The Real War of Throne

The throne is a ceremonial seat upped by a monarch, bishop, etc on occasions of state.
The power, duties, or rank ascribed to a royal person.
A person holding royal rank.
The third of the nine orders into which the angels are traditionally divided in medieval angelology.


  • Lozi War of Succession ( late 1820s–1830s)

After the death of lung Mulambwa Santulu of Barotseland between his sons, one was to succeed him, 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.
Burundian War of Succession (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 (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.

  • Makololo War of Succession (1863–1864)

The death of Morêna Sekeletu of Barotseland brought the war 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 and 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 ethno-linguistically 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.

  • The Anglo-Zanzibar war 

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history.

The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamoud bin Mohammed, who was more favorable to British interests, as sultan. In the agreement of 14 June 1890 instituting a British protectorate over Zanzibar, a candidate for accession to the sultanate should obtain the permission of the British consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement.



The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.

  • Cusco War of Succession (1438)

After the Viracocha Inca and designated heir Inca Urco (Urca, Urqu) fled during the Chanka invasion of the Kingdom of Cusco. Viracocha’s other son Pachacuti successfully defended the city and practically seized control of the kingdom, but upon Viracocha and Urco’s return, a battle broke out over the succession, in which Urco was killed and Viracocha expelled, dying in exile in Calas shortly thereafter. Pachacuti’s accession is regarded as the start of the Inca Empire.

  • Persian War of Succession 

Tissaphernes noted that Cyrus the Younger’s claims to be on a military expedition to attack the Pisidians had many flaws that led him to believe that Cyrus was planning to revolt. These claims became realized when Cyrus began to seek political support for his campaign.

Cyrus found support from Sparta, who sent soldiers to aid the campaign against Artaxerxes II. Notably, Cyrus found support from the Persian kingdom of Cilicia, who contributed to the effort through funds. During this time, due to Tissaphernes’ reports, Artaxerxes II began to build up a force to contend with his younger brother’s revolt.



By the time of Darius II’s death, Cyrus had already been successful in defeating the Syrians and Cilicians and was commanding a large army made up of his initial supporters plus those who had joined him in Phrygia and beyond. Upon hearing of his father’s death, Cyrus the Younger declared his claim to the throne, based on the argument that he was born to Darius and Parysatis after Darius had ascended to the throne, while Artaxerxes was born before Darius II gained the throne.


Artaxerxes II initially wanted to resolve the conflict peacefully, but the negotiations fell through. Cyrus also ran into issues with the locals, who were loyal to Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes defended his position against his brother Cyrus the Younger, who with the aid of a large army of Greek mercenaries called the “Ten Thousand”, attempted to usurp the throne.

Though Cyrus’ mixed army fought to a tactical victory at the Battle of Cunaxa in Babylon (401 BC), Cyrus himself was killed in the exchange by Mithridates, rendering his victory irrelevant. The Greek historian Xenophon, himself one of the leaders of the Greek troops, would later recount this battle in the Anabasis, focusing on the struggle of the now-stranded Greek mercenaries to return home.

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