[November 9] Ulrich II, count of Celje

Local Name: Ulrik Celjski
Parents: Frederick II, count of Celje, and Elizabeth of Croatia
Born: 1406
House: Celje
Spouse(s): Catherine, daughter of Durad Brankovic, despot of Serbia
Predecessor: Frederick II

Reign: 1436 – 1456
Brief: The most successful, though last, count of Celje, Ulrich II rose to prominence when he joined forces with Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1436. Ulrich led raids against his Austrian overlords for a short time until Albert II became king of Germany, at which point Ulrich switched sides and was made lieutenant of Bohemia. In 1440, he joined Queen Elizabeth at the coronation of her son, Ladislaus the Posthumous as the king of Hungary. In 1443, Ulrich claimed the Bosnian throne via his mother when King Tvrtko II died that year. But a feud erupted with John Huyadi, who was regent of Hungary and refused to aid the count in his campaign. Hunyadi began to harass the count the in 1446 but lost when Ulrich led a campaign in 1448 against Hunyadi to regain Habsburg control over the kingdom. By 1452, Ulrich was the virtual ruler of Hungary, in control of Ladislaus and made Captain-General after Hunyadi died at the Siege of Belgrade. Unfortunately, Ulrich died soon after, murdered in a fortress by supporters of Hunyadi's son László. Matthias Corvinus, a brother of László, claimed Celje as next-of-kin, but the territory soon after fell under direct Habsburg control.

Date of Death: 9 November 1456

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Constantine VII, emperor of Constantinople (959)
• Gaozong, emperor of China (1187)
• Ferdinand II, king of Aragón (1516)
• Bayinnaung, king of Burma (1581)
• Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, king of Saudi Arabia (1953)

[August 26] John, king of Bohemia

Surnamed: "The Blind" (de Blannen)
Parents: Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, and Margaret of Brabant

Date of Birth: 10 August 1296

House: Luxembourg-Limburg

Spouse(s): (1) Elizabeth, daughter of Wenceslaus II, king of Bohemia, and Judith of Habsburg, then (2) Beatrice, daughter of Louis I, duke of Bourbon, and Mary of Avesnes

Predecessor: Henry

Reign: 1310 – 1346

Summary: An amalgam of nationalities who ruled an assortment of states, John was raised in Paris where he received a French education in German politics. His marriage in 1310 to a Bohemian princess sealed his fate in European politics. When Henry of Carinthia was deposed in Poland that same year, John was elected to replace him by the Bohemian cortes. His election also gave him the title King of Poland & Hungary, though the two thrones were currently occupied by another rival. As a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, John attempted to succeeded his father in 1314 to the imperial throne, but was defeated by Louis IV, duke of Bavaria. Despite his defeat, John generally supported the Bavarian emperor and even participated on the Bavarian side in the Battle of Mühldorf which saw the defeat of Frederick of Habsburg.

As with many foreign Bohemian kings, John was not well liked by the native Czech nobility. Accepting that, John left Bohemia to the cortes and travelled through Europe, living primarily in Paris and Luxembourg. From 1326 to 1332, he participated in conflicts between the Poles and the Teutonic Knights in Livonia in the hope that Wladyslaw I would be deposed in Poland to be replaced with John. John finally abandoned his pretensions to Poland and Hungary in 1335 at the Congress of Visegrád after being paid a significant sum by Wladyslaw's successor, Casimir III. By 1336, John was entirely blind but continued fighting for the Knights in Lithuania. When the Hundred Years' War broke out between England and France, John served as governor of Languedoc. Despite his blindness, John participated in the Battle of Crécy where he was ultimately killed alongside three other semi-sovereign princes. Chronicles of the time state that four of his knights tied horses to the king's horse and they rode into the battle where they killed many men before being overwhelmed. The body of the king and his knights, with their dead horses still tied together, were found the next morning. Edward, the Black Prince, took John's personal crest, a pair of black wings, and his motto, "I Serve", and they have remained a part of the badge of the Prince of Wales ever since. John's final words were said to have been "Let it never be the case that a Bohemian king runs!" And so he did not, but he died all the same, and was succeeded by his son Charles, who became Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, thereby fulfilling one of the many desires of John's life.

