to the heir. The Han dynasty set up an Office of the Crown Prince wherein a group of officials trained and served the heir designate long ahead of the succession.[15] In the Vietnamese Trần dynasty, the kings '[abdicated] the throne to their chosen adult heirs upon the death of their predecessors, thereafter ruling as 'senior' kings.'[16]
• Equal share within the lineage or dividing the inheritance: One son of the monarch would inherit the kingship while other sons (or other male relatives) would be given an equal share / regional control of the territory. This was common practice in Francia, and prevailed in certain regions in northern and western France such as Normandy long after the French royal dynasty had adopted primogeniture.[14]
• Agnatic seniority,[17] collateral succession,[18] horizontal succession, fraternal succession or brother–brother succession: When monarch X dies, his oldest brother succeeds him, and then his second-oldest brother and so on, until there are no brothers left; then, the oldest son of monarch X becomes the next monarch, and then monarch X's second-oldest son, and so on. This pattern has been observed in cultures around the world, including in many European states before the 11th century such as Piast dynasty of Poland, and the Rurik dynasty of the Kyivan Rus' and its successor states),[17] African states such as the Kanem–Bornu Empire from the 14th century onwards,[10] or Asian states such as the Konbaung dynasty of Burma.[note 2]
• Patrilineal succession,[18] vertical succession, filial succession or father–son succession: A son of the previous monarch succeeds him. There are several different subtypes of this order of succession, including:
  • Primogeniture: The oldest son of the previous monarch succeeds him; in case there is no son, then his oldest brother succeeds. This system is virtually unique to Europe,[3] and has only been adopted in very few other states in modern times.
    • Under Salic law, only males can inherit the kingship.
    • Under the semi-Salic law, it's also possible for inheritance to pass through the female line.
    • In absolute primogeniture, gender is irrelevant and the oldest child of the last monarch automatically becomes the next ruler.
  • Ultimogeniture: The youngest son of the previous monarch succeeds him. This system existed in some places in medieval Europe.[21]
  • Non-fixed son: There is no fixed rule which son of the previous monarch should automatically succeed him. Any son may be designated as heir by the living monarch, or be accepted by the relevant aristocrats after asserting himself through diplomacy or violence over his brothers. Examples include the Kanem–Bornu Empire until the 14th century,[10] and Anglo-Saxon England.[22]
• Elective succession: see elective monarchy. The royal succession is decided by votes from a relatively small group of aristocrats (typically a few dozen). It may be decided by an election vivente rege ("while the king yet lives") to secure a more stable transition of power upon the monarch's death, although this was not required, and could still result in a war of succession.[23]

To inherit Holland, Ada quickly married Louis before her father was buried, triggering the Loon War.[24]

A war of succession is a type of war concerning struggle for the throne: a conflict about supreme power in a monarchy. Although it is typically associated with hereditary monarchy (either with primogeniture or some other principle of hereditary succession), the concept has also been applied to elective monarchies.[25] It may be intrastate war, an interstate war (if foreign powers intervene), or both.[7]

A succession war may arise after (or sometimes even before) a universally recognised ruler over a certain territory passes away (sometimes without leaving behind any (legal) offspring, or failing to clearly designate an heir), or is declared insane or otherwise incapable to govern, and is deposed. Next, several pretenders (also known as 'claimants', 'candidates', or 'rivals') step forward, who are either related to the previous ruler (by ancestry or marriage) and therefore claim to have a right to their possessions based on the hereditary principle, or have concluded a treaty to that effect. They will seek allies within the nobility and/or abroad to support their claims to the throne. After all options for a diplomatic solution –such as a sharing of power, or a financial deal– or a quick elimination (in effect a coup d'état) –e.g. by assassination or arrest– have been exhausted, a military confrontation will follow.[26] Quite often such succession disputes have led to long-lasting wars.[27] Potential candidates were not always limited to members from the royal household; depending on circumstances, aristocrats of other noble families within the realm were eligible to replace the deceased monarch, and could seize the opportunity of a succession crisis to take control of the state and found a new dynasty.[28]

Factors that increased the risk of a succession crisis included lack of legitimate heirs (especially when the (ruling branch of a) dynasty died out), illegitimate children, contested inheritance, and the creation of collateral dynastic branches.[29] The last factor in particular had the potential to not only stimulate wars of succession upon a monarch's death, but also princely revolts by cadets and cousins while they were still alive.[29] The minority of a ruler necessitated regents and ministers to run state affairs until they came of age, which made opposition from military and administrative elites to the underage monarch easier, and also increased the risk of widespread political instability and civil conflict.[30]

Some wars of succession are about women's right to inherit. This does not exist in some countries (a "sword fief", where the Salic law applies, for example), but it does in others (a "spindle fief").[31] Often a ruler who has no sons, but does have one or more daughters, will try to change the succession laws so that a daughter can succeed him.[32] Such amendments will then be declared invalid by opponents, invoking the local tradition.[32] In Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor (or King of the Romans) increasingly regularly granted smaller inland fiefs to heirs according to the female lineage since the 13th century.[32]

Land inheritance disputes were frequent in agrarian societies, and the 'increasing subdivision of estates was a common cause of the undermining of territorial aristocracies' in cultures across the world.[3] For example, in the 10th and 11th centuries, Sassanid Persia, various states in India, the Song dynasty of China, and medieval Europe, all struggled with succession crises.[3] According to British statesman Henry Brougham (Lord Chancellor 1830–34), there were more and longer wars of succession in Europe between 1066 and the French Revolution (1789–99) than all other wars put together. "A war of succession is the most lasting of wars. The hereditary principle keeps it in perpetual life – [whereas] a war of election is always short, and never revives", he opined, arguing for elective monarchy to solve the problem.[33] According to Kalevi Holsti (1991, p. 308, Table 12.2), who catalogued and categorised wars from 1648 to 1989 into to 24 categories of 'issues that generated wars', 'dynastic/succession claims' were (one of) the primary cause(s) of 14% of all wars during 1648–1714, 9% during 1715–1814, 3% during 1815–1914, and 0% during 1918–1941 and 1945–1989.[1][34] Braumoeller (2019) attributed this drastic decrease (and practical extinction) of wars of succession from the 18th century onwards largely to the fact that 'succession no longer serves either to cement territorial holdings legitimized by continuous bloodlines or to create de facto alliances or long-standing allegiances among the Great Powers.'[35] He added that 'an international order based on political democracy more or less eliminates the incentive for wars of royal succession.'[36]

Wars of succession have throughout history often been the worst-case scenario for absolute monarchies and other autocracies, as they are commonly known to be at their weakest and most vulnerable when the ruler dies and it is uncertain who will be the successor.[37] Rival claims to ultimate power within such a regime are very prone to spiralling out of control into violence, because such regimes operate according to rule by force, or might makes right.[37] A succession crisis not only risks dragging the entire population into 'civil' war between factions backing rival pretenders,[37] but the power vacuum it creates also presents oppressed groups within the state with an opportunity to revolt,[37] as well as vassal states outside it to reclaim their independence,[38] and while the state is weakened, it also provides rulers of neighbouring states the chance to invade to further their own interests (with or without their own claim to the throne, or while backing another claimant within the state).[37] In numerous cases, the enormous long-term political and economic instability created by wars of succession caused the fall of the dynasty or the state, or both.[39]

Scholars such as Johannes Kunisch and Johannes Burckhardt (1997) blamed wars of succession in early modern Europe on notions such as the divine right of kings and absolutism, because they created inherent problems in 'a state system that had known neither effective forms of cooperation nor a clear hierarchy that had neither experienced a formal equality between its members nor clear borders.'[40] Nolan (2008) added about the 1650–1715 period in Europe: 'Complex issues of succession of Bourbon and Habsburg were the daily stuff of high European politics at all times, and the bane of the lives of the masses of peasants swept away by ebbing and waning tides of peace and the maelstrom of war.'[41] To him, the Nine Years' War and (1688–1697) and War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) were the 'two great, climactic conflicts that submerged local conflicts', so that these decades produced 'a generation of war that swirled around the dynastic ambitions and personal convictions of Louis XIV.'[41]

Throughout the centuries and across the planet, various attempts have been made at prevention or mitigation of wars of succession.

• Legally fixing the order of succession (see also Orders of succession above): All over Europe (except in the Kyivan Rus'), the introduction of primogeniture from the 11th to 13th century sought to establish a fixed order of succession,[42] but it proved to be insufficient to prevent numerous succession crises and wars, as demonstrated by their persistence into the 19th century.[1] Kokkonen and Sundell (2017) found that in Europe during 1000–1799, successions following monarchs' natural deaths considerably increased the risk of both intrastate ('civil') as well as interstate wars of succession; they calculated that monarchies practicing primogeniture did experience fewer intrastate wars than elective monarchies, but 'there is no evidence that primogeniture moderated successions' effects on interstate wars.'[7] Luard (1992) and Duchchardt (1997) pointed out that additional diplomatic efforts such as 'offensive and defensive alliances, dynastic marriages and agreements on succession' often failed to prevent them either,[40] although Nolan (2008) countered that the Act of Settlement 1701 (alias Act of Succession) did avoid 'another violent succession crisis upon Queen Anne's eventual death.'[43] Modern scholars are still divided on the question whether hereditary succession (as opposed to other methods of appointing leaders) has historically been a net force for political stability, including Kokkonen and Sundell (2014), or instability, such as Steven Pinker (2011), who stated: 'The idea of basing leadership on inheritance is a recipe for endless wars of succession'.[44] Some thinkers of the latter opinion go as far back as Thomas Paine in his pamphlet Common Sense (1776), in which his argument in favour of the American colonies in revolt against the British crown becoming a republic rather than a monarchy included his claim that hereditary succession more often than not led to civil wars.[37]
• Dividing the inheritance: A common strategy in states such as Francia and the Timurid Empire was to share the inheritance amongst male family members by giving them regional control over the realm's territory in order to appease them.[45] One would still be the supreme ruler, while the other heirs would receive appanages and could establish cadet branches.[45] Any landholdings and titles of princely branches that died out could be retaken by the dynasty's ruling branch.[46] However, this division of the inheritance also granted many princes a power base from which to challenge the reigning monarch.[45]
• Abdication/delegation in favour of designated heir: Abdication of a living monarch in favour of one or more heirs was one strategy to attempt to secure a smooth transition of power.[45] For example, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor abdicated in 1556 and divided his possessions between his son Philip II of Spain and his brother Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor before dying in 1558, splitting the House of Habsburg in a Spanish and an Austrian branch.[45] A related strategy was a partial or gradual abdication in which the ruling monarch already delegated some of their powers to their designated heir before retiring from active politics or dying.[45] An example is how Cosimo I de' Medici effectively retired from governing in the 1560s in favour of his son and designated successor Francesco before dying in 1574.[45]
• Eliminating potential opponents beforehand: A common set of strategies to secure one's own succession or accession or that of someone else before a war could break out was to eliminate potential rivals early on in the succession crisis, or before there even was a succession crisis. This could range from assassination to banishment, and from bodily mutilation to imprisonment.[45] Political mutilation in Byzantine culture was one way in which rivals sought to prevent each other from staging coups d'état or wars of succession to gain the Byzantine Emperorship, either before they had the chance, or to punish them after failed attempts and to prevent future attempts. Similar mutilation of competitors for succession were also common elsewhere in Europe, such as William fitz Giroie in 11th-century Normandy.[47] In the Ottoman Empire, succession practices against potential rival claimants ranged from committing royal fratricide to lifelong imprisonment in the Kafes. None of its succession procedures were codified, however.[45]
• Hiding the monarch's death and secretly seizing power: An ad hoc strategy that a candidate or an important player supporting a candidate might have is to try and hide the monarch's death for some time to undertake the necessary actions to secretly seize power and confront any potential rival pretenders with a fait accompli. This can only be done effectively if one can control the flow of information about the monarch's death from potential rivals. Even if a war erupts, whoever seizes control over critical government institutions (such as the court and the army) first, and secures the support of domestic and foreign powers at the start, puts their enemy/enemies at a major disadvantage.[45]

It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a war was purely or primarily a war of succession, or that other interests were at play as well that shaped the conflict in an equally or more important manner, such territory, economy, religion, and so on.[48] Many wars are not called 'war of succession' because hereditary succession was not the most important element, or despite the fact that it (partially) was. For example, the Great Northern War (1700–1721) was primarily about territory, but during 1704–1706, it was focused on the royal succession in Poland.[48] Similarly, wars can also be unjustly branded a 'war of succession' whilst the succession was actually not the most important issue hanging in the balance, such as when Louis XIV used dubious succession claims as an excuse to declare the War of Devolution (1667–1668) that he rather sought to fight for territorial gain.[48] Some wars of succession were about multiple simultaneous disputes, such as in the cases of the Nine Years' War (about England, the Palatinate, and Cologne) and the War of the Polish Succession (about Poland and Lorraine).[48] The outbreak of a war can be motivated by a succession dispute, but its focus or scope can shift over its course, and vice versa, particularly if a new succession crisis erupts in the middle of a war that originally began for different reasons (e.g. the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743)).[48]

