Throughout history, there have been numerous monarchs - some good, some bad, and many largely forgotten. Some monarchs, like Queen Elizabeth II, ruled for decades, but the reign of many others was much shorter. Although we tend to think of being a monarch as a job for life, the truth is, many monarchs have abdicated, essentially quitting. Sometimes they were coerced; sometimes they did it for personal reasons. Here we have a selection of ten monarchs from throughout history who decided to abdicate and give up their crowns.
Roman Emperor Diocletian abdicated in favor of his garden
As Roman emperors go, Diocletian had a pretty impressive track record. Reportedly the son of a slave, Diocletian had worked hard, and rose through the military ranks until he took control in 284 AD. Upon taking control, he realized that the empire had become too large, and was becoming increasingly likely to implode.
Knowing no one man could rule such a large empire, Emperor Diocletian split the empire in two, and claimed the eastern half for himself. He later divided it again, forming the tetrarchy. History shows that his plan worked; dividing the empire stabilized it and allowed it to survive for another two hundred years.
In 303 AD, Diocletian became seriously ill during a visit to Rome. It is thought that he likely had a stroke. This served as a wake-up call to Diocletian, and he decided to retire so that he could spend his remaining days in his hometown of Split in Croatia.
His co-ruler Maximian asked Diocletian to return to power, but Diocletian responded that he would rather spend his remaining days in his garden than return to power. Diocletian spent the rest of his days enjoying his retirement in peace.
Emperor Diocletian divided his empire, and abdicated to potter around in his garden. Bust at Diocletian's Palace, Split, Croatia (Carole Raddato / CC BY SA 2.0 )
Byzantine Emperor Justin II: Abdicating in a moment of clarity
Anyone who has studied monarchies will often come to one conclusion pretty quickly, monarchs and poor mental health often seem to go hand in hand. Maybe it's the pressures of ruling vast empires, maybe it's the often limited gene pool, but quite a few monarchs have snapped.
Justin II voluntarily abdicated in the year 574 AD. Why did he choose to hand over the throne? He’d been suffering from “derangement”. In the months leading up to his abdication, he had arbitrarily attacked his attendants, made random animal noises, and begun to self-harm.
In his increasingly rare moments of lucidity, Emperor Justin II realized his position was untenable, and that he needed to do the right thing for his empire: abdicate. He adopted one of his generals, Tiberius, as his son and heir and abdicated.
Justinian and the general Tiberius, who he adopted as his son before he abdicated. (Classical Numismatic Group / CC BY SA 2.5 )
Sultan Murad II of the Ottoman Empire abdicated (temporarily)
Sometimes an abdication doesn’t stick. Sultan Murad II tried his best to get out of the leadership business but was dragged straight back in.
Murad abdicated as head of the Ottoman Empire in 1444 AD, handing over the keys to the kingdom to his son, Mehmed II. Historians today believe he was trying to avoid the usual bloodshed that followed changes in Ottoman leadership. He hoped that peacefully handing over power to his son would stop any dynastic drama. He had been ruler for 23 years and had spent much of that time fighting off both internal and external threats.
One of his last acts as ruler was to sign a peace treaty with the Polish and Hungarian king, Ladislaw III. He believed that his son's reign would be much more peaceful than his own. Thinking his kingdom was safe, there seemed no better time to abdicate.
He was wrong. Less than a year after Murad abdicated, Ladislaw broke his word and led a multinational force into Ottoman-controlled, present-day Bulgaria. Ladislaw planned on expelling the Ottomans from Europe altogether and believed that the inexperienced Mehmed II would be unable to stop him.
It would seem King Ladislaw was very astute. Mehmed recognized his own limitations and asked his father to return to power to lead the Ottoman armies once more. Murad tried to refuse, but his son ignored him, stating, "If you are Sultan, command your armies. If I am Sultan, I order you to command my armies."
It worked, and Murad soon defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Varna. He was reinstated as Sultan in 1446 and ruled until his death in 1451. Upon his father’s passing, Mehmed II came back into power, now ready to lead. He went on to take Constantinople two years later, having learned much from his father.