Date of Death: 26 August 1346
Successor: Charles I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Michael IV, patriarch of Constantinople (1214)
• Otakar II, king of Bohemia (1278)
• Charles II, count of Alençon (1346)
• Louis I, duke of Flanders (1346)
• Rudolph, duke of Lorraine (1346)
• Antonio, pretender to Portugal (1595)
• Louis-Philippe, king of the French (1850)

[July 29] St. Ladislaus I, king of Hungary

True Name: László

Parents: Béla I, king of Hungary, and Richeza of Poland

Date of Birth: 27 June 1046
Royal House: Arpad
Spouse: Adelaide, daughter of Rufolf I, duke of Swabia, and Adelaida of Savoy
Predecessor: Géza I
Reign: 1077 – 1095
Summary: Ladislaus was the son of a rival line of Hungarian kings related closely to Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary. In 1048, he was able to move to Hungary from Poland where his father was granted a third of the country as an underking to his brother, Andrew I, who had inherited the throne from King Peter following a pegan revolt. Since Hungary followed a system of tanistry, the next in line should have been Laidlsaus' father, Béla, but when Andrew had a son, Salamon, the old tradition went out the window. Andrew had his son crowned during his lifetime to ensure the succession. Ladislaus was witness to this, as was his father and two brothers, Géza and Lampert. Soon after, Ladislaus went with his father to Poland where he wished to recruit troops and depose his brother. In December 1060, Béla defeated and killed his brother and took the Hungarian crown. Béla died three years later and the Ladislaus and his brothers allowed the throne to revert to Salamon. Salamon refused and invaded the country using German troops, forcing the three brothers to flee back to Poland. Troops were provided to them by the Polish king and they invaded again in 1064. To avoid civil war, the brothers and the king made an agreement that returned one third of Hungary to Ladislaus' family. Things went much better afterwards. Salamon and the three brothers helped expand Hungary into the south. By 1071, the relationship between the king and the brothers began to deteriorate. Ladislaus remained mostly in his Hungarian lands to secure the borders in case the king wished to make a move against him. By 1074, the brothers and the king were in open war and at the Battle of Mogyorod, the brothers defeated the king, who fled Hungary. Géza was proclaimed king. Ladislaus became the commander of the military and he defeated Salamon again at Nyitra. When Géza died in 1077, Ladislaus, the next eldest, was proclaimed king, though Salamon still lived. It is likely he was crowned with a gift from Byzantine Emperor Michael VII since Salamon still had the true crown.


In 1078, Ladislaus married Adelaide, the daughter of Duke Rudolf I of Swabia and the chief rival of King Henry IV of Germany, brother-in-law to King Salamon. By 1081, Salamon was on the defensive and agreed to abdicate in exchange for significant lands. When Salamon was caught conspiring against the king a few months later, the king had the necessary recourse to imprison the former monarch. King Stephen I was canonized under the reign of Ladislaus, as well as his son Emeric. Ladislaus was a harsh king at first, which was necessary to centralize and solidify his rule in Hungary. Fifty years of civil war had ravaged the land and disorganized the government. Ladislaus took personal control over the reorganization of the Catholic Church in Hungary. When King Stephen II of Croatia died in 1091, Ladislaus actively claimed the throne through his sister, Ilona, who had been married to the former King Dmitar. The Byzantine Empire also wanted Croatia, however, and invaded eastern Hungary to distract the king. It took two years for Ladislaus to defeat the Byzantines and another four to suppress the rebellions, but by 1096, Croatia was soundly a Hungarian possession. Like so many other Hungarian kings, Ladislaus left no sons so his two nephews, Coloman and Almos, fought between themselves to be heir. Almos was named king of Croatia around 1095 but Coloman, the elder, wanted to be king after Ladislaus died. He left for Poland that year to rally support. Ladislaus left to help his nephews in Bohemia when Coloman returned with a Polish army. The king died suddenly upon hearing the news. His death was mourned for three years and a cycle of legends developed around him and his name. Multiple miracles were attributed to him and because of these, he was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1192. He is remembered as the patron saint of architecture.