In various African cultures, the order of succession has changed over the course of centuries from one type to another, and especially during a switch there were several wars of succession before the new system was consolidated. For example, the death of mai Idris I Nigalemi (c. 1370) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire triggered a war of succession, because it was unclear whether collateral (brother to brother) or filial/patrilineal (father to son) succession was to be preferred; patrilineal had been dominant until early 14th-century Kanem–Bornu, but was replaced by collateral by 1400.[10] The Kano Chronicle records father–son succession in the Kingdom of Kano, but always mentions the name of the ruler's mother, which may point to vestiges of a preceding matrilineal system.[49] The Kingdom of Yatenga switched from collateral to filial succession in the late 18th century.[50] Several Bunyoro wars of succession took place in the Empire of Kitara in the 17th and 18th century; they almost always coincided with rebellions in its tributary states, indicating that vassals regularly sought to exploit their suzerain's weakness during succession disputes in order to reclaim independence.[38]

In Andean civilizations such as the Inca Empire (1438–1533), it was customary for a lord to pass on his reign to the son he perceived to be the most able, not necessarily his oldest son; sometimes he chose a brother instead. After the Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1492, some Andean lords began to assert their eldest-born sons were the only 'legitimate' heirs (as was common to European primogeniture customs), while others maintained Andean succession customs involving the co-regency of a younger son of a sitting ruler during the latter's lifetime, each whenever the circumstances favoured either approach.[51]

Helen James (2004) stated that in the late 17th-century Burmese Restored Toungoo dynasty 'the transfer of power upon the death of a monarch was always a problem, for there were many contenders to the throne owing to the practice of polygamy. The sons of the major queens frequently contested the succession.'[52] Alaungpaya, founder of the new Konbaung dynasty (1752–1885), intended his successors to be appointed by agnatic seniority (from brother to brother),[19][53] according to James in an attempt 'to avoid the bloodshed that accompanied each transfer of power at the death of a Burmese monarch. It was a vain hope. The directive itself led to bloody succession crises, as some of his sons sought to pass the crown to their sons instead of their brothers, thereby thwarting Alaungpaya's dying wish.'[53] His oldest son Naungdawgyi had to fight a two-year war of succession (1760–1762) to assert his authority.[53] Hsinbyushin's succession was not challenged, but designating his son Singu Min as heir rather than a younger brother bred an imminent succession dispute just before his death.[54] The next king Singu managed to avoid a war of succession by having most of his potential rivals killed or exiled in a timely manner, although Singu's reign was cut short by a princely rebellion in February 1782, in which Phaungkaza Maung Maung seized the throne for seven days before Bodawpaya killed and replaced him.[54] Bodawpaya successfully eliminated all his rivals upon enthronement, and in 1802 ended 'twenty-five years of conflict between lineal and collateral succession' in favour of the former, according to Koenig (1990).[54] Nevertheless, two kings were overthrown by their brothers in coups in 1837 and 1853, and in 1866 the crown prince (the king's brother) was assassinated by two of the king's sons.[55] When the last Burmese king Thibaw Min (r. 1878–1885) began his reign, he had about 80 of his relatives murdered to prevent any challenge to his accession.[56]

According to Arthur Waldron (2008), 'throughout their history, Chinese states have been overwhelmingly land-based and (...) their wars have chiefly been wars of succession and overland conquest.'[57] In the alleged first dynasty, the Xia, as well as the confirmed Shang dynasty, both father–son and older brother–younger brother succession appear to have existed, with agnatic primogeniture gradually becoming a frequent practice in the late Shang.[58] The Rebellion of the Three Guards (c. 1042–1039 BCE) after the death of King Wu of Zhou is perhaps the first war of succession in Chinese recorded history. During the reign of Duke Zhuang, Zheng was the most powerful Spring and Autumn period state, but the 701–680 BCE war of succession following his death reduced it to one of the weakest.[59] As the authority of the Zhou dynasty declined, the states' power increased (the Age of Hegemons), and whenever the Zhou royal clan was unable to solve a succession crisis by itself, leading states were expected to militarily intervene on behalf of the "legitimate" heir, which occurred frequently in the 7th and 6th century.[60] However, as the states grew more powerful and dukes had to delegate control over certain areas to kinsmen as their territories enlarged, they increasingly risked internal dynastic struggles as well.[60] Especially the largest states experienced this problem, namely Qi (e.g. the War of Qi's succession in 643–642 BCE) and Jin; in the latter case, this eventually led to the Partition of Jin in 403 BCE, which ushered in the Warring States period.[60]

After uniting all states into his Qin dynasty, the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang failed to establish secure succession rules before his death in 210 BCE, upon which his clan immediately lost control of the government to Li Si and Zhao Gao, and his dynasty fell soon after (207 BCE).[61] Winning the subsequent Chu–Han Contention and founding the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu sought to ensure a stable succession process that would not endanger the dynasty.[61] He strengthened the designated heir's position by creating the office of the Crown Prince, in which a group of officials educated and served the designated heir well in advance until his time to succeed would arrive.[61] This crown prince system prevented a lot of succession disputes during the Han dynasty, and although it frequently malfunctioned in the Three Kingdoms, Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties periods, it 'matured' during the Tang and Song dynasties.[15] Nevertheless, the Han state did suffer dynastic instability several times. When a Han emperor died without officially appointing a successor, his widow, the empress dowager, had the sole right to appoint one of the late emperor's surviving sons or relatives to the position.[62] At such times, or when an infant emperor was placed on the Han throne, a regent, often also the empress dowager or one of her male relatives, would assume the duties of the emperor until he reached his majority. Sometimes the empress dowager's faction—the consort clan—was overthrown in a coup d'état or a war of succession. For example, Empress Lü Zhi was the de facto ruler of the court during the reigns of the child emperors Qianshao (r. 188–184 BCE) and Houshao (r. 184–180 BCE),[63] but her faction was overthrown during the Lü Clan Disturbance upon her death in 180 BCE, and Liu Heng was named emperor instead.[64]

The Yamato state did not have clear rules on succession (such as primogeniture), and the death of a monarch frequently resulted in a crisis with multiple claimants from several powerful clans vying for the throne.[65] The religion-based Soga–Mononobe conflict (552–587) between the pro-Shinto Mononobe clan and the pro-Buddhist Soga clan sometimes resulted in wars of succession, particularly in 585–587.[66] To prevent further challenges to his power due to succession crises and to enforce the adoption of Buddhism, clan leader Soga no Umako had Emperor Sushun assassinated in 592, and instead installed Suiko as empress (the first woman on the imperial throne in Japanese history) with Prince Shōtoku as regent, while holding the reins of power behind the scenes.[67] This configuration led to a stable reign of empress Suiko until 628, 'a remarkably long span for that period.'[67] However, when she died and Shōtoku's son Prince Yamashiro claimed the throne, he was rejected by the Soga clan in favour of Emperor Jomei.[66] After the latter died in 641 and was succeeded by his wife, Empress Kōgyoku, Yamashiro once again claimed the throne, but he and his family were killed (possibly by suicide) when soldiers of Soga no Iruka attacked.[67] The latter was subsequently murdered in the 645 Isshi Incident by Prince Naka-no-Ōe, who installed puppet Emperor Kōtoku before taking the throne himself as Emperor Tenji in 654.[67] Tenji's death in 672 caused the Jinshin War; as there were still no rules for succession, any close kin of the deceased emperor regardless of gender could claim equal rights to the crown.[68]

The historical Fitnas and similar conflicts in early Islam were essentially wars of succession, resulting not (primarily) from religious disputes, but from a lack of agreement in early Islamic political thought on how to politically organise the early Muslim community.[69] In particular, there was no consensus on the exercise of power and how leaders should be appointed.[69] This lack of constitutional theory has been attributed by Ali Abdel Raziq (1888–1966) to the idea that the prophet Muhammad had been primarily concerned with religious regulations, and had not given priority to founding a political system, never left a known successor (= caliph), nor established standard rules by which future leaders were to be appointed.[70] After his death in 632, this compelled the Companions to find ad hoc solutions to the leadership question, causing succession disputes that resulted in the Fitnas, most notably the First Fitna (656–661), the Second Fitna (680–692), the Third Fitna (744–747), the Fourth Fitna (809–827), and the Fitna of al-Andalus (1009–1031).[71] Eventually, the disputes led to the major schism between Sunni Muslims, who held that the leader should in some way be elected from within the Quraysh, and Shia Muslims, who held that the leader must be a direct biological descendant of Muhammad through Ali, and that each leader personally designated his own successor.[71] The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) followed neither school of thought, because its founder Mu'awiya I was neither a descendant of Muhammad, nor a Companion elected as caliph; instead, the Umayyad basis of power was military success and wealth acquired from conquest.[72]^: 2:12 Therefore, many early Muslims perceived this dynasty to lack legitimacy, and this 'arguably biggest problem' contributed to its downfall during the Third Fitna (744–747) and the closely connected Abbasid Revolution (747–750).[72]^{: 2:12, 7:38}

Other wars of succession in later Islamic polities in Asia (mostly Perso-Arabic, Turkic, and Mongolic monarchies) that haven't been named 'fitnas' have also occurred, such as during the Abbasid Caliphate, where a peaceful transition of power upon the caliph's death was the exception rather than the rule.[73] According to Justin Marozzi (2015), the 775 succession of Al-Mansur by Al-Mahdi "was, by the standards of the future, blood-soaked successions of the Abbasid caliphate, a model of order and decorum."[73] During the period of Abbasid fragmentation into autonomous dynasties (c. 850–1050), this was still a common problem according to Antony Black (2011): 'Most dynasties were disabled by succession struggles; it was difficult to establish a constitutional rule for succession in the face of Islamic Law and tribal custom, which divided a patrimony equally among all sons. (...) To gain the succession within a clan dynasty you needed, once again, to demonstrate that God was on your side. This meant acquiring support through a combination of military success and good repute.'[39] Eric J. Hanne (2007) reached a similar conclusion about the Buyid dynasty in particular: 'As the Buyids had traditionally divided up their lands among brothers, uncles, and cousins, the familial confederacy, a frail situation at best, only worked when one had a strong personal figure such as 'Adud al-Dawla (d. 372/983), whose suzerainty was accepted only after prolonged internecine warfare.'[4] Wars of succession could sometimes cause more instability to the realm than whatever stability the most capable of rulers could achieve in times of peace.[39] Citing Ibn Khaldun, Black argued that this was one major factor why virtually all Islamic dynasties (with the notable exception of the Ottoman Empire) lasted only about 100 to 200 years before falling apart due to succession crises.[39]

According to Rashid al-Din Hamadani's Jami' al-tawarikh (c. 1316), the Ilkhanate was plagued with succession struggles, misrule and corruption from its founding by Hulagu Khan in the 1260s until the accession of Ghazan in 1295, the first Ilkhan to convert to Islam, and to make efforts to base the Ilkhanate's legitimacy on that religion. However, because Ghazan was Rashid's patron, this account of the early Ilkhanate's instability may have been exaggerated in order to glorify Ghazan and legitimise his reign.[74]^{: 12:02–13:49}

In the Mughal Empire (1526–1857), there was no tradition of primogeniture.[75] Instead it was customary for sons to overthrow their father, and for brothers to war to the death among themselves.[76] 17th-century French traveller François Bernier, who spent about 12 years in India (1658–1670; partially overlapping with the Mughal war of succession of 1657–1661), praised Aurangzeb as 'a great King' with 'a versatile and rare genius', but was critical of the 'unjust and cruel' means by which he and other Mughal emperors rose to power through war rather than the European method of succession 'in favour of the eldest son by wise and fixed laws' that Bernier himself was familiar with.[5] Judith E. Walsh (2006) stated that wars of succession were 'the one problem the Mughals never solved', and that after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, repetitive 'succession struggles brought Mughal power more or less to an end'.[77] On the other hand, scholars such as Faruqui (2002) have posited that studies which argue Mughal succession struggles have weakened the empire may be influenced by 'a long held bias in Western European writings favoring the institution of primogeniture over all other modes of forms of succession.'[78] Instead, Faruqui sought to 'demonstrate how, far from weakening the empire, intra-dynastic collaboration and strife was a crucial site for the production and reproduction of Mughal power.'[79]

