View source for Coregency

{{Short description|Situation in a single-person monarchy in which two or more people hold the title}}
{{About|multiple sovereigns of a single state|a single sovereign shared by multiple states|Personal union}}

{{Monarchism |related}}
{{Basic forms of government}}

[[File:Juramento da Regência Trina.jpg|thumb|The oath of the [[Triumvirate|triumviral]] regents of the [[Empire of Brazil]] on behalf of the 5-year-old [[Pedro II of Brazil|Emperor Pedro II]], 1831]]
A '''coregency''' is the situation where a [[monarchy|monarchical]] position (such as [[prince]], [[princess]], [[king]], queen, [[emperor]] or empress), normally held by only a single person, is held by two or more. It is distinct from [[diarchy|diarchies or duumvirates]] (such as [[Andorra]], ancient [[Sparta]] and [[Roman Republic|Rome]]), where monarchical power is permanently divided between two rulers; and also from [[regent|regencies]], where a person, who is not legally monarch themselves, exercises monarchical power on the behalf of reigning monarch who is absent or unable to rule (for example due to illness or young age).

== Historical examples ==
Coregencies were common in the [[Hellenistic period]]; according to one scholar, they "can usually be explained as a means of avoiding crises of succession or internal conflict, and of strengthening dynastic identity and ideology."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Skuse |first1=Matthew L. |title=Coregency in the Reign of Ptolemy II: Findings from the Mendes Stela |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=2017 |volume=103 |issue=1 |pages=89–101 |doi=10.1177/0307513317722457 |jstor=26948553 |s2cid=191525385 |issn=0307-5133|doi-access=free }}</ref> Other examples include the coregency of [[Frederick I of Austria (Habsburg)|Frederick I of Austria]] and [[Louis the Bavarian]] over the [[Kingdom of Germany]]. ''[[Jure uxoris]]'' kings in kingdoms such as [[Portugal]] and [[Spain]] are also found ([[Ferdinand V of Castile|Ferdinand V]] and [[Isabella I of Castile]], [[Philip I of Castile|Philip I]] and [[Joanna of Castile]], [[Peter III of Portugal|Peter III]] and [[Maria I of Portugal]], etc.). In [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]], the husbands of queens regnant were styled as co-rulers.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

===Ancient Egypt===
{{Original research section|date=April 2016}}

In [[Ancient Egypt]], coregency was quite problematic as the [[Pharaoh]] was seen as the incarnation/representation of the god Horus. Therefore, according to the divine order Ma'at, only one King could exist at the same time. Yet, exceptions can be found, mainly in the Middle Kingdom, where the pharaoh occasionally appointed his successor (often one of his sons) as coregent, or joint king, to ensure a smooth succession. “This system was used, from at least as early as the Middle Kingdom, in order to ensure that the transfer of power took place with the minimum of disruption and instability”.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Shaw|first1=Ian|title=The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt|last2=Nicholson|first2=Paul|publisher=British Museum Press|year=2008|pages=81}}</ref> Coregencies are highly probable for [[Amenemhat I]] > [[Senusret I]] > [[Amenemhat II]] > [[Senusret II]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schneider|first=Thomas|title=Lexikon der Pharaonen|publisher=Artemis|year=1994|pages=52–54; 264–267}}</ref> Most probably the real king in power was the older one (father) adopting the younger ruler (son), while the co-regent had to wait until after the death of the older one to really have access to full royal power. Yet, the years of reigns normally were counted from the beginning of the coregency on. Due to this and to the fragmentary character of known sources, the establishment of [[Egyptian chronology]] was quite complicated and remains disputed up to date. Yet, understanding the existence of co-regency reduced the chaos quite a lot.

The institution of coregency is different from that of [[regent|regency]], where an adult person (in Ancient Egypt often the mother of the king) functions as [[Legal guardian]], ruling in the name of the underage king. Some of the female regents of Egypt rose to a status of equal to the God-Kings, becoming co-rulers as can be seen in the famous case of [[Hatshepsut]]. After the death of her husband [[Thutmose II]], Hatshepsut ruled in the name of [[Thutmose III]], her nephew and stepson. Then, latest in year 7<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tyldesley|first=Joyce A.|title=Hatchepsut : the female pharaoh|publisher=Penguin|year=1998|isbn=0-14-024464-6|edition=|location=London|pages=99|oclc=39109151}}</ref> of [[Thutmose III]]'s reign, she took over [[Pharaoh#regalia|royal regalia]] and was then [[Ancient Egyptian royal titulary|titled]] King of Egypt under the Throne name (''[[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|prenomen]]'') [[Maatkare Hatshepsut|Maatkare]]. For later periods of Pharaonic Egyptian history, the existence of the institution of coregency has been put into question by Egyptologists,<ref>Taterka, Filip. "The Co-Regency of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II Revisited." The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Archaeology 105.1 (2019): 43-57.</ref> while, "the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] and [[Roman Egypt|Roman]] period examples being the most securely identified".<ref name=":0"/>