Date of Death: 29 July 1095
Successor: Coloman

Canonized: 27 June 1192 (Roman Catholic Church)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Pupienus, emperor of Rome (238)
• Balbinus, emperor of Rome (238)
• Olaf II, king of Norway (1030)
• Urban II, pope of Rome (1099)
• Philippe I, king of France (1108)
• Urban VIII, pope of Rome (1644)
• Umberto I, king of Italy (1900)

[July 22] John, king of Hungary

True Name: Ioan Zápolya,
Parents: Stephen and Hedwig of Cieszyn
Date of Birth: 2 February 1487
Royal House: Zápolya
Spouse: Isabella, daughter of Sigismund I, king of Poland, and Bona Sforza
Predecessor: Louis II
Reign: 1511 – 1540
Summary: John first entered history in 1505 at the Diet of Rákos where it was decided that Hungary would only be ruled by its own native kinds. He was appointed the voivode of Transylvania, a Hungarian possession, in 1511, and he spent 15 years building up power and wealth from his people. When peasants rebelled against him in 1514, he used overwhelming force to subdue them. By 1526, Transylvania was under attack from the Ottoman Empire and John and his large army missed the battle at Mohács, which was a decisive victory for the Ottomans. King Louis II of Hungary died at that battle, and the Ottomans sacked the capital at Buda soon after. Political authority had disintegrated and the Ottomans left instead of installing their own overlord. John stepped forward as a candidate for the kinship, but Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the brother-in-law of Louis II, also sought the throne. Most of Hungary backed John, who had been a leading figure in Hungary since 1511. Only a small group of aristocrats chose Ferdinand, but their grounding was solid: Austria could defend against Turkey much better than Hungary alone. But the Habsburgs were at war with France and distracted, and most of the nobility feared that France would attack Hungary rather than Austria help it. In November 1526, John was proclaimed king at Székesfehérvár.


Using his own wealth and his massive support, he tried to stabilize and mobilize Hungary. When he attempted to gain the support of the Habsburgs, they instead convinced a group of nobles to elect Ferdinand anti-king to John in December 1526. John was forced to send out envoys to the rest of Europe in the hope that they could garner support against the Ottoman Empire. Only France responded, but their wish wasn't to help Hungary but to have Hungary declare war on Austria. In 1527, all went wrong for John. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V occupied Rome and forced the pope to capitulate, thereby ended the war with France. Ferdinand, Charles' brother, was freed from his wartime obligations to consider the Hungarian problem. He was aided in his quest by his election to the Bohemian throne in late 1526. Fearing an Ottoman-Hungarian alliance, Austria invaded Hungary in the summer of 1527. Most of the Hungarian army was in the south suppressing a peasant rebellion stirred up by the Habsburgs. Ferdinand quickly captured Buda and then defeated John at the Battle of Tarcal. In 1528, John was forced to flee Hungary outright, settling in Poland. In 1538, after ten years in exile, Ferdinand was recognized as the legitimate successor of John I according to the Treaty of Varad. His death two years later left the throne to his son and an the Ottoman-sympathizer, John II Sigismund. John II continued to claim the throne until his abdication in 1570, at which time it reverted to the Habsburgs without issue.
Date of Death: 22 July 1540
Successor: Ferdinand I or John II Sigismund (disputed)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Charles VII, king of France (1461)
• Clement X, pope of Rome (1676)
• Napoleon II, pretender to France (1832)

[July 16] Charles I, king of Hungary & Croatia

Parents: Charles, duke of Anjou, and Klementia of Habsburg

Date of Birth: 1288
Royal House: Capet-Anjou-Hungary
Spouse: (1) Maria, daughter of Casimir of Byton and Helena, then (2) Beatrix, daughter of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, and Margaret of Brabant, then (3) Elisabeth, daughter of Wladyslaw I, king of Poland, and Hedwig of Kalisz

Predecessor: Béla V
Reign: 1312 –  1342
Summary: As circumstances go, Charles' claim to the Hungarian crown in 1312 was strong, but distant. His grandmother was the sister of Ladislaus IV. When he died, she claimed the crown but a distant cousin, Andrew III, was given it instead. Fearing that Hungary was not ready to crown a female its monarch, Mary designated her son, Charles Martel, her heir in 1292. He was also the heir to Naples. He died in 1295 and Charles inherited the rights to Hungary. Meanwhile, King Charles II of Naples appointed his younger son, rather than his elder grandson, Charles, his heir, thereby dividing the Anjou inheritance before they could ever be combined. Charles trucked around Central Europe for most of his life. In 1300, a Hungarian magnate invited him to Hungary to take the crown since no king had been universally recognized since the death of Ladislaus IV in 1290. When the rival king, Andrew III, died the next year, Charles was crowned king of Hungary, but the majority of the magnates chose Wenceslaus instead. Despite King Wenceslaus fleeing Hungary in 1305, the magnates would still not support Charles' rule. Wenceslaus abdicated in favor of Otto III, duke of Bavaria, and Otto was crowned in December. Meanwhile, Charles began aggressively conquering Hungary, seeing no other option left to them. Otto eventually fled to abandoning Hungary to the House of Anjou, yet still the magnates would not give up the Holy Crown. Eventually Pope Clement V had to force some of the major magnates to support him, and even had a replacement crown made since the prince of Transylvania would not release the official crown. Charles was crowned for a third time in 1310. By 1312, he was recognized by much of the kingdom, though some segments of society still rebelled against his authority. In 1316 he had to face a rival claim but they were put down by the next year. When Máté Csák died in 1321, Charles could finally go about the business of running his kingdoms.


