Regicide  

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The broad definition of regicide (Template:Lang-la "of king" + Template:Lang "killer" or Template:Lang "killing") is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a person of royalty.

In the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial, reflecting the historical precedent of the trial and execution of Charles I of England. More broadly, it can also refer to the killing of an emperor or any other reigning sovereign.

List of regicides

Different cultures and authors in history have used different definitions for what constitute the crime of regicide, as such it is difficult to make a universally accepted list of what constitutes a regicide. The following is a list of other cases of monarchs in history that have been deliberately killed in some fashion according to recorded history:

1. 1962 BC Amenemhat I, of Egypt by his own bodyguards
2. 1526 BC Mursili I, King of the Hittites by his brother-in-law Hantili I
3. unknown date in late 2nd millennium BC, Eglon of Moab by Ehud
4. 1155 BC Ramesses III of Egypt from a neck wound inflicted by conspirators
5. 11th century BC Agag of Amalek by the prophet Samuel
6. 1005 BC Ish-bosheth of Israel, slain by his own captains
7. 900 BC Nadab of Israel, slain by own captain Baasha
8. 885 BC King Elah of Israel, murdered by his chariot commander Zimri
9. 841 BC Jehoram of Israel, murdered by Jehu
10. 836 BC Athaliah, Queen of Judah, by rebels that placed Jehoash on the throne
11. 797 BC Jehoash of Judah by his own servants at Miloh
12. 771 BC King You of Zhou by the Marquess of Shen
13. 767 BC Amaziah of Judah assassinated at Lachish
14. 752 BC Zechariah of Israel murdered by Shallum
15. 740 or 737 BC Pekahiah, King of Israel, assassinated by Pekah, son of Remaliah
16. 732 BC Pekah, King of Israel, by Hoshea
17. 681 BC Sennacherib, King of Assyria, assassinated in obscure circumstances
18. 641 BC Amon of Judah, assassinated by own servants
19. 465 BC Xerxes I of Persia by his chief bodyguard Artabanus
20. 424 BC Xerxes II of Persia by his brother Sogdianus
21. 336 BC Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great in unclear circumstances
22. 317 BC Philip III of Macedon, executed by his stepmother Olympias
23. 309 BC Alexander IV of Macedon, assassinated at the age of 14 by the regent Cassander
24. 294 BC Alexander V of Macedon, murdered by Demetrius Poliorcetes
25. 281 BC Seleucus I Nicator, assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus
26. 249 BC Demetrius of Cyrene, assassinated by his wife Berenice II
27. 246 BC Antiochus II Theos, poisoned by his wife Laodice I
28. 241 BC Agis IV of Sparta, executed by ephors without a regular trial
29. 233 BC Deidamia II of Epirus, assassinated during a republican revolt
30. 227 BC Archidamus V of Sparta, assassinated possibly by orders of his co-ruler Cleomenes III
31. 223 BC Seleucus III Ceraunus, assassinated in Anatolia by members of his army
32. 223 BC Diodotus II of Bactria, killed by the usurper Euthydemus I
33. 214 BC Hieronymus of Syracuse, assassinated by conspirators
34. 207 BC Qin Er Shi through forced suicide put on him by his eunuch Zhao Gao
35. 206 BC Ziying executed by Xiang Yu
36. 185 BC Brihadratha Maurya of India, assassinated by Pushyamitra Shunga during a military parade
37. 149 BC Prusias II of Bithynia, assassinated by supporters of his son
38. 120 BC Mithridates V of Pontus, poisoned at a banquet
39. 116/111 BC Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia murdered by Gordius for Mithridates VI of Pontus
40. 104 BC Jugurtha, King of Numidia, captured by Roman army, paraded in Rome and starved to death in prison
41. 100 BC Ariarathes VII of Cappadocia murdered by Mithridates VI of Pontus
42. 80 BC Ptolemy XI Alexander II, lynched by the citizens of Alexandria
43. 51 BC Ariobarzanes II of Cappadocia, assassinated by Parthian favorites
44. 44 BC Burebista, Great King (Emperor) of Dacia was assassinated by the dacian nobles and his advisors.
45. 44 BC Ptolemy XIV of Egypt, widely suspected to have been poisoned by Cleopatra VII
46. 42 BC Ariobarzanes III of Cappadocia, executed by Gaius Cassius Longinus
47. 36 BC Ariarathes X of Cappadocia, executed by Mark Antony
48. 30 BC Caesarion, executed by Octavian
49. 29 BC Antiochus II of Commagene, executed by Octavian
50. 25 AD the Gengshi Emperor by strangulation from Xie Lu
51. 41 Caligula by a group of conspirators supported by the Roman senate