Portrait of Sultan Mehmet II, 1480, by Gentile Bellini. ( Public Domain )
The Abdication of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
Charles V had a lot going for him; as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century, he was the most powerful ruler in Europe, and by extension, one of the most powerful men in the world. This had earned him many enemies, and his time in power was characterized by almost constant warfare.
The problem was that Charles had spent much of his life in ill health, suffering from migraines and gout. As his health worsened, it began to impinge on his ability to rule. When the French took Metz in 1552, Charles was unable to respond due to ill health and handed one of his greatest enemies a major victory.
Soon after this loss, he chose to abdicate. He handed his imperial titles over to his brother, Ferdinand I, and gave all his possessions to his son, Philip I. He left royal life and spent the rest of his days living in a monastery.
Portrait of Emperor Charles V by Titian ( Public Domain )
Tsar Ivan IV, better known as Ivan the Terrible: Another Attempted Abdication
Much like Murad II, Ivan IV is a monarch whose abdication didn’t stick. Unlike Murad however, there has been much debate as to whether Ivan’s abdication was genuine, a political ploy, or the result of mental illness.
Ivan the Terrible abdicated on December 3rd, 1594. He announced to the boyars (noble families who made up the government) that he planned to leave Moscow and make a pilgrimage to Alexandrova Sloboda. He told them he was sick and tired of their constant embezzlement, plotting, and treason, so he was leaving.
The boyars soon realized that Ivan’s abdication was a problem; they feared the citizens would rebel without their leader. The boyars sent an envoy to Ivan, asking him to return and promising they would behave if he did. Ivan agreed under the condition that he be allowed to execute any boyar he suspected of treason, without repercussion.
This was no idle threat. As soon as he returned, Ivan purged any boyar family he felt was disloyal, and there were a lot. Historians are torn on whether Ivan’s abdication was simply a plot to get more power. If it was, it was genius. However, other historians believe the abdication was a result of an undiagnosed mental illness. Rather than being a political move, it is possible Ivan’s abdication was just a temper tantrum that ended up working out for him.
Tsar Ivan IV, better known as Ivan the Terrible, temporarily abdicated, although scholars debate the cause. 1897 oil painting by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov ( Public Domain )
John II Casimir of Sweden abdicated after he’d had enough
Sometimes a monarch gets dealt a bad hand. John II’s reign was full of bad hands: major losses of territory, constant war, and many, many defeats. In 1660, he lost his claim to the Swedish throne , and in 1667, he had to hand over numerous eastern territories to Russia after major military defeats.
Unsurprisingly, all these defeats made poor John increasingly unpopular at home. By the end of 1667, he was fending off various rebellions at home, as well as constant foreign conflicts. When his wife, Marie Louise Gonzaga, died in 1667, it broke the monarch. John II Casimir Vasa decided enough was enough, and abdicated on September 16, 1668. He left Poland and returned to France, where he became abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris.
John II Casimir of Sweden already looks fed up in this portrait. He abdicated in 1668, after nearly a decade of struggle as monarch. ( Public Domain )
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia: Abdication in Revolution
It’s safe to say Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was not a popular monarch. The financial and human cost of Russia’s role in World War I had damaged Nicholas’s reputation immensely and caused major criticism of his rule.
In 1917, the Russian people were facing a major food shortage and mass strikes. The people were angry and called for a socialist revolution. As discontent turned to violence and riots broke out, Nicholas’s government lost all control. He was forced to abdicate on March 15th, 1917.
Nicholas and his family were sent to live in exile. If Nicolas thought his abdication would save his family, he was sadly mistaken. The Bolsheviks would later have Nicholas and his family executed, fearing they could one day be used as counter-revolutionary figureheads against them.
Tsar Nicholas II abdicated in an attempt to save himself and his family at the beginning of the Russian Revolution ( Public Domain )
Sweden’s Gustav IV Adolf: Forced off the Throne
Gustav IV Adolf was the king of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed and forced to abdicate in 1809. Depending on who you ask, Gustav was either incredibly incompetent or incredibly unlucky.
