List of wars of succession

This is a list of wars of succession.

Note: Wars of succession in transcontinental states are mentioned under the continents where their capital city was located. Names of wars that historians have given names are capitalized; the others, whose existence has been proven but not yet given a specific name, are provisionally written in lowercase letters (except for the first word, geographical, and personal names).

Africa

Ancient Egyptian wars of succession 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 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) Alexandrian war (48–47 BCE), between Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII over the Ptolemaic Kingdom 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 Hafsid war of succession and Marinid invasion (1346–1347), after the death of caliph Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II of the Hafsid dynasty Malian war of succession (1360), after the death of Mansa Suleyman of the Mali Empire 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. 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 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)

Adalite war of succession (1517–1527), after the death of sultan Mahfuz of the Adal Sultanate Kongolese war of succession (1543–1545), after the death of mwenekongo Afonso I of Kongo Bunyoro war of succession (mid-16th century), enthroning Winyi II over the Empire of Kitara in 1570 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 War of the Songhai succession (1582/3–1591), after the death of emperor Askia Daoud of the Songhai Empire. The war between the two feuding fractions would not cease until the Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire in 1591. Moroccan War of Succession (1603–1627) Kongo Civil War (1665–1709), after the death of mwenekongo António I of Kongo in the Battle of Mbwila Revolutions of Tunis or the Muradid War of Succession (1675–1705), after the death of bey Murad II of Tunis Dahomey succession struggle ( 1716–1718), after the death of king Akaba of Dahomey 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. Still, in 1757, Kango returned with Barbara troops with flintlocks (the first recorded use of firearms in Yatenga), and won the war. Several Bunyoro wars of succession in the Empire of Kitara in the 17th and 18th centuries, almost always coinciding with rebellions in its tributary states 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. Lozi war of succession (c. late 1820s–1830s), after the death of litunga Mulambwa Santulu of Barotseland between his sons Silumelume and Mubukwanu. The two brothers fought with each other over the succession, and Silumelume initially gained power and started to rule, but was then assassinated (perhaps on the orders of Mubukwanu), and then Mubukwanu began his reign. The Lozi were 'seriously weakened by [the] succession dispute', and then defeated by the Makololo invasion led by Sebetwane. Zulu war of succession (1839–1840), between the brothers Dingane and Mpande after the Battle of Blood River 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. Bunyoro war of succession (c. 1851), enthroning Kamurasi over the Empire of Kitara Second Zulu Civil War (1856), during the late reign of King Mpande of the Zulu Kingdom between his sons Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi (Mpande's favourite and implied successor). As King Mpande was still alive, Cetshwayo's actions could be labelled a princely rebellion, but the literature often refers to the conflict as a "war of succession". Gaza war of succession (1858–1862) between brothers Mawewe and Mzila after the death of their father, king Soshangane of the Gaza Empire Makololo war of succession (1863–1864), after the death of morêna Sekeletu of Barotseland, between Mamili/Mamile and Mbololo/Mpololo (Sekeletu's uncle, Sebetwane's brother). It resulted in the extinction of the Makololo dynasty of Sebetwane in Barotseland. It led to the enthronement of Sipopa Lutangu (Mubukwanu's son, Mulambwa's grandson). Conventional historiography regards the accession of Sipopa as "the 'Restoration' of the Lozi monarchy and the start of the 'Second Kingdom'", but Flint (2005) argued that the Lozi and Makololo peoples were ethnolinguistically close and had 'effectively merged' in the decades following the accession of Sebetwane, demonstrated by the fact that both groups spoke the 'Sikololo' or 'Silozi' language by 1864. Sipopa was 'on good terms with the Makololo hierarchy' and married Sebetwane's daughter Mamochisane upon his accession. Ndebele war of succession (1868), after the death of king Mzilikazi of the Northern Ndebele kingdom of Mthwakazi, won by Lobengula , after the suicide of emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia following his defeat in the British expedition to Abyssinia Bunyoro war of succession (1869), after the death of mukama Kamurasi, enthroning Kabalega over the Empire of Kitara Anglo-Zanzibar War (27 August 1896), after the death of sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar from the House of Busaid. His cousin Khalid bin Barghash of Zanzibar attempted to accede to the throne, but without approval of the British, who favoured a different cousin of Hamad: Hamoud bin Mohammed of Zanzibar. The British bombardment of Khalid's palace compelled him to surrender after about 40 minutes and abdicate in favour of Hamoud, marking the shortest war in recorded history. 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

Asia

Ancient Asia

(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. It is disputed whether this event actually occurred as narrated in the Mahabharata. Hattusili's Civil War (c. 1267 BC) 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 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 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 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 power struggle following the death of Cambyses, possibly involving the assassinations of Cambyses and Bardiya, 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. Featuring the . Qin's wars of unification (230–221 BCE), to enforce Qin's claim to succeed the Zhou dynasty (which during the Western Zhou period ruled all the Chinese states), Qin 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 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 Bithynian war of succession (255–254 BCE), after the death of king Nicomedes I of Bithynia 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

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