Wars of succession after the death of Hayam Wuruk such as the Regreg War (1404–1406) are commonly recognised to have weakened the Javanese empire of Majapahit in the 15th century, and to have been one of the leading causes of its eventual downfall in 1527.[80][81] The Samudera Pasai Sultanate in northern Sumatra experienced a throne struggle in 1412–1415, in which the Ming Chinese fourth treasure voyage of admiral Zheng He intervened.[82] Starting with the death of Sultan Agung of Mataram in 1645, every time the sultan of Mataram died, a war of succession broke out, and these recurrent conflicts crippled the state.[83] From the Trunajaya rebellion (1674–1681) onwards, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) began to exploit the dynastic crises to expand its economic, political and territorial control over Java by supporting their preferred candidate for the throne with superior firepower, in return for extensive concessions upon victory.[84] The Javanese Wars of Succession (1703–1755) enabled the Company to weaken and eventually split Mataram into smaller states that it could easily control.[84] An early 19th-century British writer observed: "In Malay States, a War of Succession almost invariably follows the decease of the Rajah, and with their other feudal contentions are the bane of them all — oppressing the inhabitants, checking industry, and obstructing commerce."[85] He recommended that the British government take certain measures to prevent these wars from happening in the interest of both natives and foreigners, but argued that the English should not become 'conquerors and oppressors' to the Malays, 'as the Dutch are in all their possessions throughout the Archipelago'.[85] The British would establish "indirect rule" over the Malay States and turned the sultans essentially into their agents.[86] In 1819, the British would exploit the Johor Sultanate's succession crisis to partition its territory with the Dutch, keeping mainland Johor including Singapore for themselves and ceding the Riau-Lingga Sultanate to the Netherlands.[87] While Brunei remained an absolute monarchy, the kings of independent Malaysia have assumed more ceremonial roles of identity within a constitutional framework.[86]

About the Hoa Lư-based early Vietnamese kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt (968–1054), Nicholas Tarling (1992) noted: '[T]he Hoa-lu kings ruled chiefly by threat of violence, and the death of each one was followed by a war of succession.'[11] By contrast, rulers of the later Trần dynasty (1225–1400) had adopted the practice of '[abdicating] the throne to their chosen adult heirs upon the death of their predecessors, thereafter ruling as 'senior' kings.'[16] Tarling added that 'the Tran kings made decisions in consultation with their uncles, brothers, and cousins, thereby fostering solidarity within the royal clan,' and that the dynasty began to collapse when these rules were no longer observed.[16] When the childless king Trần Dụ Tông failed to designate an heir, his death in 1369 marked the beginning of two decades of succession-based warfare, until prime minister Hồ Quý Ly seized power and restored order in 1390, and abolished the Tran dynasty in favour of his own in 1400.[88]

With the exception of Naresuan's succession by Ekathotsarot in 1605, 'the method of royal succession at Ayutthaya throughout the seventeenth century was battle.'[12] Although European visitors to Thailand at the time tried to discern any rules in the Siamese order of succession, noting that in practice the dead king's younger brother often succeeded him, this custom appears not to have been legally enshrined anywhere.[12] The ruling king did often bestow the title of uparaja ('viceroy') upon his preferred successor, but in reality, it was an 'elimination process': any male member of the royal clan (usually the late king's brothers and sons) could claim the throne of Ayutthaya for himself, and win by defeating all his rivals.[12] Moreover, groupings of nobles, foreign merchants, and foreign mercenaries actively rallied behind their preferred candidates in hopes of benefiting from each war's outcome.[12]

The origins of wars of succession in Europe lie in feudal or absolutist systems of government, in which the decisions on war and peace could be made by a single sovereign without the population's consent. The politics of the respective rulers was mainly driven by dynastic interests. German historian Johannes Kunisch (1937–2015) ascertained: "The all-driving power was the dynasties' law of the prestige of power, the expansion of power, and the desire to maintain themselves."[6] Moreover, the legal and political coherence of the various provinces of a 'state territory' often consisted merely in nothing more than having a common ruler. Early government systems were therefore based on dynasties, the extinction of which immediately brought on a state crisis. The composition of the governmental institutions of the various provinces and territories also eased their partitioning in case of a conflict, just like the status of claims on individual parts of the country by foreign monarchs.[90]

Early medieval Europe was rife with conflicts over property or property rights. R. I. Moore (2000) characterised the situation as 'apparently endless and pointless internecine conflict which raged at every level of aristocratic society from the tenth century onwards. It continued everywhere in Latin Europe (though taking a somewhat different form to the east of the Rhine) throughout the eleventh century, and did not subside in most regions until well into the twelfth.'[3] Usually, a designated or prospective heir to a property (typically but not always the owner's oldest son) would face off demands by uncles and brothers, aunts and sisters (often represented by their husbands) and their children to grand them a fair share in the inheritance.[3] Moore stated: 'Title to landed property would always remain a source of endless and bitter contention, governed by infinitely various and complicated combinations of differing legal traditions and local customs and conditions.'[3]

To wage a war, a justification is needed (Jus ad bellum). These arguments may be put forward in a declaration of war, to indicate that one is justly taking up arms. As the Dutch lawyer Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) noted, these must make clear that one is unable to pursue their rightful claims in any other way.[91] The claims to legal titles from the dynastic sphere were a strong reason for war, because international relations primarily consisted of inheritance and marriage policies until the end of the Ancien Régime. These were often so intertwined that it had to lead to conflict. Treaties that led to hereditary linkages, pawning and transfers, made various relations more complicated, and could be utilised for claims as well. That claims were made at all is due to the permanent struggle for competition and prestige between the respective ruling houses. On top of that came the urge of contemporary princes to achieve "glory" for themselves.[90]

In some cases, wars of succession in Europe could also be centred around the reign in prince-bishoprics. Although these were formally elective monarchies without hereditary succession, the election of the prince-bishop could be strongly intertwined with the dynastic interests of the noble families involved, each of whom would put forward their own candidates. In case of disagreement over the election result, waging war was a possible way of settling the conflict. In the Holy Roman Empire, such wars were known as diocesan feuds.[92]

After numerous familial conflicts, the principle of male primogeniture originated in Western Europe the 11th century, spreading to the rest of Europe (with the exception of the Kyivan Rus') in the 12th and 13th century; it has never been widely adopted outside Europe.[42] This restricted the number of potential heirs to the oldest son of the reigning monarch, thereby facilitating undivided inheritance and a great reduction of potential sources of property conflict.[14] Another major effect of the near-universal introduction of male primogeniture was the strengthening of patrilineality, and the structural undermining and destruction of the women's property rights, be they mothers, wives or daughters.[21] For example, women in northern Italy, who had the ancient right to inherit a tercia, one third of their husband's estate, lost it in the 12th century (Genoa: 1143).[21]

However, it did not prevent the outbreak of wars of succession altogether. A true deluge of succession wars occurred in Europe between the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and the Coalition Wars (1792–1815).[93] According to German historian Heinz Duchhardt (1943) the outbreak of wars of succession in the early modern period was stimulated on the one hand by the uncertainty about the degree to which regulations and agreements on hereditary succession were to be considered a respectable part of emerging international law. On the other hand, there was also a lack of effective means to provide them recognition and validation.[94] Jeroen Duindam (2021) noted that, 'when the internal challenges to dynastic supremacy had abated' in 17th- and 18th-century Europe, the royal courts forged more and more marriages alliances with the ruling houses of other sovereign states, which 'helps to explain the prevalence of international wars of succession' in that period.[95]

Wars of succession in Europe gradually came to an end in the 19th century, when absolute monarchies were replaced by an international order based on democracy, featuring constitutional monarchies or republics.[36]

Alexander's diadochi battled about his political legacy for 46 years.

• Ancient Egyptian wars of succession[96]
  • During the Second Dynasty, the Fourth (2649 BCE) and the Fifth (2513 and 2345 BCE)
  • Between Seti II and Amenmesse (1204–1198 BCE) after the death of pharaoh Merneptah
• Wars of the Diadochi or Wars of Alexander's Successors (323–277 BCE), after the death of king Alexander the Great of Macedon[97]
• Numidian war of succession (118–112 BCE), after the death of king Micipsa of Numidia; this spilled over into the Roman–Numidian Jugurthine War (112–106 BCE)
• Revolt of Nizar (1094–1095), after the death of caliph Al-Mustansir Billah of the Fatimid Caliphate
• Almohad war of succession (1224), after the death of caliph Yusuf al-Mustansir of the Almohad Caliphate[98]
• Hafsid war of succession and Marinid invasion (1346–1347), after the death of caliph Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II of the Hafsid dynasty[99]
• Malian war of succession (1360), after the death of mansa Suleyman of the Mali Empire[100]
• Sayfawa war of succession (c. 1370), after the death of mai Idris I Nigalemi (Nikale) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire (Sefuwa or Sayfawa dynasty) between his brother Daud (Dawud) and his son(s), because it was unclear whether collateral (brother to brother) or patrilineal (father to son) succession was to be preferred.[18]
• Moroccan war of succession (1465–1471), after the killing of Abd al-Haqq II of the Marinid Sultanate during the 1465 Moroccan revolution. The Marinid dynasty fell; the Idrisid Mohammed ibn Ali Amrani-Joutey and the Wattasid Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya fought each other to found a new dynasty over Morocco.
• Ethiopian war of succession (1494–1495), after the death of emperor Eskender of the Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty)[101]
• Adalite war of succession (1517–1527), after the death of sultan Mahfuz of the Adal Sultanate[102]
• Kongolese war of succession (1543–1545), after the death of mwenekongo Afonso I of Kongo[103]
• Bunyoro war of succession (mid-16th century), enthroning Winyi II over the Empire of Kitara[104]
• Moroccan war of succession (1554), after the death of Sultan Ahmad of the Wattasid dynasty
• Moroccan war of succession (1574–1578), after the death of sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib of the Saadi dynasty[105]
• War of the Songhai succession (1582/3–1591), after the death of emperor Askia Daoud of the Songhai Empire.[106] The war between the two feuding fractions would not cease until the Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire in 1591.[106]
• Moroccan War of Succession (1603–1627)[107]
• Kongo Civil War (1665–1709), after the death of mwenekongo António I of Kongo in the Battle of Mbwila[108]
• Revolutions of Tunis or the Muradid War of Succession (1675–1705), after the death of bey Murad II of Tunis
• Yatengan war of succession (1754–1757), after the death of Naaba ("king") Piiyo of Yatenga (modern Burkina Faso) between his brother Naaba Kango and his cousin Naaba Wobgho. Soon after Kango's ascension to the throne, Wobgho forced him into exile, but in 1757 Kango returned with Barbara troops with flintlocks (the first recorded use of firearms in Yatenga), and won the war.[109]
• Several Bunyoro wars of succession in the Empire of Kitara in the 17th and 18th century, almost always coinciding with rebellions in its tributary states[38]
• Tripolitanian civil war (1790–1795), after the assassination of bey Hasan of Tripoli. It involved a war of succession between leading members of the Karamanli dynasty, an intervention by Ottoman officer Ali Burghul who claimed to be acting on the sultan's orders and controlled Tripoli for 17 months, and an intervention by the bey of Tunis Hammuda ibn Ali to restore the Karamanlis to power.
• Zulu war of succession (1839–1840), between the brothers Dingane and Mpande after the Battle of Blood River[110]
• Burundian war of succession (c. 1850–1900), after the death of mwami Ntare Rugamba of the Kingdom of Burundi. Great controversy surrounds the parentage and accession of Mwezi Gisabo to the kingship (ubwami), as his older brother Twarereye had been their father's designated heir. The ensuing fratricidal war ultimately led to Twarereye's death in the Battle of Nkoondo (c. 1860) near the traditional capital of Muramvya. Dynastic feuds and challenges to Mwezi's kingship by his other brothers would continue for decades thereafter, and by 1900 Mwezi had only effective control over half his kingdom's territory.[111][112]
• Ndebele war of succession (1868), after the death of king Mzilikazi of the Northern Ndebele kingdom of Mthwakazi, won by Lobengula[113]^: 348
• Ethiopian coup d'état of 1928 and Gugsa Wale's rebellion (1930), about the (future) succession of empress Zewditu of the Ethiopian Empire by Haile Selassie

The Warring States, each claiming kingship and seeking to unite China under their banner.