The reign of Gustav IV started well, at least in comparison, as the rule of his predecessor Gustav III had been a complete disaster. Gustav III had led an incredibly costly war against Russia that had almost bankrupted Sweden. When Gustav III was assassinated and Gustav IV was crowned, the nobility and the populace were just happy to have a new leader.
The situation began to go south for the new Gustav in 1798, with two years of widespread crop failures that exacerbated his kingdom's financial woes. Circumstances got worse in 1805, when he joined the Third Coalition against Napoleon. This was a war that Sweden was unprepared for, and could not afford. The campaign did not go well, and the French soon took Swedish Pomerania. This was followed by Russia betraying the coalition and making peace with France in 1807.
Things then went from bad to worse in 1808, when Russia invaded present-day Finland, ruled by Sweden at the time. As if Gustav did not have enough on his plate, Denmark then joined the party and declared war on Sweden as well. In almost no time at all, Finland was completely lost to Russia. On September 17, 1809, Sweden surrendered its eastern third to Russia. Obviously, this was quite unpopular in Sweden.
Gustav IV’s handling of the war led to the Coup of 1809, in which army officers deposed him. He agreed to voluntarily abdicate, so that his son could take the throne in his stead. His son would never see the throne, however. The revolutionaries feared Gustav’s son could be a threat in the future, so they put Gustav’s uncle, Charles, on the throne.
Gustav spent the rest of his days in Switzerland living in a small hotel. He remained lonely and bitter until he eventually died of a stroke. He wasn’t really given much of a choice, but he always regretted abdicating.
Portrait of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden by Per Krafft the Younger, shortly before his forced abdication in the Coup of 1809 ( Public Domain )
King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom: Marriage over Monarchy
Perhaps the most famous abdication in history is that of King Edward VIII, who abdicated for love. When King George V passed away in 1936, his son King Edward VIII was poised to take the throne. There was just one little wrinkle.
The English monarch was also the head of the Church of England. This came with a lot of rules and traditions in regard to how a monarch was expected to live their life. One of those rules was that a monarch couldn’t marry someone who had been divorced.
This was a problem for Edward, who was in a long-term relationship with the American actress Wallis Simpson, a divorcee. Initially, Edward approached parliament with a workaround that would allow him to marry Simpson and still become king. The English Parliament refused outright.
Edward chose Simpson over the crown and announced his abdication. And thus, the crown went to his brother Albert, who became George VI. In a speech to the nation, Edward announced he was choosing the woman he loved over the crown.
Edward’s abdication had huge repercussions for the royal family. It changed the line of succession so that George VI’s daughter, Elizabeth, became queen upon his death. Elizabeth went on to become the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch until her death in 2022.
Although King Edward VIII abdicated for his American actress love Wallis Simpson, they remained active. The then-Duke and Duchess of Windsor are pictured here with US president Richard Nixon, 1970 ( Public Domain )
Analytical Abdication: Emperor Akihito of Japan
At the time of writing, the most recent abdication was that of Emperor Akihito of Japan. It became clear in 2016 that Akihito intended to abdicate so that his son, then-Prince Naruhito could take the throne . His reasoning was that he was elderly and had had several health scares, and so he felt it was time for someone younger to take the reins.
There was only one problem; by Japanese law, Akihito could not abdicate. Abdication would require an amendment to be made to the Imperial Household Law. In May 2017, the bill allowing Akihito to abdicate was issued by the Cabinet of Japan. It was passed and entered into law on the June 8, 2017. Akihito abdicated on April 30, 2019, becoming the first Japanese emperor to do so since 1817.
Japanese Emperor Akihito in 2016, shortly before his abdication for a younger generation ( Public Domain )
Conclusion
These ten rulers left power under a wide variety of circumstances. Even those who chose to abdicate did so for different reasons. The question of abdication has come up more in recent years. Many of the world's remaining monarchies have an age problem. More figureheads than dictators, the survival of these monarchies relies more than ever on their popularity.
Many royalists fear these aging royals are bad for publicity, and that new younger generations would respond better to younger royals. King Charles III of the United Kingdom was already facing calls to abdicate long before the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II for instance. As Akihito knew, sometimes young blood is needed to inject life into an aging institution.
