Outside Europe In the
Ottoman Empire, the
Sultan wielded absolute power over the state and was considered a
Padishah, meaning "Great King" by his people. Many sultans wielded absolute power through heavenly mandates reflected in their titles, such as "Shadow of God on Earth". In
ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of
Assyria,
Babylonia and
Sumer were absolute monarchs as well. Throughout
Imperial China, many
emperors and one empress (
Wu Zetian) wielded absolute power through the
Mandate of Heaven. In
pre-Columbian America, the
Inca Empire was ruled by a
Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of
Inti, the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Korea under the
Joseon dynasty and short-lived
empire was also an absolute monarchy.
Europe Throughout much of European history, the
divine right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs claimed
supreme autocratic power by divine right, and that their subjects had no rights to limit their power.
Kingdoms of England and Scotland James VI and I and his son
Charles I tried to import the principle of
divine right into Scotland and England. Charles I's attempt to enforce
episcopal polity on the
Church of Scotland led to rebellion by the
Covenanters and the
Bishops' Wars, then fears that Charles I was attempting to establish absolutist government along European lines was a major cause of the
English Civil War, although he did rule this way for 11 years starting in 1629, after dissolving the
Parliament of England for a time.
Denmark–Norway Absolutism was underpinned by a written constitution for the first time in Europe in 1665 of
Denmark–Norway, which ordered that the Monarch: This law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the
Council of the Realm in Denmark. Absolute monarchy lasted until
1814 in Norway, and
1848 in Denmark.
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg is currently extinct in its male line, due to the death of the childless
Charles II of Spain in 1700. However, the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine still carries the female line of the House of Habsburg. The first member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to rule over the
Holy Roman Empire was
Joseph II, a sovereign raised during the Enlightenment. Joseph II
extended full legal freedom to serfs in 1781.
Franz Joseph I of Austria was
Emperor of Austria from 1848 until his death in 1916 and was succeeded by
Charles I of Austria. Charles I was the last Emperor of Austria and abdicated on 12 November 1918 due to
Austria-Hungary losing
World War I.
Hungary France of France
Louis XIV (1638–1715) is said to have proclaimed . Although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the
Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period. The king of France concentrated legislative, executive, and judicial powers in his person. He was the supreme judicial authority. He could condemn people to death without the right of appeal. It was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them.
Prussia of Prussia, "the Great" In
Brandenburg-Prussia, the concept of absolute monarch took a notable turn from the above with its emphasis on the monarch as the "first servant of the state", but it also echoed many of the important characteristics of absolutism. Prussia was ruled by the
House of Hohenzollern as a
feudal monarchy from 1525 to 1701 and an absolute monarchy from 1701 to 1848, after which it became a
federal semi-constitutional monarchy from 1848 to 1918 until the monarchy was abolished during the
German Revolution.
Frederick I was the first
King in Prussia, beginning his reign on 18 January 1701. King
Frederick the Great adopted the title
King of Prussia in 1772, the same year he annexed most of Royal Prussia in the
First Partition of Poland, and practiced
enlightened absolutism until his death in 1786. He introduced a general civil code, abolished torture and established the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He also promoted an advanced secondary education, the forerunner of today's German
gymnasium (grammar school) system, which prepares high achieving students for university studies. The
Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States.
Russia Until 1905, the
tsars and
emperors of Russia governed as absolute monarchs.
Ivan IV ("the Terrible") was known for his reign of terror through the
oprichnina. Following the
Time of Troubles in the early 17th century, the traditional alliance of autocratic monarchy, the church, and the aristocracy was widely seen as the only basis for preserving the social order and Russian statehood, which legitimized the rule of the
Romanov dynasty.
Peter I ("the Great") reduced the power of the
Russian nobility and strengthened the central power of the monarch, establishing a bureaucracy. This tradition of absolutism was expanded by
Catherine II and her descendants. Russia became the last European country (excluding
Vatican City) to abolish absolutism, and it was the only one to do so as late as the 20th century (the
Ottoman Empire drafted
its first constitution in 1876). Russia was one of the four continental empires which collapsed
after World War I, along with
Germany,
Austria–Hungary, and the
Ottoman Empire. In 1918, the
Bolsheviks executed the Romanov family, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.
Sweden ==Contemporary trends==