• (historicity contested) Kurukshetra War, also called the Mahabharata or Bharata War (dating heavily disputed, ranging from 5561 to around 950 BCE), between the Pandava and Kaurava branches of the ruling Lunar dynasty over the throne at Hastinapura.[114] It is disputed whether this event actually occurred as narrated in the Mahabharata.
• Rebellion of the Three Guards (c. 1042–1039 BCE), after the death of King Wu of Zhou
• (historicity contested) War of David against Ish-bosheth (c. 1007–1005 BCE), after the death of king Saul of the united Kingdom of Israel. It is disputed whether this event actually occurred as narrated in the Hebrew Bible. It allegedly began as a war of secession, namely of Judah (David) from Israel (Ish-bosheth), but eventually the conflict was about the succession of Saul in both Israel and Judah
• Neo-Assyrian war of succession (826–820 BCE), in anticipation of the death of king Shalmaneser III of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (died 824 BCE) between his sons Assur-danin-pal and Shamshi-Adad[115]
• Jin wars of succession (8th century–376 BCE), a series of wars over control of the Chinese feudal state of Jin (part of the increasingly powerless Zhou Dynasty)
  • Jin–Quwo wars (739–678 BCE), dynastic struggles between two branches of Jin's ruling house
  • Li Ji unrest (657–651 BCE), about the future succession of Duke Xian of Jin
  • War of the Zhou succession (635 BCE), where Jin assisted King Xiang of Zhou against his brother, Prince Dai, who claimed the Zhou throne
  • Partition of Jin (c. 481–403 BCE), a series of wars between rival noble families of Jin, who eventually sought to divide the state's territory amongst themselves at the expense of Jin's ruling house. The state was definitively carved up between the successor states of Zhao, Wei and Han in 376 BCE.
• Zheng war of succession (701–680 BCE), after the death of Duke Zhuang of Zheng[59][116]
• War of Qi's succession (643–642 BCE), after the death of Duke Huan of Qi
• (debated) Accession of Darius the Great (522 BCE), after the death of Cambyses II of the Achaemenid Empire. Scholars debate how Cambyses II died, and how Darius the Great got into power, because the sources (such as the Behistun Inscription, Ctesias and Herodotus) contradict each other and are unreliable in certain places. What is clear is that there was some sort of power struggle following the death of Cambyses, possibly involving the assassinations of Cambyses, Bardiya and Gautama, and coups d'état, that eventually Darius acceded to the throne, and that he had to quell multiple rebellions against his new reign.
• Persian war of succession (404–401 BCE) ending with the Battle of Cunaxa, after the death of Darius II of the Achaemenid Empire
• Warring States period (c. 403–221 BCE), a series of dynastic interstate and intrastate wars during the Eastern Zhou dynasty of China over succession and territory
  • War of the Wei succession (370–367 BCE), after the death of Marquess Wu of Wei
  • Qin's wars of unification (230–221 BCE), to enforce Qin's claim to succeeding the Zhou dynasty (which during the Western Zhou period ruled all the Chinese states), that Qin had ended in 256 BCE
• Wars of the Diadochi or Wars of Alexander's Successors (323–277 BCE), after the death of king Alexander the Great of Macedon[97]
• Maurya war of succession (272–268 BCE), after the death of emperor Bindusara of the Mauryan Empire; his son Ashoka the Great defeated and killed his brothers, including crown prince Susima[117]
• Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BCE), after the surrender and death of emperor Ziying of the Qin dynasty; the rival rebel leaders Liu Bang and Xiang Yu sought to set up their own new dynasties
• Lü Clan Disturbance (180 BCE), after the death of Empress Lü of the Han dynasty

The Seleucid Dynastic Wars ravaged the once great Seleucid Empire, and contributed to its fall.

• Seleucid Dynastic Wars (157–63 BCE), a series of wars of succession that were fought between competing branches of the Seleucid Royal household for control of the Seleucid Empire
• (uncertain) Bactrian war of succession (c. 145–130 BCE), after the assassination of king Eucratides I of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, between his sons Eucratides II, Heliocles I and Plato
• Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BCE), after the death of king Nicomedes IV of Bithynia between the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Pontus
• Hasmonean Civil War (67–63 BCE), after the death of queen Salome Alexandra of Hasmonean Judea between her sons Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II[97]^: 93–94
• Parthian war of succession (57–54 BCE), between Mithridates IV and his brother Orodes II after killing their father, king Phraates III
  • The Roman invasion of Parthia in 54 BCE, ending catastrophically at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, was partially motivated by or justified as supporting Mithridates' claim to the Parthian throne[118]
• Red Eyebrows and Lulin Rebellions (17–23 CE), revolts against Xin dynasty emperor Wang Mang to restore the Han dynasty; both rebel armies had their own candidates, however
• Han civil war (23–36), Liu Xiu's campaigns against pretenders and regional warlords who opposed the rule of the Gengshi Emperor (23–25) and his own rule (since 25)[119]
  • Second Red Eyebrows Rebellion (23–27), after the death of Wang Mang, against the Gengshi Emperor, the Lulin rebel candidate to succeed Wang Mang
• War of the Armenian Succession (54–66), caused by the death of Roman emperor Claudius, after which the rival pretender Tiridates was installed by king Vologases I of Parthia, unacceptable to new emperor Nero[120]
• Parthian wars of succession between Vologases III, Osroes I, Parthamaspates, Mithridates V and Vologases IV (105–147), after the death of king Pacorus II of Parthia
  • Trajan's Parthian campaign (115–117), the intervention of the Roman emperor Trajan in favour of Parthamaspates[120]
• Three Kingdoms Period (184–280), after the death of emperor Ling of Han[note 3]
• Dynastic struggle between Vologases VI and Artabanus IV (213–222), after the death of their father Vologases V of Parthia
  • Parthian war of Caracalla (216–217), Roman intervention in the Parthian dynastic struggle against Artabanus IV
• War of the Eight Princes (291–306), after the death of emperor Sima Yan of the Chinese Jin dynasty
• (historicity contested) A war of succession in the Gupta Empire after the death of emperor Kumaragupta I (c. 455), out of which Skandagupta emerged victorious. Historical sources do not make clear whether the events described constituted a war of succession, and whether it even took place as narrated.[121]
• Sasanian war of succession (457–459) between Hormizd III and Peroz I after the death of their father, shahanshah Yazdegerd II of the Sasanian Empire
• War of the Uncles and Nephews (465–c.495) after the death of emperor Qianfei of the Liu Song dynasty[122]
• Prince Hoshikawa Rebellion (479–480), after the death of emperor Yuryaku of Japan

• Wei civil war (530–550), after the assassination of would-be usurper Erzhu Rong by emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei, splitting the state into Western Wei (Yuwen clan) and Eastern Wei (Gao clan)
• Göktürk civil war or Turkic interregnum (581–587), after the death of Gökturk khagan Taspar Qaghan of the First Turkic Khaganate[123]
• Yamato war of succession (585–587), after the death of emperor Bidatsu of Yamato (Japan). Also the final phase of the religion-based Soga–Mononobe conflict (552–587) between the pro-Shinto Mononobe clan and the pro-Buddhist Soga clan.[124]
• Sasanian civil war of 589-591, about the deposition, execution and succession of shahanshah Hormizd IV of the Sasanian Empire
• Sui war of succession (604), after the death of Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty[125]
• Chalukya war of succession (c. 609), after the death of king Mangalesha of the Chalukya dynasty[126]
• Transition from Sui to Tang (613–628): with several rebellions against his rule going on, Emperor Yang of Sui was assassinated in 618 by rebel leader Yuwen Huaji, who put Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao on the throne as puppet emperor, while rebel leader Li Yuan, who had previously made Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You his puppet emperor, forced the latter to abdicate and proclaimed himself emperor, as several other rebel leaders had also done.
• Sasanian civil war of 628–632 or Sasanian Interregnum, after the execution of shahanshah Khosrow II of the Sasanian Empire

Ali and Aisha at the Battle of the Camel. Originally a political conflict on the Succession to Muhammad, the First Fitna became the basis of the religious split between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam.

• The historical Fitnas in Islam:
  • First Fitna (656–661), after the assassination of caliph Uthman of the Rashidun Caliphate between the Umayyads and Ali's followers (Shiites)
  • Second Fitna (680–692; in strict sense 683–685), after the death of caliph Mu'awiya I of the Umayyad Caliphate between Umayyads, Zubayrids and Alids (Shiites)
  • Third Fitna (744–750/752): a series of civil wars within and rebellions against the Umayyad Caliphate, starting with the assassination of caliph Al-Walid II, and ending with the Abbasid Revolution
  • Fourth Fitna (809–827): after the death of caliph Harun al-Rashid of the Abbasid Caliphate
• War of the Goguryeo succession (666–668), after the death of military dictator Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo, see Goguryeo–Tang War (645–668)
• Jinshin War (672), after the death of emperor Tenji of Yamato (Japan)
• Twenty Years' Anarchy (695–717), after the deposition of emperor Justinian II of the Byzantine Empire
• Abbasid war of succession (754), after the death of the first Abbasid caliph As-Saffah. Decisive battle at Nisibis in November 754.
• Rashtrakuta war of succession (c. 793), after the death of emperor Dhruva Dharavarsha of the Rashtrakuta dynasty[127]
• Era of Fragmentation (842–1253), after the assassination of emperor Langdarma of the Tibetan Empire
• Anarchy at Samarra (861–870), after the murder of caliph Al-Mutawakkil of the Abbasid Caliphate
  • Abbasid civil war or Fifth Fitna (865–866), after the death of caliph Al-Muntasir of the Abbasid Caliphate[128]
• Later Three Kingdoms of Korea (892–936), began when two rebel leaders, claiming to be heirs of the former kings of Baekje and Goguryeo, revolted against the reign of queen Jinseong of Silla
• Pratihara war of succession (c. 910–913), after the death of king Mahendrapala I of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty[129]
• Covenant Crossing (947) after the death of Emperor Taizong of Liao (Liao dynasty)
• Buyid war of succession (949–979), after the death of emir Imad al-Dawla of the Buyid dynasty[4][130]
• Anarchy of the 12 Warlords (966–968), after the death of king Ngô Quyền of Vietnam
• Samanid war of succession (961–962), after the death of emir Abd al-Malik I of the Samanid Empire between his brother Mansur (supported by Fa'iq) and his son Nasr (supported by Alp-Tegin). Alp-Tegin lost, but managed to establish an autonomous governorship in Ghazni, where his son-in-law Sabuktigin founded the Ghaznavid dynasty in 977.[131]^: 8:44
• Buyid war of succession (983–998), after the death of emir 'Adud al-Dawla of the Buyid dynasty[4]
• Afghan War of Succession (997–998),[132] after the death of emir Sabuktigin of the Ghaznavids
• Khmer war of succession (1001–1006), after the death of king Jayavarman V of the Khmer Empire[133]
• Afghan war of succession (1030), after the death of sultan Mahmud of Ghazni
• Afghan War of Succession (1041), after the death of sultan Mas'ud I of Ghazni[132]
• Seljuk war of succession (1063), after the death of sultan Tughril, founder of the Seljuk Empire
• Seljuk war of succession (1072–1073), after the death of sultan Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Empire. Decided at the Battle of Kerj Abu Dulaf.
• Seljuk War of Succession (1092–1105), after the death of sultan Malik Shah I of the Seljuk Empire[134]
• Seljuk war of succession in Iraq (1131–1134?), after the death of Mahmud II, the Seljuk sultan of Baghdad
• Seljuk war of succession in Iraq and Persia (1152–1159), after the death of Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud, the Seljuk sultan of Baghdad and Hamadan
• Hōgen Rebellion (1156), Heiji Rebellion (1160) and Genpei War (1180–1185), after the death of emperor Konoe of Japan, between clans over control of the imperial family
• Pandyan Civil War (1169–1177): king Parakrama Pandyan I and his son Vira Pandyan III against Kulasekhara Pandya of Chola
• War of the Antiochene Succession (1201–1219), after the death of prince Bohemond III of Antioch
• War of the Lombards (1228–1243), after the death of queen Isabella II of Jerusalem and Cyprus
• Ayyubid war of succession (1238–1249), after the death of sultan Al-Kamil of the Ayyubid dynasty
• Toluid Civil War (1260–1264), after the death of great khan Möngke Khan of the Mongol Empire between Ariq Böke and Kublai Khan[74]^{: 5:23–9:41}
  • Berke–Hulagu war (1262), a proxy war of the Toluid Civil War; Hulagu supported Kublai, Berke supported Ariq Böke.[74]^{: 9:41–10:40}
• Kaidu–Kublai war (1268–1301/4), continuation of the Toluid Civil War caused by Kaidu's refusal to recognise Kublai Khan as the new great khan[135]
• Chagatai wars of succession (1307–1331), after the death of khan Duwa of the Chagatai Khanate[136][74]^{: 32:47–33:39}
  • War between Taliqu and Kebek (1308–1309?), after the death of khan Könchek of the Chagatai Khanate
• Pandya Fratricidal War (c. 1310–?), after the death of king Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I of the Pandya dynasty[137][138]
• Golden Horde war of succession (1312–1320?), after the death of khan Toqta of the Golden Horde
• War of the Two Capitals (1328–1332), after the death of emperor Yesün Temür of the Yuan dynasty[74]^{: 44:37–46:20}
• Disintegration of the Ilkhanate (1335–1353), after the death of il-khan Abu Sa'id of the Ilkhanate[74]^{: 18:26–29:04}
• Chagatai wars of succession (1334–1347), after the deposition and killing of khan Tarmashirin of the Chagatai Khanate. As a result, the Chagatai Khanate effectively split into Transoxania in the west, and Moghulistan in the east.[74]^{: 33:48–35:22}
• Nanboku-chō period or Japanese War of Succession[139] (1336–1392), after the ousting and death of emperor Go-Daigo of Japan
• Trapezuntine Civil War (1340–1349), after the death of emperor Basil of Trebizond
• Tughlugh Timur's invasions of Transoxania (1360–1361), after the assassination of Amir Qazaghan of Transoxania[74]^{: 35:39–35:56}
• Forty Years' War (1368–1408) after the death of king Thado Minbya of Ava; the war raged within and between the Burmese kingdoms of Ava and Pegu as the successors of the Pagan Kingdom[140]
• Tran war of succession (1369–1390), after the death of king Trần Dụ Tông of the Trần dynasty[88]
• Delhi war of succession (1394–1397), after the death of sultan Ala ud-din Sikandar Shah of the Tughlaq dynasty (Delhi Sultanate)[141][142]
• Strife of Princes (1398–1400), after king Taejo of Joseon appointed his eighth son as his successor instead of his disgruntled fifth, who rebelled when he learnt that his half-brother was conspiring to kill him (see also History of the Joseon dynasty § Early strife)[143]
• Jingnan Rebellion (1399–1402), after the death of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty
• Regreg War (1404–1406), resulting from succession disputes after the death (1389) of king Hayam Wuruk of the Majapahit Empire
• Timurid wars of succession (1405–1507):
  • First Timurid war of succession (1405–1409/11), after the death of amir Timur of the Timurid Empire[144]
  • Second Timurid war of succession (1447–1459), after the death of sultan Shah Rukh of the Timurid Empire[144]
  • Third Timurid war of succession (1469–1507), after the death of sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza of the Timurid Empire[144]
• Sekandar–Zain al-'Abidin war (1412–1415): according to the Ming Shilu, Sekandar was the younger brother of the former king, rebelled and plotted to kill the current king Zain al-'Abidin to claim the throne of the Samudera Pasai Sultanate; however, the Ming dynasty had recognised the latter as the legitimate ruler, and during the fourth treasure voyage of admiral Zheng He, the Chinese intervened and defeated Sekandar.[82]
• Ottoman war of succession (1421–1422/30), after the death of sultan Mehmed I of the Ottoman Empire between his younger brother Mustafa Çelebi, his oldest son Murad II, and his second-oldest son Küçük Mustafa[145]
  • During the Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430), a Turkish pretender (known as "Pseudo-Mustafa") claiming to be Mustafa Çelebi was supported by the Byzantines
• Gaoxu rebellion (1425), after the death of the Hongxi Emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty
• Kakitsu Chaos (July–September 1441), after the assassination of shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori of Japan. Not to be confused with the Kakitsu uprising that happened simultaneously.
• Chi Lu Buli Rebellion (1453), after the death of king Shō Kinpuku of the Ryukyu Kingdom
• Sengoku period (c. 1467–1601) in Japan
  • Ōnin War (1467–1477), after the 1464 abdication of Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan in favour of Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado,[146] as well as the imminent succession of shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa of Japan
• Aq Qoyunlu war(s) of succession (1470s–1501), after the death of shahanshah Uzun Hasan of the Aq Qoyunlu state[147][148]

