Interregnum - Historical Periods of Interregnum

Historical Periods of Interregnum

Particular historical periods known as interregna include:

• The period of 206–202 BC in China, after the death of the final Qin emperor, when there was a contest to the throne. It ended with the accession of Liu Bang, ushering in the Han Dynasty.
• The ten-year period from 574/575 to 584/585 in the Kingdom of the Lombards, known as the Rule of the Dukes
• The 1022–1072 period in Ireland, between the death of Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill and the accession of Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain, is sometimes regarded as an interregnum, as the High Kingship of Ireland was disputed throughout these decades. The interregnum may even have extended to 1121, when Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair acceded to the title.
• From 13 April 1204 to 25 July 1261 in the Byzantine Empire. Following the Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine Empire was dissolved, to be replaced by several Crusader states and several Byzantine states. It was re-established by Nicean general Alexios Strategopoulos who placed Michael VIII Palaiologos back on the throne of a united Byzantine Empire.
• From 21 May 1254 to 29 September 1273, The Great Interregnum in the Holy Roman Empire after the deposition of the last Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV and the death of his son King Conrad IV of Germany until the election of the Habsburg scion Rudolph as Rex Romanorum.
• First Interregnum in Scotland, which lasted from either 19 March 1286 or 26 September 1290 until 17 November 1292. The exact dating of the interregnum depends on whether the uncrowned Margaret, Maid of Norway was officially queen before her death in 1290. It lasted until John Balliol was crowned King of Scots.
• Second Interregnum in Scotland, from 10 July 1296, when John Balliol was deposed, until 25 March 1306, when Robert the Bruce was crowned.
• From 14 January 1301 until 1308 in the Kingdom of Hungary between the extinction of the Árpád dynasty and when Charles I of Hungary secured the throne for himself against several pretenders.
• From 5 June 1316 to 15 November 1316 in France and Navarre, between the death of Louis X and the birth of his posthumous son John I.
• From 2 August 1332 until 21 June 1340 in Denmark when the country was mortgaged to a few German counts.
• From 22 October 1383 until 6 April 1385, the Portuguese Interregnum, a result of the succession crisis caused by the death of Ferdinand I without a legitimate heir.
• From 8 March 1403 until 1413, the Ottoman Interregnum, a result of the death of Sultan Bayezid I at the hands of Central Asian warlord Timur. A period of civil war ensued as none of Bayezid's sons could establish primacy and each established an independent Kingdom in various parts of the Empire. The crises was resolved when one of his sons, Mehmed defeated the others and reestablished the Empire.
• From 20 January 1410 to 1412 in the Kingdom of Aragon. The death of King Martin without heir led to a succession crisis and a period of civil war, resolved ultimately by the Compromise of Caspe.
• The 1453–1456 period of civil war in Kingdom of Majapahit (now in Java, Indonesia)
• From 1481 until 1483 in the Kingdom of Norway, during a conflict over the succession of John, during the period of the Kalmar Union. The Norweigian Council of the Realm initially refused to accept the hereditary succession of John; as they asserted that Norway was an elective monarchy. When no serious opposition candidate emerged, the Council relented and elected John.
• The Time of Troubles in Russia (1598–1613) between the Rurikid and Romanov dynasties.
• From 30 January 1649 until 29 May 1660, The English Interregnum. A republican period in Britain, comprising the Commonwealth and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell after the regicide of Charles I and before the restoration of Charles II
• A second English interregnum occurred between 23 December 1688, when James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution, and the installation of William III and Mary II as joint sovereigns on 13 February 1689 pursuant to the Declaration of Right.

In some monarchies, such as the United Kingdom, an interregnum is usually avoided due to a rule described as "The King is dead. Long live the King", i.e. the heir to the throne becomes a new monarch immediately on his predecessor's death or abdication. This famous phrase signifies the continuity of sovereignty, attached to a personal form of power named Auctoritas. This is not so in other monarchies where the new monarch's reign begins only with coronation or some other formal or traditional event. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for instance, kings were elected, which often led to relatively long interregna. During that time it was the Polish primate who served as an interrex (ruler between kings).