Thousands of Monarchs
Philip Mansel on a history of global rulers
Monarchs, Rulers, Dynasties and Kingdoms of the World by R. F. Tapsell
511 pp. (Thames and Hudson, 1983)
Monarchs, Rulers, Dynasties and Kingdoms of the World is an attempt to provide a factual framework for the study of one of the most important forces in the history of the world, monarchy. For, as R. F. Tapsell writes, 'Since the beginnings of recorded history, more than 5000 years ago, the great majority of civilised people have lived under the rule of monarchs.' Only in the fatal decade 1912-1922, in China, Russia, Germany, Austria and Turkey did 'half humanity over- throw its monarchs'.
The book is divided into two sections: the first is a dictionary of about 1200 dynasties and monarchies. The second contains about 1000 dynastic lists, with an elaborate system of signs after the rulers' names – HST stands for husband of sister, WSTGD for wife's sister's grandchild via daughter – in order to explain why one ruler succeeded another.
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