War of 1657–61. Mughal emperors were often overthrown by their sons, who then warred each other to the death.[76]

Mir Jafar defected to the British during the Battle of Plassey, being made the new nawab of Bengal as a reward.

• Khandesh war of succession (1508–1509), after the death of sultan Ghazni Khan of the Farooqi dynasty (Sultanate of Khandesh)[149]
• Trần Cao rebellion (1516–1521), after the deposition of emperor Lê Tương Dực of the Lê dynasty of Đại Việt by the spring 1516 military coup
• Northern Yuan war of succession (1517–15??), after the death of khagan Dayan Khan of the Northern Yuan dynasty[150]
• Negara Daha war of succession (c. 1520), between Suriansyah of Banjar (alias Prince Samudera) and his uncle Pangeran Tumenggung[151]
• Crisis of the Sixteenth Century (1521–1597), after the overthrow and murder of king Vijayabahu VI of Kotte during the Vijayabā Kollaya. The three sons of his first wife had conspired to kill him to prevent his designated heir, their stepbrother from his second wife, to ascend to the throne. Although they managed to kill their father, they soon began fighting each other over the division of the kingdom of Kotte in three parts, while the Kingdom of Kandy seized the opportunity to reassert its independence. The Portuguese started intervening in the war in the 1540s for commercial concessions, and finally inherited reunited Kotte (without Kandy) in 1597.[152]
• Gujarati war of succession (1526–1527), after the death of sultan Muzaffar Shah II of the Gujarat Sultanate[153]
• Lê–Mạc War (1527/33–1592), after the deposition and execution of puppet-emperor Lê Cung Hoàng by general Mạc Đăng Dung, who proclaimed himself the emperor of his own new Mạc dynasty. Lê dynasty loyalists revolted, and in 1533 enthroned Lê Trang Tông.
• Hanakura Rebellion (1536), after the death of daimyo Imagawa Ujiteru of the Imagawa clan (controlling the Suruga Province of Japan)
• Mughal war of succession (1540–1552), between the brothers Humayun and Kamran Mirza about the succession of their already 10 years earlier deceased father, emperor Babur of the Mughal Empire[154]
• Burmese–Siamese War (1547–1549), after the death of king Chairachathirat of Ayutthaya,[155] followed by a succession crisis involving two coups and royal assassinations of kings Yotfa and Worawongsathirat
• Safavid war of succession (1576–1578), after the death of shah Tahmasp I of Persia[156]
• Mughal war of succession (1601–1605), in advance of the death of emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire[157]
• Siamese war of succession (1610–1611), after the death (murder?) of king Ekathotsarot of the Ayutthaya Kingdom[12]
• Karnataka war of succession (1614–1617), after the death of emperor Venkatapati Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire[158]
• Jaffna war of succession (1617–1621; last phase of the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom), after the death of king Ethirimana Cinkam (Parasasekaran VIII) of the Jaffna Kingdom
• Mughal war of succession (1627–1628), after the death of emperor Nuruddin Salim Jahangir of the Mughal Empire
• Siamese war of succession (1628–1629), after the death of king Songtham of the Ayutthaya Kingdom[12]
• Mataram war of succession (1645–1648), after the sudden death of Sultan Agung of Mataram. To prevent succession disputes from challenging his legitimacy, Agung's son Amangkurat I (crowned with heavy military security in 1646) launched many pre-emptive strikes (assassinations, massacres and battles) to eliminate potential rivals to the throne, including many noblemen and military leaders such as Tumenggung Wiraguna and his whole family (1647). This led his younger brother Prince Alit (patron of the Wiraguna family) to attempt to overthrow him by attacking the royal palace with the support of Islamic clerics (ulema) and devout Muslims in 1648, but they were defeated and Alit was slain in battle. Two days later, Amangkurat I committed a Massacre of the ulema and their families (about 5,000–6,000 people) to secure his reign.[13]
• Mughal war of succession (1657–1661),[159] after grave illness of emperor Shah Jahan of the Mughal Empire.[76] Scholars disagree about whether to label this conflict a 'war of succession' or a '(princely) rebellion'.[note 1]
• Brunei Civil War (1660–1673), after the killing of sultan Muhammad Ali of the Bruneian Sultanate by Abdul Hakkul Mubin, who seized the throne
• Tungning war of succession (1662), after the death of king Koxinga of the Kingdom of Tungning
• During the Trunajaya rebellion (1674–1681), sultan Amangkurat I of Mataram died in 1677, causing a war of succession between his sons Rahmat (Amangkurat II) and Puger (Pakubuwono I)
• Laotian wars of succession[160] (1694–1707/1713), after the death of king Sourigna Vongsa of Lan Xang
• The Javanese Wars of Succession (1703–1755), between local pretenders and candidates of the Dutch East India Company for the Sultanate of Mataram on Java
  • First Javanese War of Succession (1703–1708), after the death of sultan Amangkurat II of Mataram between his son Amangkurat III of Mataram and his brother Puger (Pakubuwono I)
  • Second Javanese War of Succession (1719–1722)
  • Third Javanese War of Succession (1749–1755)
• Sikkimese War of Succession (c. 1699–1708), after the death of chogyal Tensung Namgyal of the Kingdom of Sikkim[161]
• Mughal war of succession (1707–1709), after the death of emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire[162]
• Mughal war of succession (1712–1720), after the death of emperor Bahadur Shah I of the Mughal Empire[162]
• Marava War of Succession (1720–1729), after the death of raja Raghunatha Kilavan of the Ramnad estate
• Persian or Iranian Wars of Succession (1725–1796)[163]
  • Safavid war of succession (1725–1729), after a Hotak invasion and the imprisonment of shah Sultan Husayn of Safavid Persia
  • Afsharid war of succession (1747–1757), after the death of shah Nadir Shah of Afsharid Persia
  • Zand war of succession (1779–1796), after the death of Karim Khan of Zand Persia
• Carnatic Wars (1744–1763), territorial and succession wars between several local, nominally independent princes in the Carnatic, in which the British East India Company and French East India Company mingled
  • First Carnatic War (1744–1748), part of the War of the Austrian Succession between, amongst others, France on the one hand, and Britain on the other
  • Second Carnatic War (1749–1754), about the succession of both the nizam of Hyderabad and the nawab of Arcot
  • Third Carnatic War (nl) (1756–1763), after the death of nawab Alivardi Khan of Bengal; part of the global Seven Years' War between amongst others France on the one hand and Britain on the other
• Maratha war of succession (1749–1752), after the death of maharaja Shahu I of the Maratha Empire[164]
• Burmese war of succession (1760–1762), after the death of king Alaungpaya of the Konbaung dynasty[53]
• War of the Sumbawan Succession (1761/2–1765), after the deposition of sultana I Sugiratu Karaeng Bontoparang (alias Sultanah Siti Aisyah, the wife of sultan Qahar-al-Din, who died in 1758) of the Sumbawa Sultanate. The war raged between the newly council-elected sultan Hasan al-Din (alias Hasanuddin, the Datu of Jarewe) and the council chief the Nene Rangan on the one hand (later supported by Balinese troops from Lombok), and Muhammad Jalaluddin Shah II (the Datu of Taliwang) and Mille Ropia on the other hand (later supported by Dutch East India Company (VOC) forces). The VOC defeated and captured Hasan al-Din and installed Jalaluddin as the new sultan in February 1764, but upon gathering more information decided that Hasan al-Din was the rightful sultan after all, and reinstalled him.[165]
• Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775–1819): wars of succession between peshwas, in which the British intervened, and conquered the Maratha Empire
  • First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782), after the death of peshwa Madhavrao I; pretender Raghunath Rao invoked British help, but lost
  • Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805), pretender Baji Rao II, son van Raghunath Rao, triumphed with British help and became peshwa, but had to surrender much power and territory to the British
  • Third Anglo-Maratha War, also Pindari War (1816–1819), peshwa Baji Rao II revolted against the British in vain; the Maratha Empire was annexed

Dutch cavalry charge during the 1859 Bone Expedition on Sulawesi.

• Banjarmasin war of succession (1785–1787), after the death of sultan Tahhmid Illah I of the Sultanate of Banjar(masin). The Dutch East India Company (VOC) intervened in 1786 in favour of Pangeran Nat(t)a (known by many other names), and upon victory he had to cede part of his territory to the VOC.[166][167]
• Kurnool war of succession (1792–?), after the death of nawab Ranmust Khan of Kurnool between his sons Azim Khan (supported by the Nizam of Hyderabad) and Alif Khan (supported by the Sultan of Mysore)[168]

• Afghan Wars of Succession (1793–1834?), after the death of emir Timur Shah Durrani of Afghanistan[169]
• First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842), British–Indian invasion of Afghanistan under the pretext of restoring the deposed emir Shah Shujah Durrani[170]
• Pahang Civil War (1857–1863), after the death of raja Tun Ali of Pahang
• Later Afghan War of Succession (1865–1870), after the death of emir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan
• The Dutch East Indies Army's 1859–1860 Bone Expeditions dealt with a war of succession in the Sulawesi kingdom of Bone
  • In the Second Bone War (1858–1860), the Dutch supported pretender Ahmad Sinkkaru' Rukka against queen Besse Arung Kajuara after the death of her husband, king Aru Pugi[171][172]
• The Banjarmasin War (1859–1863), after the death of sultan Adam. The Dutch supported pretender Tamjid Illah against pretender Hidayat Ullah; the latter surrendered in 1862.[167]
• Third and Fourth Larut Wars (1871–1874), after the death of Sultan Ali (r. 1865–1871) of Perak
• Nauruan Civil War (1878–1888), after the crown chief was fatally shot during a heated discussion, shattering the existing federation of tribes and triggering a war between two tribal factions

Year of the Four Emperors: a war of succession between Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian.