In Hellenized Egypt during the [[Ptolemaic period]], [[Arsinoe II]] was given the title of ''nswt-bjtj'', which is usually translated as "King of Upper and Lower Egypt". Later royal wives like [[Berenice II]], [[Arsinoe III]] and [[Cleopatra I Syra]] got were given the feminine form of the pharaohnic titulary of their husbands, including "female Horus", "female pharaoh" and "female ruler", which is sometimes interpreted as a sign of coregency with their spouses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sewell-Lasater |first=Tara |year=2020 |title=Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to Female Rule |url=https://www.academia.edu/43290689 |pages=125-128, 188, 456-457 (Appendix E)  |journal=University of Houston }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ashton |first=Sally-Ann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FO_fBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |pages=112–113 |title=The Last Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra's Royal House |date=2014-09-19 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-86873-6 |language=en}}</ref> However, neither of them appear as formal co-ruler in official protocols mentioning their husbands's regnal years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sewell-Lasater |first=Tara |year=2020 |title=Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to Female Rule |url=https://www.academia.edu/43290689 |pages=126-128, 186-189, 439-442 (Appendix A) |journal=University of Houston }}</ref>

Official coregency between two royal spouses, when both were named as co-rulers in [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] administration of the country, was for the first time introduced when [[Cleopatra II]] was named as [[Basileus|co-ruler]] alongside her brothers: [[Ptolemy VI]] (her husband) and [[Ptolemy VIII Physcon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sewell-Lasater |first=Tara |year=2020 |title=Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to Female Rule |url=https://www.academia.edu/43290689 |pages=274–275 |journal=University of Houston }}</ref> After their reign, coregency continue in various forms, like simultaneous rule of siblings, spouses or parent and child, and it seems that from ideological point of view king was unable to rule without queen as his co-ruler, and likewise.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sewell-Lasater |first=Tara |year=2020 |title=Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to Female Rule |url=https://www.academia.edu/43290689 |pages=171-172, 439-442 (Appendix A) |journal=University of Houston }}</ref>

Nominal co-rule during [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic period]] were documented between:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sewell-Lasater |first=Tara |year=2020 |title=Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to Female Rule |url=https://www.academia.edu/43290689 |pages=439-442 (Appendix A) |journal=University of Houston }}</ref>

*[[Ptolemy I Soter]]  and [[Ptolemy II]]
* [[Ptolemy VI Philometor|Ptolemy VI]], [[Cleopatra II]] and [[Ptolemy VIII Physcon]]
* [[Ptolemy VIII Physcon]], [[Cleopatra II]] and [[Cleopatra III]]
* [[Cleopatra II]], [[Cleopatra III]] and [[Ptolemy IX Soter|Ptolemy IX Lathyros]]
* [[Cleopatra III]] and [[Ptolemy X Alexander I|Ptolemy X]]
* [[Ptolemy X Alexander I|Ptolemy X]] and [[Berenice III]]
* [[Ptolemy IX Soter|Ptolemy IX Lathyros]] and [[Berenice III]]
* [[Berenice III]] and [[Ptolemy XI Alexander II|Ptolemy XI]]
* [[Ptolemy XII Auletes]] and [[Cleopatra V|Cleopatra V Tryphaena]]
* [[Cleopatra VI|Cleopatra VI Tryphaena]] and [[Berenice IV]]  
* [[Cleopatra VII]] consecutively with [[Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator|Ptolemy XIII]], [[Ptolemy XIV Philopator|Ptolemy XIV]] and [[Ptolemy XV|Ptolemy XV Caesarion]]

===Ancient Israel===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

In the book ''[[The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings]]'', [[Edwin R. Thiele]] proposed co-regency as a possible explanation for discrepancies in the dates given in the [[Hebrew Bible]] for the reigns of the kings of [[Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]]. At least one co-regency is explicitly documented in the Bible: the coronation of [[King Solomon]] occurred before the death of his father [[David]].

===Britain===
{{Main|Government of the United Kingdom|List of British monarchs|List of English monarchs}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

King [[Henry II of England]] installed his eldest surviving son, also named Henry, as junior king. [[Henry the Young King]] was not permitted to exercise royal authority and his title as co-king was effectively a [[sinecure]] to denote his status as his father's chosen heir. Young Henry predeceased his father without ever ascending to the throne and is not included in the official [[list of English monarchs]].

The [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom#English monarchy|Monarchy of England]] experienced joint rule under the terms of the [[Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain|act sanctioning the marriage]] of [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] to [[Philip II of Spain]]. Philip notionally reigned as king of England (inclusive of [[Wales]]) and Ireland [[jure uxoris|by right of his wife]] from 1554 to 1558. Similarly, following the [[Glorious Revolution]], [[Mary II of England|Mary II]] and her husband [[William III of England|William III]] held joint sovereignty over the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1688 to 1694.