Once secure in power, Charles began by restoring certain royal prerogatives to avoid future problems with the aristocracy. He created an honor system of rewards to faithful servants that could be withdrawn if he became displeased. Charles controlled inflation by creating new and creative taxes and minting some coins. By the 1330s, Hungary was minting more gold coins than any country in Europe. He worked with Poland and Bohemia to establish a mutual defense agreement against Habsburg aggression. The Congress of Visegrád where the final details were established was also one of the first joint congresses of European monarchs. He also worked with Poland and the Papacy to ensure that one of his sons inherited Poland while another inherited Naples once the current monarchs died. He attempted to secure his borders by pushing into Wallachia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia, and then converting its residents to Catholicism from Greek Orthodoxy. This backfired in the long run, though, as Wallachia went into open rebellion and the other three states had smaller disputes. Charles moves in the Balkans helped the Ottoman Empire capture much of the region fifty years later because Charles decentralized and divided the people.  Charles died in 1342 and his son, Louis, succeeded him.

Date of Death: 16 July 1342
Successor: Louis I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Inoocent III, pope of Rome (1216)
• Go-Uda, emperor of Japan (1324)
• Yu Gu, pretender to Korea (2005)

[May 31] Géza II, king of Hungary

Parents: Béla II, king of Hungary, and Helena of Raska

Date of Birth: 1130

House: Árpád
Spouse: Euphrosyne, daughter of Mstislav I, grand prince of Kiev, and Liubava Dmitrievna

Predecessor: Béla II

Reign: 1141 – 1162

Summary: A child king of a relatively new kingdom, Géza was still young when his father died in 1141. His mother, Helena, served as his regent while an uncle, Belos, governed. A relative, Boris, disputed Géza's claim to the throne and in 1146 occupied the fortress at Pozsony. It took weeks for Hungarian forces to remove the pretender. It was Géza's first taste in war as well, as he personally led the armies against the troops of Boris and his Austrian ally, Henry II. When he returned to the capital, he married Euphrosyne, a daughter of the Kievan grand prince,  and took up management of his realm.

In 1147, Boris appeared in the country again in the company of King Louis VII of France, but the French king was on Crusade and promised to keep a close watch on Boris to ensure he did not escape to cause trouble again in Hungary. During the first years of his sole reign, he dealt with many problems on his borders. His allies in the Kievan 'Rus and in the south were constantly asking for aide against rival powers. Géza assisted where he could, but rarely committed more troops than necessary. In 1150, he led a campaign against a relative of Boris who had started rabble-rousing in Hungary. While Géza was away, Boris himself attacked southern Hungary supported by Byzantine troops. Géza largely ignored Boris and made peace with the Byzantine Empire, stranding Boris without an army. Further intrigue plagued the later years of Géza's reign. His brother, Stephen, attempted to take the throne from Géza with the support of their uncle, Belos, who had served as governor in earlier years. Géza defeated the conspiracy and Stephen was forced to flee first to the Holy Roman Empire and then to Constantinople. Géza's other brother, Ladislaus, also attempted a coup in 1159 but was equally defeated. Among Géza's last acts was to recognize the legitimacy of Pope Alexander III in the Investiture Controversy and abandon his rights to invest bishops within Hungary. He died the next year leaving an intact kingdom to his son, Stephen III.

Date of Death: 31 May 1162

Successor: Stephen III

Other Monarch Deaths:

Petronius Maximus, emperor of Rome (455)

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, shogun of Japan (1408)

Martin I, king of Aragón (1410)

Friedrich Wilhelm I, king of Prussia (1740)

Two States, One King (Divided Rule)

Two years ago last December, I completed my master's dissertation on the topic of dynastic unions. Specifically, I focused on the dynastic union of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands under King William III and the union of Great Britain (later the United Kingdom) and the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later Kingdom of Hanover) under Kings George I-IV and William IV. It was a daunting task with a strong emphasis on ruling two states at the same time. Yet these individuals were only the last British monarchs in a long series of rulers to preside over multiple states simultaneously. Indeed, for a while it was vogue for monarchs to try and collect states, as it were, in order to expand their empire. Some they would fold into their own "mother" state while others would remain under outside control.