• Six-year Macedonian interregnum (399–393 BCE), after the death of king Archelaus I, between Crateuas, Orestes, Aeropus II, Amyntas II "the Little", Derdas II, Archelaus II, and Pausanias[173][174]^: 18:56
• Macedonian war of succession (393–392 BCE), after the death of king Pausanias of Macedon, between Amyntas III and Argaeus II[175]
• Macedonian war of succession (369–368 BCE), after the death of king Amyntas III of Macedon, between Ptolemy of Aloros and Alexander II of Macedon[176]^: 2:25
• Macedonian war of succession (360–359 BCE), after the death of king Perdiccas III of Macedon, between Philip II (who deposed Amyntas IV), Argeus (supported by Athens), Pausanias (supported by Thrace) and Archelaus (supported by the Chalcidian League)[177][176]^: 6:01
• Thracian war of succession (c. 352–347 BCE), after the death of co-king Berisades of Thrace (Odrysian kingdom), between Cetriporis and his brothers against their uncle Cersobleptes
• Wars of the Diadochi or Wars of Alexander's Successors (323–277 BCE), after the death of king Alexander the Great of Macedon[97]
  • First War of the Diadochi (322–320 BCE), after regent Perdiccas tried to marry Alexander the Great's sister Cleopatra of Macedon and thus claim the throne
  • Second War of the Diadochi (318–315 BCE), after the death of regent Antipater, whose succession was disputed between Polyperchon (Antipater's appointed successor) and Cassander (Antipater's son)
    • Epirote war of succession (316–297 BCE), after the deposition of king Aeacides of Epirus during his intervention in the Second War of the Diadochi until the second enthronement of his son Pyrrhus of Epirus and the death of usurper Neoptolemus II of Epirus
  • Third War of the Diadochi (314–311 BCE), after the diadochs conspired against Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Polyperchon
  • Fourth War of the Diadochi (308/6–301 BCE), resumption of the Third. During this war, regent Antigonus and his son Demetrius both proclaimed themselves king, followed by Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and eventually Cassander.
  • Struggle over Macedon (298–285 BCE), after the death of king Cassander of Macedon
  • Struggle of Lysimachus and Seleucus (285–281 BCE), after jointly defeating Demetrius and his son Antigonus Gonatas
• Bosporan Civil War (c. 310–309 BCE), after the death of archon Paerisades I of the Bosporan Kingdom[178][179][180]
• Pergamene–Bosporan war (c. 47–45 BCE), after the death of king Pharnaces II of Pontus and the Bosporus, between Pharnaces' daughter Dynamis (and her husband Asander) and Pharnaces' brother Mithridates of Pergamon (supported by the Roman Republic)
• Pontic–Bosporan war (c. 17–16 BCE), after the death of king Asander of the Bosporus, between usurper Scribonius (who married queen Dynamis) and the Roman client king Polemon I of Pontus (supported by general Agrippa of the Roman Empire)
• Roman–Bosporan War (c. 45–49 CE), after the deposition of king Mithridates of the Bosporan Kingdom by Roman emperor Claudius and the enthronement of Mithridates' brother Cotys I; Mithridates soon challenged his deposition and fruitlessly warred against Cotys and the Roman Empire[178][181][182]
• Boudica's Revolt (60 or 61), after the death of king Prasutagus of the Iceni tribe. The Romans failed to respect Prasutagus's will that emperor Claudius and his daughters would share his inheritance; instead, Roman soldiers occupied and pillaged the Iceni territory and raped Prasutagus's daughters, causing his widow queen Boudica to rise in rebellion.[183]
• Year of the Four Emperors (68–69), a rebellion in the Roman Empire that became a war of succession after the suicide of emperor Nero
• Year of the Five Emperors (193), the beginning of a war of succession that lasted until 197, after the assassination of the Roman emperor Commodus
• Crisis of the Third Century (235–284), especially the Year of the Six Emperors (238), a series of wars between barracks emperors after the assassination of Severus Alexander
• Civil wars of the Tetrarchy (306–324), after the death of Augustus (senior Roman emperor) Constantius I Chlorus
• War of Magnentius (350–353), after the assassination of Roman co-emperor Constans I
• War between Western Roman emperor Eugenius and Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I (392–394), after the death of emperor Valentinian II, resulting in the Battle of the Frigidus
• War of the Hunnic succession (453–454), after the death of Attila, ruler of the Huns

Fontenoy confirmed the partition of Francia between emperor Louis the Pious's three sons.

• Fredegund–Brunhilda wars or Merovingian throne struggle (568–613), after the assassination of queen Galswintha of Neustria (sister of Brunhilda of Austrasia, both daughters of Visigothic king Athanagild) by her husband king Chilperic I of Neustria and his mistress Fredegund, who then married. Brunhilda then persuaded her husband, king Sigebert I of Austrasia, to wage war on Fredegund and Chilperic to avenge her sister and restore the Visigothic royal family's position of power over Neustria.[184] Fredegund had Sigebert (575) and her own husband Chilperic (584) assassinated, ruling as her son Chlothar II's regent and warring against Austrasia until her death in 597. Chlothar II continued this war until he captured and executed Brunhilda (613), briefly reuniting the Frankish Empire.[185]
• Lombard war of succession (661–662), after the death of king Aripert I of the Kingdom of the Lombards
• Lombard war of succession (668–669), after the death of king Perctarit of the Kingdom of the Lombards
• Neustrian war of succession (673), after the death of king Chlothar III of Neustria. Mayor Ebroin enthroned puppet-king Theuderic III, but Neustrian aristocrats revolted and offered the crowns of Neustria and Burgundy to king Childeric II of Austrasia, who emerged victorious and briefly reunited the Frankish Empire.[186]
• Frankish war of succession (675–679), after the assassination of the Frankish king Childeric II and queen Bilichild (675); mayor Ebroin once again enthroned puppet-king Theuderic III, and emerged victorious in the Battle of Lucofao.[186]
• Twenty Years' Anarchy (695–717), after the deposition of emperor Justinian II of the Byzantine Empire
• Lombard war of succession (700–712), after the death of king Cunipert of the Kingdom of the Lombards
• Frankish Civil War (715–718) (nl), after the death of mayor of the palace Pepin of Herstal
• Siege of Laon (741), after the death of mayor of the palace Charles Martel
• Lombard war of succession (756–757), after the death of king Aistulf of the Kingdom of the Lombards
• Carolingian wars of succession (830–842), a series of armed conflicts in the late Frankish Carolingian Empire about the (future) succession of emperor Louis the Pious[187]
• War of the Northumbrian succession (865–867), between king Osberht and king Ælla of Northumbria; their infighting was interrupted when the Great Heathen Army invaded, against which they vainly joined forces
• Serbian war of succession (892–897), after the death of prince Mutimir of Serbia[188]
• Svatopluk II rebellion (895–899?), after the death of duke Svatopluk I of Great Moravia
• Æthelwold's Revolt (899–902), after the death of king Alfred the Great
• War of the Leonese succession (951–956), after the death of king Ramiro II of León[189]
• (historicity contested) Olga's Revenge on the Drevlians (945–947), after the Kievan Rus' Drevlian vassals assassinated Igor of Kiev. Initially, the Drevlian prince Mal offered to marry Igor's widow Olga of Kiev and thus succeed him, but Olga appointed herself as regent over her young son Sviatoslav, made war on the Drevlians and destroyed their realm. The historicity of the events as described in the main document on the conflict, the Primary Chronicle, is contested, and the war is described as 'legendary' with a mix of fact and fiction.
• Kievan war of succession or Russian Dynastic War (972–980) after the death of king Sviatoslav I of Kiev[190]
• War of the Leonese succession (982–984), continuation of the last Leonese war of succession
• Stephen–Koppány war, also known as 'Koppány's rebellion' or contemporaneously 'the war between the Germans and the Hungarians' (997–998), after the death Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians. Stephen was Géza's oldest son and claimed the throne by primogeniture; his army was described as 'the Germans'. Koppány was the brother of Géza's widow Sarolt and claimed the throne by agnatic seniority; his army was described as 'the Hungarians'. Later Christian sources emphasise Stephen's Christianity as an argument for his legitimacy, claim that Koppány was a pagan and that agnatic seniority was a 'pagan' custom as opposed to the 'Christian' custom of primogeniture, and that therefore Koppány 'rebelled' against the legitimate Christian king Stephen, but the reliability and impartiality of these sources is disputed.

In 1066, William of Normandy managed to enforce his claim to the English throne.

• War of the Burgundian Succession (1002–1016), after the death of duke Henry I the Great of Burgundy
• Fitna of al-Andalus (1009–1031), after the deposition of caliph Hisham II of Córdoba
• Lower Lorrainian war of succession (1012–1018), after the death of Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine[191]
• Kievan succession crisis (1015–1019), after the death of grand prince Vladimir the Great of the Kievan Rus'
  • Bolesław I's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis (1018), king Bolesław I the Brave of Poland supported Sviatopolk the Accursed's claim against Yaroslav the Wise
• Cnut's conquest of England (1014–1016), after the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of the English
• Norwegian War of Succession[192] (1025/6–1035), after the departure of king Cnut the Great of Denmark to England. It started with the Battle of Helgeå;[192] it only became a war of succession when king Olaf II of Norway was deposed in 1028 and killed in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030.
• Norman war of succession (1026), after the death of duke Richard II of Normandy between his sons Richard III and Robert I
• Norman war of succession (1035–1047), after the death of duke Robert I of Normandy. The Battle of Val-ès-Dunes is generally regarded as having secured the reign of William of Normandy[193][note 4]
• Revolt of Michael V (1041–1042), after the death of emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian of the Byzantine Empire[194]
• Peter–Aba war (1041–1044), after the deposition of king Peter the Venetian of Hungary, and the royal election of Samuel Aba to replace him. Peter fled to Austria and rallied support from Adalbert, Margrave of Austria and Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor to retake his throne. Decided at the Battle of Ménfő.
• Danish war of succession (1042–1043), after the death of king Harthacnut (Canute III) of Denmark
• Norman conquest of Maine (1062–1063), after the death of count Herbert II of Maine[195][196]
• War of the Three Sanchos (1065–1067), after the death of king Ferdinand the Great
• Harald Hardrada's invasion of England involving the Battle of Fulford and the Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066), after the death of king Edward the Confessor of England
• Norman invasion of England (1066–1075), after the death of king Edward the Confessor of England
• (historicity contested) Eric and Eric (c. 1066–1067): according to Adam of Bremen, they were two claimants who fought each other after the death of king Stenkil of Sweden. Modern historians doubt whether the two Erics even existed.[197]
• War of the Flemish succession (1070–1071), after the death of count Baldwin VI of Flanders
• Byzantine war of succession (1071–1072), after Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes was defeated in the Battle of Manzikert (26 August 1071) and deposed when John Doukas enthroned Michael VII Doukas in Constantinople (24 October 1071). The war consisted of the Battle of Dokeia and the Sieges of Tyropoion and Adana, all of which Romanos lost. Simultaneously, the Uprising of Georgi Voyteh (1072) took place in Bulgaria, which was also crushed by Michael VII.[198]
• Rebellion of 1088, after the death of William the Conqueror of Normandy and England
• War of the Croatian Succession (1091–1105), after the death of king Stephen II of Croatia.[199] Decided at the Battle of Gvozd Mountain (1097).
• Este war of succession (1097), after the death of Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan, founder of the House of Este. The oldest son by his second wife Garsende, Fulco I, Margrave of Milan, won the war and continued the House of Este in Italy. His son by his first wife Kunigunde of Altdorf, Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, became the founder of the House of Welf.
• Anglo-Norman war of succession (1101–1106), after the death of king William II of England
• Salian war of succession (1125–1135), after the death of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, the last monarch of the Salian dynasty[145]
• War of the Flemish succession (1127–1128), after the assassination of count Charles I "the Good" of Flanders
• Civil war era in Norway or Norwegian Civil War(s) (1130–1240), after the death of king Sigurd the Crusader of Norway[145]
• The Anarchy or English Dynastic War (1135–1154), after the death of king Henry I of England[194]
• German war of succession (1138–1139), after the 1137 death of Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor and the 1138 Imperial election, between Conrad III of Germany and Henry X, Duke of Bavaria[145]
• Baussenque Wars (1144–1162), after the death of count Berenguer Ramon I of Provence
• Danish Civil War (1146–1157), after the abdication of king Eric III of Denmark
• Castilian war of succession (1158–11??), after the death of king Sancho III of Castile over the regency of his son, infant-king Alfonso VIII of Castile, between the houses of Lara and Castro. King Sancho VI of Navarre took the opportunity to rescind his vassalage to Castile, and invaded to take several territories until a truce in 1167. When Alfonso VIII came of age in 1170, he renewed hostilities to retake the Castilian lands lost during his infancy.
• Serbian war of succession (c. 1166–1168), after the brothers Tihomir of Serbia and Stefan Nemanja failed to properly share the inheritance of their father Zavida[200]
• War of the Namurois–Luxemburgish succession (1186–1263/5), after the decades-long childless count Henry the Blind of Namur and Luxemburg, having designated Baldwin V of Hainaut his heir in 1165, after all fathered Ermesinde in 1186 and tried to change his succession in her favour. Although the struggle over Luxemburg was resolved in 1199 in favour of Ermesinde, she and Baldwin and their successors would continue to fight over Namur until it was sold to Guy of Dampierre in 1263 or 1265.[201][202]
• Sicilian war of succession (1189–1194), after the death of king William II of Sicily
• Hungarian throne struggle (1196–1200), after the death of king Béla III of Hungary and Croatia[203]
• German throne dispute (1198–1215), after the death of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Although mostly a political conflict between the House of Hohenstaufen and House of Welf, the Battle of Bouvines (1214) meant the de facto defeat of pretender-king Otto IV of Welf, deposed in 1215 in favour of anti-king Frederick II of Hohenstaufen.[204]
• Angevin war of succession (1199–1204), after the death of Richard the Lionheart of England, Normandy, Aquitaine, Anjou, Brittany, Maine and Touraine, collectively known as the Angevin Empire[205]
  • The French invasion of Normandy (1202–1204) was the last part of the Angevin war of succession
• Fourth Crusade (1202–1204), was redirected to Constantinople to intervene in a Byzantine succession dispute after the deposition of emperor Isaac II Angelos
• Serbian war of succession (1202–1205), after the death of grand prince Stefan Nemanja of Serbia
• Loon War (1203–1206), after the death of Dirk VII, Count of Holland[24]
• Complex series of wars of succession between the Sack of Constantinople, the deaths of emperors Isaac II Angelos, Alexios IV Angelos and Alexios V Doukas of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, and the Reconquest of Constantinople in 1261. The de facto succession came in the hands of the Latin Empire, but was challenged by Nicaea, Trebizond, Thessalonica, and Bulgaria, amongst others.
  • Nicaean–Latin wars (1204–1261). Constantine Laskaris and Theodore I Laskaris were early candidates for the Byzantine emperorship, and would found the Empire of Nicaea in order to restore it.
    • Nicaean war of succession (1221–1223/4), after the death of emperor Theodore I Laskaris of Nicaea
  • Bulgarian–Latin wars (1204/1230–1261). Although war between them broke out almost immediately after the Latin Empire was founded, the Bulgarian monarch would not claim the Byzantine emperorship until defeating pretender Theodore Komnenos Doukas of the Empire of Thessalonica in 1230.
  • Trapezuntine wars against the Latin Empire and Nicaea (1204–?). Alexios I of Trebizond proclaimed himself Byzantine emperor in April 1204 (around the Sack of Constantinople) as the legitimate heir of Andronikos I Komnenos.
  • Thessalonian wars against the Latin Empire and Nicaea (1224–1242). Theodore Komnenos Doukas proclaimed himself the Byzantine emperor upon conquering Thessalonica in 1224, a direct challenge to the Latin and Nicaean pretenders.
• Lombard Rebellion (1207–1209), after the death of king Boniface of Thessalonica
• Bulgarian war of succession (1207–1218), after the death of tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria. Boril, Ivan Asen II, Strez, and Alexius Slav were amongst the pretenders.
• War of the Moha succession (1212–1213), over the County of Moha after the death of count Albert II of Dagsburg
• Castilian war of succession (1214/7–1218), after the death of king Alfonso VIII of Castile and especially king Henry I of Castile, prompting a war over the regency and a Leonese invasion[206]
• First Barons' War (1215–1217). The war began as a Barons' revolt over king John Lackland's violation of the Magna Carta, but quickly turned into a dynastic war for the throne of England when French crownprince Louis became their champion, and John Lackland unexpectedly died
• War of the Succession of Champagne (1216–1222), indirectly after the death of count Theobald III of Champagne
• War of the Succession of Breda (1226/8–1231/2), after the death of lord Henry III of Schoten of Breda[207]
• Isenberg Confusions (1232–1243), traces back to the 1226 execution of count Frederick of Isenberg for the 1225 killing of archbishop Engelbert II of Cologne
• Danish war of succession (1241–124?), after the death of king Valdemar II of Denmark[194]
• War of the Flemish Succession (1244–1254), after the death of countess Joan of Constantinople of Flanders and Hainaut
• War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264), after the death of landgrave Henry Raspe IV of Thuringia
• Great Interregnum (1245/50–1273), after the deposition and death of emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire
• Bigorre succession crisis (1255–1302), after the death of countess Alice of Bigorre
• War of the Euboeote Succession (1256–1258), after the death of triarch Carintana dalle Carceri of Negroponte
• Castilian war of succession (1282–1304): after the death of crown prince Ferdinand de la Cerda (1275) and in anticipation of the death of king Alfonso X of Castile (1284), Ferdinand's brother Sancho proclaimed himself king in 1282, while Ferdinand's sons Alfonso de la Cerda and Ferdinand de la Cerda, Lord of Lara claimed to be the rightful heirs until they rescinded their claims in 1304[208]
• War of the Limburg Succession (1283–1288), after the death of duke Waleran IV and his daughter and heiress Irmgard of Limburg
• Croato–Hungarian war of succession (1290–1301), after the death of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Croatia

