Who is a monarch, what are his functions? All states at a certain time passed such a form of political government as the monarchy. She is one of the most manifested sole forms of government. The power in the state under it belongs to the monarch, that is, the sovereign ruler - the emperor, king, prince, vizier or king. Moreover, this is not an elected "position". The monarchy assumes a hereditary, customary, transfer of power. If the monarch has no children, this can lead to political strife among high-ranking individuals.
Monarchy
True adherents of the monarchy believe that God grants power to the monarch. In doing so, he receives grace from above. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude who such a monarch is.
- The monarch is the head of state with lifetime rights and powers.
- The inheritance of power - the title of monarch - is defined by law.
- A monarch is the head of a nation or people of his country.
- The monarch has legal independence and immunity.
Views of the earliest monarchies
The earliest, first in the history of mankind is the ancient Eastern monarchy, where the patriarchal life and belonging of slaves played a significant role. In this form of government, state slaves belonged entirely to the monarch. This organization of power is known in the countries of the Ancient East as eastern despotism.
The medieval or feudal monarchy appeared after the fall of the Roman Empire. The result was the birth of a number of kingdoms called barbaric: Visigoth, Frankish, Ostrogoth, Anglo-Saxon and others. In them there are constant strife, strife between the vassals and their king, bearing the title of monarch. There is a constant challenge to the right to the throne. If until the 7th-8th centuries the king was appointed by election, then later on the kings themselves began to appoint successors, that is, their sons.
Titles of the Russian Empire
The early feudal monarchy appeared in the 9th-10th centuries. Kievan Rus, according to the evidence of historians, belonged to this type of government. Feudal land tenure was formed at this time. Common lands are captured by the boyars and princes. Subject under the authority of the prince are required to pay him a natural quitrent. That is, under the early feudal monarchy, a prince endowed with the title of monarch was at the head of state. He relied on his military strength - the squad, and then on the advice of the elders. The Grand Duke was assigned the role of overlord for other small princes. There were Smolensk, Novgorod, Tver princes. The throne of Kiev was considered prestigious, and the princes of the Rurikovich dynasty occupied it, recognized by the other princes as elders in the succession to the throne.
The early feudal monarchy had its own unique features. Power was handed down from father to son without any legislative act - at the level of custom. Whatever actions the monarch committed, he did not bear any legal responsibility for them. In the state there were no institutions of power, authority and council status under the prince (king).
In 1472, the niece of the Byzantine emperor married the Grand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III, who put forward the idea of continuity of the Byzantine Empire. And in 1480, when the dependence of the Moscow state on the Mongols ended, Ivan III began to use the term emperor and dictator - autocrat, that is, having power independent of the Golden Horde. In fact, Ivan III declared himself the Russian emperor. Subsequently, the monarchs of the Russian throne called themselves tsars.
The era of Peter the Great
With the advent of Peter the Great, innovations and changes began. In 1721, Peter the Great again introduced the title “emperor” instead of the title “king”, according to European traditions. He becomes the Russian emperor. And it was necessary to turn to Peter the Great only "Your Imperial Majesty." Russia began to be called the Russian Empire.
During the reign of Peter the Great, three titles existed among the nobility: the prince, count and baron, who complained only to the monarch, and only to descendants on the male line. After marriage, daughters lost their title, passing into the clan of her husband.
The title "emperor" among the Russian monarchs was used until 1917. The last emperor in Russia was the overthrown Nicholas II.
On the Monarchs of the Principality of Monaco
For example, the modern public is still interested in the history of the ups and downs of Monaco. The uniqueness of government in this country is due to the fact that with the advent of the Grimaldi clan and the formation in 1215 of the monastic monarchy, the dynasty has not changed for 700 years. The oldest state for many years was under the protectorate of France, which recognized this state as free and sovereign. In 1860, the protectorate ended. In 1911, the constitution of the principality was approved by the Prince of Monaco. In it, the monarch retained great powers and, with an elected vote by the National Council, divided the legislative branch.
Before World War I, the independence of the country was in question, but Louis II, who ruled at that time, retained power and his grandson Rainier III, who ascended the throne in 1949, did a lot for the development of the country. The development of science, industry, sports, culture is all his merits. Together with his wife, the popular American actress Grace Kelly, the prince changed the face of Monaco. The wife was engaged in charity and culture.
Crown Prince Albert
In marriage, Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly gave birth to three children. After the tragic death of his wife in 1982, Prince Rainier III rules the country, so he did not marry a second time. The merits of the ruling prince include the inclusion in the constitution of the principality of the clause that only the legitimate heirs of the son can inherit the throne. He simply knew about the rampant life of his offspring and weakly believed that he would marry. After the death of his father in 2005, Prince Albert II (born 1958), the second child in the family, came to power. The eldest is Princess Carolina (born 1957), the youngest is Princess Stefania (born 1965).
Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II - a former participant in the Olympic Games, athlete, climber. He married in 2011 to Charlene Wittstock, a swimmer, a school teacher from South Africa. In 2014, twins were born: the girl Gabriella and the boy Jacques. He will become a hereditary prince and will inherit the throne of his father. In the entire history of the princedom of the Grimalda clan, these are the first twins.
History does not hide the fact that before the marriage of Prince Albert II there were two illegitimate children with his girlfriends, but they cannot claim the throne. According to the laws of Monaco, if the ruling prince had no children, after his passing away from life, his elder sister, Carolina, would have passed on to power. But the children appeared.
Ottoman Empire
Difficult rule was in the Ottoman Empire. The fact that the sultan had the title of monarch is beyond doubt. Depending on who came to power, the Ottoman Empire developed. There were ups and downs. There was a strong army and a weak one. Coming to power, the next sultan eliminated from his entourage all those who could claim comprehensive power. Both brothers and concubines were killed. Do not spare anyone.
The period of the reign of Mehmed IV was indicative . At this time, the strong rule of the dynasty of the Albanian family, Keprylu, was tested. Mehmed IV transferred control of his empire to Mehmed Keprül, who can be attributed to the galaxy of the great viziers of the Ottoman Empire. Since the 17th century, the empire’s control center was not the Sultan’s palace, but the palace of the great vizier.
Mehmed Keprylu
The tough, unbending will of the dictator Mehmed Keprilyu cleared the environment of the Sultan from officials representing a threat to the empire. He introduced strict discipline in the army, put things in order in the ports and islands of the Aegean. He did much to defend the frontiers against the Cossacks beyond the Black Sea. Since 1661, the 26-year-old son of Mehmed Keprulu replaced his deceased father as a great vizier and ruled the empire for the next 15 years.
Dying, the elder Kepryluyu bequeathed to the 20-year-old sultan four principles of government:
- not follow the advice of women;
- not allow subjects to become too rich;
- have a full treasury;
- always be in the saddle, that is, keep the army in action.
Only the truly great viziers of the Ottoman Empire could so wisely help the Sultan rule the state.