England's Bouts of Duality
Let's start this little survey with a look at what Britain has controlled off-and-on throughout its existence. I've already mentioned two so let's chalk them up:

William III, King of England
& Stadtholder of the Netherlands

• The Kingdoms of England, Scotland & Ireland, et al. with The United Provinces of the Netherlands (1689 – 1702)
• Ruler: King William III who was also Stadtholder of the Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders & Overijssel (most of the Netherlands)
• The Dutch Estates General ruled the Netherlands in his stead
• The English Privy Council ruled Britain in his stead
• How'd it start: William III conquered England (sort of) and deposed his father-in-law, thereby taking the crown. He was already stadtholder at the time.
• Fate: Died leaving England in the hands of his sister-in-law Anne and Netherlands in the hands of nobody in particular

• The Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland, et al. with The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Electorate of Brunswick (1714 – 1803, 1813 – 1832)
• Rulers: Kings George I, George II, George III, George IV, and William IV who were also hereditary rulers of the region immediately around Hanover in Germany
• The English Privy Council, the Queen, and/or the Prince of Wales ruled Britain in their stead
• The Hanoverian Regency and/or the Prince of Wales ruled Hanover in their stead
• Communication was via a special agency unaffiliated with the British government
• How'd it start: To avoid another Catholic monarch, the British monarchy went to their 52nd choice in the line of succession: an elderly granddaughter of James I. She died and her German son inherited Britain.
• The Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland became the United Kingdom in 1801
• The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg became the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814
• Fate: Separate succession laws left Britain in the hands of Queen Victoria and Hanover in the hands of King Ernest Augustus



Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Note: Bremen, Verden, Osnabrück, and
Lauenburg were also all dynastic unions. Brunswick -Wolfenbüttel was
a separate possession of a younger branch of the House of Este-Welf.

These are rather late additions, so let's step back into time and see what other dynastic unions existed. Two have already been implied though not mentioned:

• The Kingdom of England with The Kingdom of Ireland (1542 – 1651, 1659 – 1801)
• Rulers: All English monarchs from Henry VIII onwards until 1801
• The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ruled in their stead
• How'd it start: The Kingdom of Ireland replaced the semi-sovereign and often autonomous Lordship of Ireland which was also presided over by the Lord Lieutenant. Ireland had been partially conquered by Normans in the 12th century and Henry VIII finished the job...mostly.
• Fate: Ireland had little independence in the union and Great Britain and Ireland finally formed a constitutional union in 1801

The Royal Standard of the United Kingdom
(Note: First and Fourth quarters represent England, the
second represents Scotland, and the third Ireland.)

• The Kingdoms of England & Ireland with The Kingdom of Scotland (1603 – 1651, 1660 – 1707)
• Rulers: All English monarchs from James I onwards until 1707
• The Scottish Parliament and Privy Council ruled in their stead
• How'd it start: Elizabeth I died leaving three possible heirs: the most senior—the Scottish king—or one of two squabbling heiresses who broke the queen's rules. She went with the Scotsman.
• Fate: Scotland attempted to end the union but failed and were forced to enter into a constitutional union in 1707

There are dozens of other unions England had with other states throughout its medieval history. Most of these territories were in France. While England very briefly claimed true control over the French throne in the 15th century, I will gloss over that to focus on two other historically more important territories that England once controlled:

Map of France in 1154. Normandy is the pink bit in
the north. Aquitaine is the large peach part in the
middle and south. Note: Brittany (orange on left)
and Anjou (center red) were also dynastic unions.

• The Kingdom of England with The Duchy of Normandy (1066 – 1087, 1106 – 1144, 1150 – 1204 [– Present])
• Rulers: William I, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I and John
• A regent and/or Lord Lieutenant ruled Normandy in their stead
• How'd it start: William I of Normandy invaded England and killed his predecessor, Harold II, and deposed the upstart, Edgar II.
• Fate: Conflict with France over sovereignty in Normandy resulted in the French confiscation of Normandy in 1204.
• Today: The Channel Islands, primarily Guernsey and Jersey, remain Crown Dependencies under the name "Duchy of Normandy" and are the last remnant of the once-great duchy. These islands are not a part of the United Kingdom though are administered by it. The Lieutenant Governor of each set of islands rules in the monarch's stead.