The Hundred Years' War arose when the English king claimed the French throne.

The 1388 Battle of Strietfield secured Lüneburg for the House of Welf.

The Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl (1443) during the Old Zürich War.

The Catholic Monarchs united 'Spain' after the War of the Castilian Succession.

• Scottish Wars of Independence (1296–1357), after the Scottish nobility requested king Edward I of England to mediate in the 1286–92 Scottish succession crisis, known as the "Great Cause". Edward would claim that his role in appointing the new king of Scots, John Balliol, meant that he was now Scotland's overlord, and started to interfere in Scottish domestic affairs, causing dissent.[209]
  • First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328), after Scottish opposition to Edward's interference reached the point of rebellion, Edward marched against Scotland, defeating and imprisoning John Balliol, stripping him off the kingship, and effectively annexing Scotland. However, William Wallace and Andrew Moray rose up against Edward and assumed the title of "guardians of Scotland" on behalf of John Balliol, passing this title on to Robert the Bruce (one of the claimants during the Great Cause) and John Comyn in 1298. The former killed the latter in 1306, and was crowned king of Scots shortly after, in opposition to both Edward and the still imprisoned John Balliol.[209]
  • Second War of Scottish Independence, or Anglo-Scottish War of Succession[210] (1332–1357), after the death of king of Scots Robert the Bruce
• Árpád war of succession (1301–1308), after the death of king Andrew III of Hungary and the extinction of the Árpád dynasty[211]
• Polish-Bohemian war (1305–1308), after the death of king Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Poland[145]
• Byzantine civil war of 1321–28, after the deaths of Manuel Palaiologos and his father, co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, and the exclusion of Andronikos III Palaiologos from the line of succession
• Bredevoorter Feud (1322–1326), after the death of count Herman II of Lohn
• Wars of the Rügen Succession (1326–1328; 1340–1354), after the death of prince Vitslav III of Rügen
• Wars of the Loon Succession (1336–1366), after the death of count Louis IV of Loon
• Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), indirectly after the death of king Charles IV of France
• Galicia–Volhynia Wars (1340–1392), after the death of king Bolesław-Jerzy II of Galicia and Volhynia
• War of the Breton Succession (1341–1365), after the death of duke John III of Brittany. In practice, it became a theatre in the wider Hundred Years' War (1337–1453).[212]
• Byzantine civil war of 1341–47, after the death of emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos[206]
  • Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357, resumption of the 1341–47 war after the compromise peace of three emperors ruling simultaneously broke down
• Thuringian Counts' War (1342–1346), continuation of the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264)
• Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the Great (1347–1352), after the assassination of Andrew, Duke of Calabria one day before his coronation as king of Naples
• Hook and Cod wars (1349–1490), after the death of count William IV of Holland
• Guelderian Fraternal Feud (1350–1361), after the death of duke Reginald II of Guelders
• Castilian Civil War (1351–1369), after the death of king Alfonso XI of Castile
  • War of the Two Peters (1356–1375), spillover of the Castilian Civil War and Hundred Years' War
• War of the Valkenburg succession (1352–1365), after the death of lord John of Valkenburg[213]
• War of the Brabantian Succession (1355–1357), after the death of duke John III of Brabant
• Golden Horde Dynastic War (1359–1381)[190] after the assassination of khan Berdi Beg of the Golden Horde
• Fernandine Wars (1369–1382), fought over king Ferdinand I of Portugal's claim to the Castilian succession after the death of king Peter of Castile in 1369
  • First Fernandine War (1369–1370)
  • Second Fernandine War (1372–1373)
  • Third Fernandine War (1381–1382)
• War of the Lüneburg Succession (1370–1389), after the death of duke William II of Brunswick-Lüneburg
• The three Guelderian wars of succession:
  • First War of the Guelderian Succession (1371–1379), after the death of duke Reginald III of Guelders
  • Second War of the Guelderian Succession (1423–1448), after the death of duke Reginald IV Guelders and Jülich
  • Third War of the Guelderian Succession (1538–1543), see Guelders Wars (1502–1543)
• Władysław the White's rebellion (1373–1377), after the death of king Casimir III the Great of the United Kingdom of Poland between Władysław the White and Louis I of Hungary
• Lithuanian war of succession (1377–1387), after the death of grand duke Algirdas of Lithuania, between his son and designated heir Jogaila and his other son Andrei of Polotsk.
  • Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), broke out when Algirdas' brother Kęstutis rebelled against Jogaila and claimed the throne for himself while Jogaila was besieging Andrei at Polotsk.
• War of the Succession of the Patriarchate of Aquileia (1381–1388), after the death of patriarch Marquard of Randeck
• Greater Poland Civil War (1382–1385), after the death of king Louis the Hungarian of Poland[145]
• 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum, Portuguese succession crisis and war after the death of king Ferdinand I of Portugal
• Ottoman Interregnum (1401/2–1413), after the imprisonment and death of sultan Bayezid I
• Everstein Feud (1404–1409), after the childless count Herman VII of Everstein signed a treaty of inheritance with Simon III, Lord of Lippe, which was challenged by the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg
• Aragonese Interregnum (1410–1412), after the death of king Martin of Aragon
  • Neapolitan war of succession (1420–1442), after the death of king Martin of Aragon (who also claimed Naples) and resulting from the childless queen Joanna II of Naples's subsequent conflicting adoptions of Alfonso V of Aragon, Louis III of Anjou and René of Anjou as her heirs.[145] Some scholars posit the war's start as having begun with Joanna's death in 1435, and name it the 'Aragonese–Neapolitan War'.[214]
• (contested) Hussite Wars (1419–1434): some scholars claim that the death of king Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia on 19 August 1419 is the event that sparked the Hussite rebellion against his nominal successor Sigismund (king of Germany, Hungary and Croatia).[194] In 1420, Hussites offered the Bohemian crown to Władysław II Jagiełło instead.[215] Nolan (2006) summarised the Hussites' motives as 'doctrinal as well as "nationalistic" and constitutional', and provided a series of causes: the trial and execution of Jan Hus (1415) 'provoked the conflict', the Defenestration of Prague (30 July 1419) 'began the conflict', while 'fighting began after King Wenceslaus died, shortly after the defenestration' (after 19 August 1419).[216] Nolan described the wars' goals and character as follows: 'The main aim of the Hussites was to prevent the hated Sigismund mounting the throne of Bohemia, but fighting between Bohemian Hussites and Catholics spread into Moravia. (...) cross-class support gave the Hussite Wars a tripartite and even "national" character unusual for the age, and a religious and social unity of purpose, faith, and hate'.[217] Winkler Prins/Encarta (2002) described the Hussites as a 'movement which developed from a religious denomination to a nationalist faction, opposed to German and Papal influence; in the bloody Hussite Wars (1419–1438), they managed to resist.' It didn't mention the succession of Wenceslaus by Sigismund,[218] but noted elsewhere that it was Sigismund's policy of Catholic Church unity which prompted him to urge Antipope John XXIII to convene the Council of Constance in 1414, which ultimately condemned Jan Hus.[219]
• Muscovite Civil War or Great Feudal War (1425–1453), after the death of grand prince Vasily I of Muscovy[145]
• Lithuanian Civil War (1432–38), after the death of grand duke Vytautas the Great of Lithuania
• Polish–Bohemian war (1437–143?), after the death of king Sigismund of Bohemia.[194] He was supposed to be succeeded by Albert II of Germany, but in 1438, the Czech anti-Habsburg opposition, mainly Hussite factions, offered the Czech crown to Polish king Jagiełło II's younger son Casimir instead.[215] The idea, accepted in Poland over Zbigniew Oleśnicki's objections, resulted in two unsuccessful Polish military expeditions to Bohemia.[215] Included the Battle of Sellnitz.
• Habsburg Dynastic War (1439–1457), after the death of Albert II of Germany[220][194]
  • Hungarian war of succession (1439–1442), after the death of Albert II of Germany[194]
• Old Zürich War (1440–1446), after the death of count Frederick VII of Toggenburg
• Saxon Fratricidal War (1446–1451), after the death of landgrave Frederick IV of Thuringia
• Milanese War of Succession (1447–1454), after the death of duke Filippo Maria Visconti of the Duchy of Milan[221][222]
• Scandinavian war of 1448–1471, after the death of king Christopher III of the Kalmar Union (Denmark, Sweden and Norway)[145]
• Navarrese Civil War (1451–1455), after the death of Blanche I of Navarre and the usurpation of the throne by John II of Aragon
• The Utrecht wars, related to the Hook and Cod wars.
  • Utrecht Schism (1423–1449), after the death of prince-bishop Frederick of Blankenheim of Utrecht
  • Utrecht war (1456–1458), after the death of prince-bishop Rudolf van Diepholt of Utrecht
  • Utrecht war (1470–1474), aftermath of the 1456–58 Utrecht war
  • Utrecht war of 1481–83 (1481–1483), spillover of the Hook and Cod wars
• Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), after the weakness of (and eventually the assassination of) king Henry VI of England
• War of the Neapolitan Succession (1458–1462), after the death of king Alfonso V of Aragon
  • Skanderbeg's Italian expedition (1460–1462)
• Cypriot war of succession (1460–1464), after the death of king John II of Cyprus
• Hesse–Paderborn Feud (1462–1471), after the death of lord Rabe of Calenberg
• Catalan Civil War (1462–1472), after the death of crown prince Charles, Prince of Viana (1461) and the deposition of king John II of Aragon (1462) by the Consell del Principat, who offered the crown to several other pretenders instead
• War of the Succession of Stettin (1464–1529), after the death of duke Otto III of Pomerania
• Burgundian conquest of Guelders (1473), after the death of duke Arnold of Egmont of Guelders[223]
• War of the Castilian Succession (1475–1479), after the death of king Henry IV of Castile[214]
• War of the Burgundian Succession (1477–1482), after the death of duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy
  • Guelderian War of Independence (1477–1482, 1494–1499), after the death of duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy
• Ottoman war of succession (1481–1482), between prince Cem and prince Bayezid after the death of sultan Mehmet II[145]
• Mad War or War of the Public Weal (1485–1488), about the regency over the underage king Charles VIII of France after the death of king Louis XI of France
• French–Breton War (1487–1491), anticipating the childless death of duke Francis II of Brittany (died 1488). Essentially, it was a resumption of the War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364)
• War of the Granada succession (1482–1492), after the deposition of emir Abu'l-Hasan Ali of Granada by his son Muhammad XII of Granada; the deposed emir's brother Muhammad XIII of Granada also joined the fight. This succession conflict took place simultaneously with the Granada War, and was ended only by the Castilian conquest in 1492.[224]
• Jonker Fransen War (1488–1490), last ignition of the Hook and Cod wars
• War of the Hungarian Succession (1490–1494), after the death of king Matthias Corvinus I of Hungary and Croatia[225]^: 3:57
• Italian War of 1494–1495 or Italian War of Charles VIII, after the death of king Ferdinand I of Naples[226]