Top image: Why would monarchs abdicate their thrones? These ten stories will give some ideas. Source: Elles Rijsdijk / Adobe Stock
By Robbie Mitchell
Frequently Asked Questions
Which are the Top 5 Human Innovations?
The discovery of fire was the greatest innovation in human history. Fire changed our relationship with nature forever. It allowed us to make food and keep warm in the cold. It enabled us to control light heat and electricity.
Fire enabled us to create tools, weapons, and even cities.
Fire made us, the humans, more intelligent. We could communicate better, learn faster, travel further, and communicate better.
Inventions such as writing, printing, and gunpowder followed shortly after. This made information easier to share.
Technological advances have also brought about social changes. People began to live together in groups to provide protection, safety and comfort.
Humans began to form larger communities, eventually becoming nations. This led eventually to the development laws, government, and religions.
Finally, medical care and sanitation were widely accessible. These advances led to the rise of middle class.
All of these inventions created a space where humanity could flourish. Humanity was now free from the cave.
Technology continues to revolutionize the world. We continue to create new technologies that make it easier, safer, and even more convenient.
Despite all the progress we have made, there are still many challenges. One of these is climate change.
Climate change is the result of burning fossil fuels. The air is emitted carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Carbon dioxide traps heat close to the Earth's surface, making temperatures much higher than they should be.
This causes glaciers melted, which in turn leads to sea levels rising. Coral reefs will die as the oceans warm.
This makes coastal areas uninhabitable.
Millions have been forced out of their homes by this phenomenon. Many countries have declared war against climate change.
Yet, even with all these limitations, we cannot stop creating new technologies. Why not? We will die if you do.
Why is fire considered to be the greatest achievement for humanity?
Fire is an amazing force in nature and a symbol that embodies power and energy. In our culture, fire holds so much significance that we name days based on how many flames they have. For example, Tuesday means "fire day" because it's when the sun sets.
The symbol of fire can be used to denote more than heat. It is used to indicate strength, power passion, action, and life. Why is fire considered the greatest achievement of man?
Fire is the most powerful element of the universe. It represents the beginning and end, source and destination. There's no better way to express its versatility than this.
The great thing about fire is that it's not limited to providing warmth and light. Humans harness fire to create art, cook food, keep themselves warm, and provide light for reading and studying.
But we also use fire to destroy - destroying trees to make paper or burning coal to produce electricity. Fire is used to kill livestock and to communicate with us.
Fire is not a destructive element. Fire is actually a beneficial element. It allows us to survive, protect ourselves, and offers entertainment.
What were major inventions in the early history of mankind?
Think of the most important invention in human history. Imagine an inventor who created a device to allow us all to do the same thing, but for many more people.
What would that look and feel like? How could we make it better? This could make the world a better place. How would it be done if you had the chance to make such a device.
These questions will help you identify the place where innovation is possible.
Innovation is the ability solve problems in new and useful ways. Innovation is the key to solving any issue. Innovation means to make something new.
Now let's look at the difference in invention and innovation. The invention is the act of creating something new. Innovation is the act that improves upon an existing product. For example, the wheel was invented long before it was improved upon through the creation of the bicycle.
Both innovations and inventions require imagination and creativity. But they require different skills. Innovation is able to see things others can't. They are able to identify problems and think outside of the box to find solutions.
An investor can envision possibilities. An investor can see possibilities and take a concept from one idea into another. They can understand and explain their ideas so that others can follow them.
Innovation requires imagination. It requires being creative. And it requires a willingness to try something new.
Investors must be open to new ideas. To step out of their comfort zone. To set new standards and to be creative.
An inventor is a person who understands that not every solution is the best. Sometimes the hardest part is asking the right questions.
An inventor doesn't just want to solve a problem. They want to improve upon something. And they want to do it better.
So, when considering your next invention, remember that you have two options:
- Or, you can create something entirely new.
- You can improve upon what is already there.
The first step to improving your skills is to define the problem. Then, you need to figure out if someone else has solved this problem.
Sometimes, the problem that you are trying solve might no longer be relevant because it has changed over the years. This is called obsolescence.
Another reason for innovation failures is the saturation of the market. There are too many products available for consumers to buy. So, the demand for a product is low.
This is why you need to focus on niche markets or industries. These are areas of growth.
Remember that your product may not be available in the marketplace yet. You need to test the idea. It is possible to test it. You can see if anyone is interested.
And finally, don't forget to ask yourself if your idea is worth pursuing. Are you truly innovating? Will it improve upon something that already works?
Innovation requires you to get out of your comfort zone. You need to push yourself to think differently. And it would be best if you were willing to learn more about the topic.
You need to find opportunities to experiment. You can also learn from your mistakes.
The only way to discover what is possible is to fail. Failure will teach success.
Which is the greatest invention in the history and culture of humanity?
If you look back at history, the obvious answer is yes. Today, however, the answers can vary greatly depending on who is asking. Some believe it was fire, others electricity, while some claim the wheel. Some also mention the printing press. Others use penicillin. Other people say the telephone.
But it doesn't matter because the real answer is the same for everyone; it's the ability to communicate.
Communication is key to human advancement. Communication allows us to learn, grow, to evolve. We share our lives, create art, heal, love, laugh, cry, dream, live, and die.
We are here because of the power of communication.
The answer is the same regardless of how long it takes, no matter if we're talking about the inventions of language, the internet, or writing,
Invention is a method of communicating. The invention allows you to share knowledge, ideas, thoughts and emotions.
Communication is vital.
This is why we must invent.
What inventions did you think had a negative outcome?
Here are some examples of how inventions can harm society.
Gunpowder was invented during wars and eventually led to mass killings. It's estimated that 10 million people died due to this invention.
The inventions of electricity, steam engines, and cars have made our lives so much easier. These inventions made our lives easier. But, they can also be a problem, like traffic jams, pollution, noise and accidents, etc.
Millions of innocent people died because of the invention of guns. People started killing each other because they could use these weapons easily. This problem still exists today.
Radioactive radiation spread to the environment after the invention of nuclear power stations. Many scientists believe that our time is the worst in human history.
Many people tried to invent something that would change our lives. Some were successful while others failed.
What are the most significant achievements made by mankind over the past 50 years?
Humanity's greatest accomplishment in the last fifty-years is its ability to communicate over great distances with unprecedented speed and accuracy. This is without doubt the most significant technological breakthrough in human history.
The internet is a network of tubes that connects the world. These tubes are made out of fiber optic cable. Each cable can transmit information at up to 10 gigabits per second - more than 1 million times faster than the average home broadband connection today.
This technology allows people to communicate across borders and share their knowledge and culture. This technology has made it possible to access any information immediately, instead of having to physically travel to another place.
Our ability to share information is also responsible for incredible advancements in science and medicine. Scientists are now able to sequence genomes in half the time that it took 20 years ago.
Technology advances allow researchers to model complex biological processes in realtime. This means that we are now able to unravel the mysteries behind diseases such Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and other disorders.
These breakthroughs could save millions.
There are downsides to this amazing technology. In recent years we've come to rely heavily on the internet for our day-to-day activities. This has resulted in many problems including cyberbullying and identity theft.
The biggest problem could be ahead. As more people depend on the internet for their daily lives, the likelihood of a global data collapse is rising dramatically.
As our dependence on the internet grows, so does our vulnerability to its failures. If the internet goes down, even for a few minutes, businesses could lose billions in productivity. The internet would also compromise our health records, financial transactions, as well as government communications.
We already see early signs of what may happen if internet goes down. Just think back to Hurricane Sandy, when the storm knocked out power to many homes and businesses in the eastern United States. Within days hackers were exploiting the internet outage in order to steal credit-card numbers.
You'll see many devices connected to your internet in your home. Amazon can be connected to your fridge so you can order food online. Your car can check traffic conditions and book service appointments. Your car can even turn your lights off remotely. Because they have microprocessors within them, all of these things can be communicated with each other via the internet.