• The Kingdom of England with The Duchy of Aquitaine ([1152] 1204 – 1362)
• Rulers: Technically, Eleanor of Aquitaine ruled until 1204, but her husband, Henry II, and sons, Richard I and John, both ruled in her stead many times. Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III also ruled.
• A Regent ruled in their stead.
• How'd it start: Henry II married the Aquaitaine duchess, Eleanor, and took her lands for his own.
• Fate: The French got fed up with England not respecting them, so reclaimed their fief. England countered by claiming the French crown. So began the Hundred Years' War. Neither side really could claim the title after that.

Finally, just as a fun aside, the British monarch is still technically in one last dynastic union (not counting the Commonwealth countries) with a tiny little island sitting in the Irish Sea:

The Kingdom of Mann was
once much larger and included
the Western Isles of Scotland

• The Kingdom of England with The Lordship of Mann (1765 – Present)
• Rulers: Every British monarch since George III
• A Lieutenant Governor rules in their stead
• How'd it start: In 1399, Henry IV conquered the Kingdom of Mann from its hereditary ruler. It had previously alternated between Norwegian, Scottish, and English control for centuries. It fell into the Stanley family and, in 1504, they renounced the title "King" in favor of "Lord". In 1765, the Baroness Strange sold the title back to the English crown.
• Fate: Today, the monarch of the United Kingdom is also, separately, the Lord of Mann. It is administered separately as with the Channel Islands (see Duchy of Normandy).

More Problems than an Oversized Chin

The Habsburgs of Austria had their own divided monarchy that, at times, remained divided for long periods of time, but every once in a while, they would recombined to become truly behemoth political entities that would span the breath of Europe. Three long-term unions and one amazingly brief union created a Habsburg empire that still boggles modern minds.

• The Archduchy of Austria with The Kingdoms of Bohemia & Hungary (1438 – 1918)
• Rulers: Various Habsburg monarchs until 1918
• The Habsburg monarchs ruled Bohemia through various means, but rarely directly
• How'd it start: Albert married the daughter of the previous king of both Bohemia and Hungary. He was crowned king of Hungary in 1438 and Bohemia six months later, but never ruled in the latter. The Habsburgs did not firmly establish themselves in either until 1526.
• Fate: Hungary remained a part of Austria-Hungary until 1918 and the monarchy was officially ended on 1921. Bohemia was incorporated into the Austrian Empire in 1806 and became crown land in 1867. It later became half of Czechoslovakia after World War I.

Map of the Ethnic Composition of Austria-Hungary in 1910. Note: Only Austria, Hungary and Bohemia were legal
dynastic unions. Bosnia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Transylvania, Galicia, and Moravia were all artificial monarchies.

Map of the Iberian Peninsula, 1570. Note: Galicia (top left),
Aragon (top right), and Cordoba (bottom center) were all
in dynastic unions with Castile (Spain) during this period.

• The Kingdom of Spain with The Kingdom of Portugal (1560 – 1640)
• Rulers: Philip II of Spain, Philip III and Philip IV
• A Viceroy of Portugal ruled in their stead
• How'd it start: The last obvious heir to the Portuguese throne died leaving it vacant with the Spanish monarch, Philip II, in a prime dynastic, political, and military position to claim it.
• Fate: Fed up with Spanish domination of politics and an obvious loss of their overseas empire, Portuguese revolutionaries deposed Philip IV and installed a native king.

A Map of the Burgundian Inheritance. The lands
dynastically unified to Spain in the Low Countries
were vast and spanned seven modern countries.

• The Kingdom of Spain with The Duchy of Burgundy (1516 – 1555)
• Ruler: Charles I of Spain, also known as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
• Many different methods were used to rule his empire
• How'd it start: First off, this dynastic union appears very mediocre for all the hype, so let's explain. The Kingdom of Spain at this time did not just include what we think of today as Spain. It also included all of Italy south of Rome and Sicily. He inherited all of this from his mom, though technically she was still alive until 1555. Next, Burgundy refers to a large area that today includes Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of Germany and France. It was on par in side to Portugal but with much more valuable land. He inherited this lot from his dad, Philip the Handsome, in 1506. In addition, Charles was also an Archduke of Austria, was elected Holy Roman Emperor (which technically means he was King of Italy and Germany), and he also ruled over all the new Spanish possessions overseas. So in literal size, his empire was quite large for a European monarch.
• Fate: Inevitably, he tired of ruling such a large empire. He actually abdicated two years before his death. Spain, Italy, and Burgundy he left to his son, Philip II. The Holy Roman Empire he left to his brother, Ferdinand I.