The Jülich Succession became a European war, because the future religious balance of power depended on it.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, a large European coalition tried to keep Spain out of French hands.

The War of the Austrian Succession grew out to an almost pan-European land war, spreading to colonies in the Americas and India.[227]

• War of the Succession of Landshut (1503–1505), after the death of duke George of Bavaria-Landshut
• Ottoman Civil War (1509–13), between prince Selim and prince Ahmed about the succession of sultan Bayezid II (†1512)
• Danish Wars of Succession (1523–1537), a series of conflicts about the Danish throne within the House of Oldenburg
  • Danish War of Succession (1523–1524), because of dissatisfaction about the kingship of Christian II of Denmark, who was deposed; indirectly caused by the death of king John (Hans) of Denmark in 1513 (see also Siege of Copenhagen (1523))
  • Count's Feud (1533/4–1536), after the death of king Frederick I of Denmark[194]
• Little War in Hungary (1526–1538), after the death of king Louis II of Hungary and Croatia between Ottoman vassal-king John Zápolya of "Eastern Hungary" and king Ferdinand I of Habsburg of "Royal Hungary"[228]
• Little War in Hungary (1540–1547), after the death of Ottoman vassal-king John Zápolya of "Eastern Hungary" between his son and successor John Sigismund Zápolya and king Ferdinand I of Habsburg of "Royal Hungary". The first battle was the Siege of Buda (1541).[228]
• Wyatt's rebellion (1553–1554), after recently acceded Mary I of England's decision to marry the non-English Catholic prince Philip II of Spain.[229] See also Northumberland's insurrection (July 1553), after the death of king Edward VI of England and Ireland, which never became a war.
• Ottoman war of succession of 1559, between prince Selim and prince Bayezid about the succession of sultan Süleyman I
• Hungarian war of succession (1564–1565), after the death of Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsurg, king of Hungary.[214] The Transylvanian Diet declared war on his designated successor Maximilian II,[214][230] but an Imperial army commanded by Lazarus von Schwendi invaded Transylvania and reached the river Szamos in March 1565, forcing John Sigismund Zápolya to conclude the Treaty of Szatmár (13 March 1565).[230] In it, he renounced his title of king of Hungary in return for the recognition of his hereditary rule as prince of Transylvania under the Habsburg kings of Hungary, as well as agreeing to marry Maximilian's sister Joanna.[230] Although it was soon annulled because John Sigismund joined the Ottomans in the Siege of Szigetvár against Maximilian, the Treaty of Speyer (1570) confirmed most terms.
• Danzig rebellion (1575–1577), due to the disputed 1576 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
• War of the Portuguese Succession (1580–1583), after the death of king-cardinal Henry of Portugal.[226] (António, Prior of Crato attempted to seize Lisbon again in 1589).[226]
• Struggles for the kingship of France in the late French Wars of Religion (1585–1598), as the House of Valois was set to die out
  • War of the Three Henrys (1585–1589), after the death of duke Francis of Anjou, the French heir-presumptive, and Protestant king Henry of Navarre's exclusion from the order of succession. Spain intervened in favour of the Catholic League, led by duke Henry of Guise. King Henry III of France was caught between the two.
  • Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594). King Henry of Navarre became king Henry IV of France after the death of both duke Henry of Guise and king Henry III of France. Spain continued to intervene, claiming the French throne for infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia instead.[231] To appease Catholics, Henry IV converted to Catholicism in 1593, under the condition that Protestants be tolerated; his kingship was increasingly recognised in France.
  • Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598). King Henry IV of France, uniting French Protestants and Catholics, declared war on Spain directly to counter Spanish infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia's claim to the French throne.
• War of the Polish Succession (1587–88), after the death of king and grand duke Stephen Báthory of Poland–Lithuania
• Strasbourg Bishops' War (1592–1604), after the death of prince-bishop John IV of Manderscheid
• Time of Troubles (1598–1613), after the death of tsar Feodor I of Russia
  • Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18) or the Dimitriads, during which three False Dmitrys, imposters claiming to be Feodor's rightful successor, were advanced by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
• War of Deposition against Sigismund (1598–1599), after the death of king John III of Sweden
• Polish–Swedish War (1600–29), originated from the War of Deposition against Sigismund
  • Note: the claim of Polish king John II Casimir Vasa (son of the deposed Sigismund) to the Swedish throne also played a significant role in the Second Northern War (1655–1660), and its renunciation was an important part of the Treaty of Oliva.[48]
• War of the Jülich Succession (1609–1614), after the death of duke John William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
• War of the Montferrat Succession (1613–1617), after the death of duke Francesco IV Gonzaga
• War of the Mantuan Succession (1627–1631), after the death of duke Vincenzo II Gonzaga[232]
• Piedmontese Civil War (1639–1642), after the death of duke Victor Amadeus I of Savoy[145]
• Düsseldorf Cow War (1651), indirectly after the death of duke John William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
• War of Devolution (1667–1668), after the death of king Philip IV of Spain
• Moscow uprising of 1682 (or Streltsy uprising), after the death of tsar Feodor III of Russia[145]
• Monmouth Rebellion (1685), after the death of king Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland[194]
• Argyll's Rising (1685), after the death of king Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland[145]
• English or Palatinate War of Succession, or Nine Years' War (1688–1697), after the Glorious Revolution, and with the death of elector Charles II of the Palatinate as the indirect cause
• The Jacobite risings (1688–1746) that tried to undo the Glorious Revolution (partially caused by the birth of James Francis Edward Stuart), also called the War of the British Succession[233]
  • Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691), war in Ireland between William III of Orange and James II Stuart (part of the English War of Succession)[234]
  • Scottish Jacobite rising (1689–92), war in Scotland between William III of Orange and James II Stuart (part of the English War of Succession)
  • Jacobite rising of 1715 (1715–1716), after the death of heiress-presumptive Sophia of Hanover and queen Anne of Great Britain
  • Jacobite rising of 1745 (1745–1746), attempt to regain the throne by the last serious Jacobite pretender
• War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), after the death of king Charles II of Spain
• Civil war in Poland (1704–1706): during the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the Swedish army occupied much of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, dethroned king and grand duke Augustus II the Strong, and the pro-Swedish Warsaw Confederation convened a special Sejm which elected Stanisław Leszczyński as the new king and grand duke; however, the anti-Swedish Sandomierz Coalition rejected Augustus' dethronement and Leszczyński's election, and declared war on Sweden and the Warsaw Confederation.[235]
• War of the Quadruple Alliance (1717/8–1720), continuation of the War of the Spanish Succession because Philip V of Spain refused to renounce his rights to Sardinia and Sicily that he had ceded to Austria at the 1713–1715 Peace of Utrecht[48]
• War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738), after the death of king Augustus II the Strong of Poland[226]
• War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), after the death of archduke Charles VI of Austria[214]
  • First Silesian War (1740–1742), Prussian invasion and ensuing Central European theatre of the war
  • Second Silesian War (1744–1745), renewed Prussian invasion and continuation of First Silesian War
  • Russo-Swedish War (1741–43), Swedish and Russian participation in the War of the Austrian Succession
  • Jacobite rising of 1745, France provided limited support to Charles Edward Stuart's invasion of Great Britain
• Third Silesian War (1756–1763), continuation of the Second Silesian War due to unresolved inheritance rights disputes over Silesia between Austria and Prussia[48]
• War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–1779), after the death of elector Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria

The Third Carlist War.

The death of Frederick VII of Denmark was a cause of the Second Schleswig War.

• Russian interregnum of 1825 (1825–1826), after the death of tsar Alexander I of Russia, who had secretly changed the order of succession from his brother Constantine in favour of his younger brother Nicholas, neither of whom wanted to rule. Two related but different rebel movements arose to offer their solution to the succession crisis: the aristocratic Petersburg-based group favoured a constitutional monarchy under Constantine, the democratic Kiev-based group of Pavel Pestel called for the establishment of a republic.[236]
  • Decembrist revolt (December 1825), by the aristocratic Decembrists in Saint Petersburg
  • Chernigov Regiment revolt (January 1826), by the republican Decembrists in Ukraine
• Liberal Wars, also Miguelist War or Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834), after the death of king John VI of Portugal
• The Carlist Wars, especially the First. Later Carlist Wars were more ideological in nature (against modernism)
  • First Carlist War (1833–1839), after the death of king Ferdinand VII of Spain
  • Second Carlist War (1846–1849), a small-scale uprising in protest against the marriage of Isabella II with someone else than the Carlist pretender Carlos Luis de Borbón
  • Third Carlist War (1872–1876), after the coronation of king Amadeo I of Spain
  • Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), in which both Carlist and Bourbonist monarchists vied to restore the monarchy (abolished in 1931) in favour of their own dynasty
• First Schleswig War (1848–1852), partially caused by the death of king Christian VIII of Denmark
• Second Schleswig War (1864), partially caused by the death of king Frederick VII of Denmark
• Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), directly caused by the Spanish succession crisis following the Glorious Revolution of 1868

• (uncertain) Yaxchilan interregnum (742–752), between the death of Itzamnaaj Bahlam (Shield Jaguar) III and the accession of Yaxun Bʼalam (Bird Jaguar) IV. There is some evidence to suggest there was a struggle for the throne of Yaxchilan in this decade between Bird Jaguar and an unnamed pretender backed by Piedras Negras, compelling Bird Jaguar to construct an unusual amount of monuments to affirm his legitimacy and dynastic ties during his reign.[237] Alternatively, there may simply have been a regency of Lady Eveningstar in this period after her husband Shield Jaguar died and before her son Bird Jaguar succeeded.
• Tepanec war of succession (1426–1428), after the death of king Tezozomoc of Azcapotzalco; this led to the formation of the anti-Tepanec Triple Alliance, better known as the Aztec Empire[238]
• War of the Two Brothers, or Inca Civil War (1529–1532), after the death of emperor Huayna Capac of the Inca Empire[239]
• King William's War (1688–1697), North American theatre of the Nine Years' War
• Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), North American theatre of the War of the Spanish Succession
• War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1748), a pre-existing Anglo-Spanish conflict in the Americas subsumed into the War of the Austrian Succession
• King George's War (1746–1748), North American theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession
• Hawaiian war of succession (1782), after the death of king Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaii