Conveners

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones [Llewellyn-JonesL@cardiff.ac.uk]

Eve MacDonald [MacDonaldG1@cardiff.ac.uk]

Alex McAuley [McauleyA1@cardiff.ac.uk]

Shaun Tougher (Cardiff University) [TougherSF@cardiff.ac.uk]

 

This panel reflects the revived interest in the subject of ‘dynasty’ in current historical studies, witness Jeroen Duindam’s Dynasties: A Global History of Power, 1300-1800 (2016), and several recent conferences on ‘dynasty’ and its meaning in the modern and medieval periods. The panel is distinct by addressing the subject in the ancient world, and by embracing a broad chronological and cultural span, from ancient Assyria to Byzantium and the Near East. It aims to be interdisciplinary and diverse in nature, seeking speakers of differing specialisms, levels of academic activity and cultural backgrounds.

 

Amongst the questions the panel will seek to address are:

 

What principles of succession existed?

How common was primogeniture, and what other systems of succession existed?

What was the role of, and attitude to, siblings of rulers?

What was the role of, and attitude to, other family members of rulers (e.g. mothers, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins)?

What was the relationship between royal and imperial families and other members of society in relation to succession?

How were changes in dynasty effected and justified?

What are the benefits and problems of utilising a comparative approach to the question of dynastic succession?

How valid is the use of the term ‘dynasty’?

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