Danes Among Us

Denmark has led a long history of dual monarchy. Stationed on the small peninsula that divides the North Sea from the Baltic Sea, it is in prime position to claim both the fjords of Norway and Sweden and the flats of Germany. And claim them it did, though not without significant resistance. Two long dynastic unions proved that a small country could still play it large.

• The Kingdom of Denmark with The Kingdoms of Sweden & Norway (1397 – 1523)
• Rulers: Margaret, Erik, Christopher III, Christian I, John and Christian II
• Sweden and Norway maintained regencies in their stead (and sometimes against them)
• How'd it start: Queen Margaret I of Denmark married King Haakon VI of Norway and their son, Olaf III, became king of both in 1380. In 1389, Margaret united Sweden to Denmark and in 1396, Erik of Pomerania was elected the first king of all three realms. The union was formalized the next year via the Treaty of Kalmar.
• Fate: Almost immediately, the Swedes came into conflict with the Danes over Danish wars in northern Germany. Sweden elected an anti-king, Charles VIII, who was deposed and restored numerous times. Eventually Sweden would elect Gustav Vasa as king and secede from the union permanently, only to become involved in their own German wars.

The Kalmar Union. Note: Lower Finland was a dependency of Sweden while
Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, and the Orkneys
were dependencies of Norway. Schleswig-Holstein in Germany was in a
dynastic union with Denmark throughout this time.

• The Kingdom of Denmark with The Kingdom of Norway (1536 – 1816)
• Rulers: All kings of Denmark until 1816
• Norway maintained a regency in their stead
• How'd it start: With the fall of the Kalmar Union (see above), Denmark retained Norway, though not without a fight. Denmark's dynastic claim over Norway was stronger, and Norway was unable to resist Danish domination to the same degree as Sweden.
• Fate: Norway was traded to Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars and, after a brief war between Norway and Sweden, the two countries entered into their own dynastic union that lasted until 1905, when Norway finally became an sovereign kingdom once more.

Poling your Weight Around

Poland, too, was the senior partner in a long dynastic union. While Poland jumped in and out of other unions throughout its history, it's union with one partner withstood the test of time.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1618. The sheer size of this dynastic
union is unbelievable. Livonia (gray), Courland (greenish), and Prussia (peach)
were vassal states of Poland-Lithuania but not in dynastic union with it.

• The Kingdom of Poland with The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1382 – 1795)
• Rulers: All kings of Poland until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1795
• It is unknown how these monarchs ruled both realms
• How'd it start: Grand Duke Ladislas II of Lithuania married "King" Hedwig of Poland. When she died, Ladislas became ruler of both. 
• Fate: Sigismund II constitutionally unified the two lands in 1572, though both retained autonomy. The monarchy became elective after that date, though it stayed in the Vasa family of Sweden for many generations. The entire monarchy fell apart in the French Revolutionary Wars and its fractions were given to Russia, Prussia and Austria.

Conclusion

Almost every monarchic state in Europe at one time or another controlled another state. France was often the largest player, but its attachments were almost always geographically close to France and also geographically smaller. Spain ruled vast lands around the Mediterranean for many years, including much of southern Italy. Sweden and Denmark both had their hands on significant lands in Northern Germany for awhile. In the end, most dynastic unions have to come to an end. The junior partner either joins the senior partner in a constitutional union or the two separate permanently. Today, quasi-states such as Mann and the Channel Islands are exceptions rather than the rule.

Attempts to force dynastic unions, such as that of the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) and United Provinces (Netherlands) after the Napoleonic Wars, generally fail. The Prussian and Sardinian technique of blatant conquest and monarchic overthrow, such as in the unifications of Germany and Italy, seem to work better. The other technique, largely used by France and Spain, of slowly marrying into title-holding families and inheriting the titles also works better.

Nonetheless, throughout history most monarchies have experienced periods of dynastic union and it is an interesting, albeit often overlooked, aspect of nation-building that I find absolutely riveting.