===France===
Following the extinction of the [[Carolingian dynasty]] in [[West Francia]], the Western [[Franks|Frankish]] nobles elected [[Hugh Capet]] as their new king. Upon his ascension Hugh secured the election of his only son [[Robert II of France|Robert]] as his co-king.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-II-king-of-France |title=Robert II king of France |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=July 16, 2022 |website=Britannica |access-date=July 21, 2022}}</ref> As such, when Hugh died it did not trigger an election for a new king, nor did Robert necessarily "inherit" the crown, but simply continued his kingship. Subsequent [[House of Capet|Capetian]] kings would also name their eldest son or brother as co-ruler, until the tradition of [[agnatic primogeniture]] was sufficiently established to transform the [[King of France]] from an [[elective monarchy|elected monarch]] to a [[hereditary monarchy|hereditary]] one.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wondriumdaily.com/capetian-dynasty-and-the-end-of-civil-wars-in-france/#:~:text=The%20Capetians%20changed%20the%20practice%20and%20replaced%20partible%20inheritance%20with,got%20something%20to%20rule%20over. |title=Capetian Dynasty and the End of Civil Wars in France |last=Daileader |first=Philip |date=November 13, 2020 |website=Wondrium Daily |access-date=July 21, 2022}}</ref>

===Lithuania===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

The Lithuanian Grand Dukes typically selected submonarchs from their families or loyal subjects to assist controlling the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Grand Duchy]]. However, the Grand Dukes remained superior.

* [[Vytenis]] (superior) and [[Gediminas]]
* [[Gediminas]] (superior) and an unknown duke of [[Trakai]], presumably Gediminas's son.
* [[Algirdas]] (superior) and [[Kęstutis]]
* [[Jogaila]] (superior) and [[Kęstutis]]

A slightly different system developed for a brief period after [[Vytautas]] became Grand Duke, where nominally Vytautas ruled together with [[Jogaila]], who took the title of ''{{lang|lt|aukščiausiasis kunigaikštis}}'' (Supreme Duke), but he has not once used the title to take any action, and in general the powers invested in the title were not clearly stated in any documents, besides the [[Pact of Horodlo]], which guaranteed that Jogaila would have to approve the selection of a Lithuanian Grand Duke. The title was not used by any other king of Poland after Jogaila.

* [[Vytautas]] (Grand Duke) and [[Jogaila]] (Supreme Duke)
* [[Švitrigaila]] (Grand Duke) and [[Jogaila]] (Supreme Duke) for a brief period, until [[Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435)|Švitrigaila declared war on Poland]]
* [[Sigismund I of Lithuania]] (Grand Duke) and [[Jogaila]] (Supreme Duke) until Jogaila's death.

===Roman Empire===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2023}}

It was common during the [[Principate]] for a [[Roman emperor]] or ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' to appoint ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' as designated heir and junior co-emperor, in many cases adopting them as their son, who did not necessarily have to be biologically related to them. This was merely a tradition and not a formal office until the [[Tetrarchy]], which attempted to codify this arrangement, but quickly fell apart. It regained significance, including under [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]], as well as when [[Justin I]] had his nephew [[Justinian I|Justinian]] named co-emperor shortly before his own death, [[Constantine IV]] was also named co-emperor by his father [[Constans II]] and who himself had several other co-emperors, and the practice was common in the centuries to come up through the [[Palaiologos|Palaiologans.]]

===Russia===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

Following the death of Tsar [[Feodor III of Russia]] in 1682, his brother [[Ivan V of Russia|Ivan]] and half-brother [[Peter the Great|Peter]] were both crowned autocrats of Russia. This compromise was necessary because Ivan was unfit to rule due to physical and mental disabilities, while Peter's exclusive rule was opposed by Feodor and Ivan's older sister [[Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia|Sofia Alekseyevna]], who led a [[Moscow uprising of 1682|Streltsy uprising]] against him and [[Natalya Naryshkina|his mother]]'s family. Because neither Tsar was of age to rule, Sofia subsequently claimed regency until she was removed from power by Peter in 1689. Ivan V and Peter I's joint reign continued, however, with Ivan maintaining formal seniority despite having little participation in the affairs of the state until his death in 1696, at which point Peter became the sole ruler.

===Sweden===
{{Main|Monarchy of Sweden|List of Swedish monarchs}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

The monarchy in [[Sweden]] has had several periods of joint rule: [[Erik and Alrik]], [[Yngvi and Alf]], [[Björn at Hauge]] and [[Anund Uppsale]], [[Eric the Victorious]] and [[Olof Björnsson]], [[Eric the Victorious]] and [[Olof Skötkonung]], [[Halsten Stenkilsson]] and [[Inge I of Sweden|Inge I]], and [[Philip Halstensson|Philip]] and [[Inge the Younger|Inge II]].

===Vietnam===
Coregency is a special feature of the [[Trần dynasty]], in which a senior king abdicated in favor of his chosen heir. This abdication, however, is only in name, as the abdicated king continued to rule while his successor sat on the throne as a learner.<ref>[https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/nscwps25.pdf THE MONGOL NAVY: KUBLAI KHAN’S INVASIONS IN ĐẠI VIỆT AND CHAMPA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013102129/https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/nscwps25.pdf |date=2022-10-13 }} by Vu Hong Lien</ref>

==See also==
*[[Condominium (international law)]]
*[[Diarchy]]
*[[Jure uxoris]]
*[[Personal union]]
*[[Tetrarchy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Monarchy]]
[[Category:Collective heads of state]]