These microprocessors couldn't transmit data across networks after Hurricane Sandy. This meant that cars could not start or stop engines, refrigerators couldn't order food and lights couldn’t turn off. It caused chaos and confusion in an emergency.
This could also happen in a national emergency like a terrorist attack or natural disaster. Imagine how difficult and time-consuming it would be to respond in an emergency or to crimes. How could hospitals manage patient care without computers in the hospital? What about communication between citizens & government agencies?
The good news is that the infrastructure needed to prevent something like this from happening is already in place. Existing infrastructure is in place to protect critical services like power plants and water treatment facilities from events similar to hurricanes. However, they are not designed to withstand a massive cyberattack that could cause a loss of all electricity.
For instance, hackers could take over a nuclear reactor and close the facility in a matter of seconds. They could also contaminate water supplies and cause panic.
While infrastructure exists, the question is still: Can we ever build resilience into the system.
In 2005, two scientists at MIT published a paper called "A Failure Model for Cloud Computing." They described a future where there's no single point of failure. Each device can experience multiple points of failure. Imagine your smartphone losing its battery and your laptop both. Now both your phone and computer need to be replaced.
We were able to depend on just a few components to protect us in the past. These include telephone lines and electricity grids. But as more people move towards cloud-based computing, we're putting more of our lives online. We rely on technology that hasn't been tested in real-world environments. This is why we must ensure that the technologies we use are resilient enough to withstand natural disasters, such as hurricanes or cyberattacks.
It's this reason that I'm so excited about work done by National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST has teamed up with industry experts in order to develop standards that can help us improve the resilience of our technology. These standards will ensure that all things work seamlessly together online. No matter what happens to the power, our phones continue to work. Our refrigerators still order us dinner. Our traffic reports still tell us what roads are clear.
We will be better prepared for any type of event if all our devices are able to communicate.
Statistics
- Retrieved April 26, 2015. Sequence differences from the human genome were confirmed to be ∼1% in areas that can be precisely aligned, representing ∼35 million single base-pair differences. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Also proposed as Homo sapiens heidelbergensis or Homo sapiens paleohungaricus.[208]H. rhodesiensis, and the Gawis cranium[edit]H. rhodesiensis, estimated to be 300,000–125,000 years old. (en.wikipedia.org)
- H. antecessoris knew from fossils from Spain and England that are dated 1.2 Ma–500ka.[205][206]refers to a single skull cap from Italy, estimated to be about 800,000 years old. (en.wikipedia.org)
- The linear view of human evolution began to be abandoned in the 1970s as different species of humans were discovered, which made the linear concept increasingly unlikely. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Nonetheless, humans retain a degree of sexual dimorphism in the distribution of body hair, subcutaneous fat, and overall size, with males being around 15% larger than females. (en.wikipedia.org)
External Links
twitter.com
en.wikipedia.org
web.archive.org
nature.com
How To
Which are the ten biggest inventions?
There are more than 10,000 inventions each year, meaning hundreds of thousands of inventions per decade.
These ideas are only a sampling of what we know, but there could be more.
Because it only includes inventions that have received patent protection, the list below is incomplete.
This includes inventions which have been patented and not published.
These are some examples of inventions that have been published, but not protected by patents:
- Uses for existing technology that are not being used (e.g. improvements in the efficiency of processes)
- Improvements in manufacturing methods (e.g. better methods of casting molding, extruding or forming, etc.
- There are many innovative ways to use technology that isn't known before (e.g., using computer to solve problems which previously required human intervention).
Here are the Top 10 Patentable Inventions According to the U.S. Patent Office.
- Sewing Machine - Elias Howe
- Refrigerator - Charles F. Lindberg
- Stove - Richard Cobden & John Richardson
- Alexander Graham Bell - Telephone
- Radio - Guglielmo Marconi
- Television - Philo Farnsworth
- Nikola Tesla Electric Motor
- Airplane - Samuel Pierpont Langley
- James Watt: Steam Engine
- Computers - Alan Turing
Did you miss our previous article...
https://lessonsbeyondthestory.com/history-of-man/10-illuminating-facts-about-the-knights-templar