52. 69 Galba by the praetorian guard
53. 69 Vitellius by Vespasian's troops
54. 96 Domitian by a group of court officials
55. 190 Emperor Shao of Han forced to drink poison by rebels
56. 192 Commodus strangled by his wrestling partner supported by a group of conspirators
57. 193 Pertinax murdered by Praetorian guard
58. 193 Didius Julianus executed on orders by the senate
59. 217 Caracalla murdered by a conspiracy
60. 218 Macrinus, executed by Elagabalus
61. 222 Elagabalus murdered by Praetorian guard
62. 235 Severus Alexander murdered by the army
63. 238 Maximinus I murdered by Praetorian guard
64. 238 Pupienus murdered by Praetorian guard
65. 238 Balbinus murdered by Praetorian guard
66. 253 Trebonianus Gallus by his own troops
67. 253 Aemilian by his own troops
68. 268 Gallienus murdered by his own commanders
69. 275 Aurelian assassinated by Praetorian guard
70. 276 Florianus assassinated by his own troops
71. 282 Marcus Aurelius Probus assassinated by his own troops
72. 307 Severus II forced to commit suicide by Maxentius
73. 310 Maximian forced to commit suicide by Constantine I
74. 325 Licinius executed on orders by Constantine I
75. 350 Constans killed by supporters of Magnentius
76. 359 Gratian murdered by army faction
77. 423 Joannes captured and executed by eastern Roman army
78. 453 Emperor Wen of Liu Song by Crown Prince Liu Shao
79. 455 Valentinian III assassinated
80. 456 Emperor Ankō of Japan, by Prince Mayowa
81. 565 Diarmait mac Cerbaill, King of Tara, by Áed Dub mac Suibni
82. 592 Emperor Sushun of Japan, by Soga no Umako
83. 602 Maurice, Byzantine Emperor, beheaded
84. 610 Phocas, Byzantine Emperor, executed
85. 618 Emperor Yang of Sui, strangled by soldier in coup
86. 656 Uthman ibn Affan, Caliph of Islamic Caliphate, assassinated by rebels
87. 668 Constans II, Byzantine Emperor, assassinated
88. 710 Emperor Zhongzong of Tang poisoned by his wife Empress Wei
89. 904 Emperor Zhaozong of Tang by soldiers sent by Zhu Quanzhong
90. 908 Emperor Ai of Tang poisoned on orders by Zhu Quanzhong
91. 978 Edward the martyr killed in unclear circumstances
92. 1014 Brian Boru killed in unclear circumstances
93. 1072 Sancho II of Castile and León assassinated by Vellido Dolfos
94. 1174 Andrey Bogolyubsky, Prince of Rus, was murdered by members of Kuchkovich family
95. 1192 Conrad of Montferrat, King of Jerusalem, assassins unknown to history
96. 1199 Richard I of England shot with crossbow by Pierre Basile
97. 1206 Muhammad of Ghor, Sultan of the Ghurid Empire, assassinated while doing evening prayers
98. 1227 Ken Arok, King of Singhasari, by his stepson Anusapati
99. 1296 Przemysł II, King of Poland, by the Margraves of Brandenburg, some Polish families, or maybe both
100. 1323 Emperor Gong of Song, forced to commit suicide by Emperor Yingzong of Yuan
101. 1323 Emperor Yingzong of Yuan by a plot formed among Yesün Temür's supporters
102. 1327 Edward II of England after forced abdication on behalf of son Edward III of England
103. 1328 Jayanegara, King of Majapahit, by Ra Tanca, his doctor
104. 1359 Berdi Beg of the Golden Horde by his brother Qulpa
105. 1386 Charles II of Hungary by Blaise Forgách
106. 1402 the Jianwen Emperor was claimed to have been burned to death in his palace by Zhu Di
107. 1483 Edward V of England by either Richard III or some other party
108. 1520 Moctezuma II, Emperor of the Aztecs, by either the Spanish or his own people
109. 1532 Huáscar, Emperor of the Incas, executed by his brother Atahualpa
110. 1533 Atahualpa, Emperor of the Incas, executed by the Spanish
111. 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots executed after a trial by an English court of 36 noblemen over the Babington Plot
112. 1589 Henry III of France by Jacques Clément
113. 1605 False Dmitry I, an impostor who ascended Russian throne, was overthrown and killed by a local mob
114. 1610 Henry IV of France by François Ravaillac
115. 1622 Osman II of the Ottoman Empire by the Grand Vizier Davud Pasha
116. 1648 Ibrahim executed by orders from his mother Kösem Sultan
117. 1649 Charles I of England executed following a trial set up by the Rump Parliament
118. 1747 Nader Shah of the Afshar Dynasty, Shahanshah of Persia (Iran) by Salah Bey
119. 1762 Peter III of Russia deposed and supposedly murdered shortly thereafter
120. 1782 Taksin, King of Thailand, deposed and executed in a coup
121. 1792 Gustav III of Sweden by Jacob Johan Anckarström
122. 1793 Louis XVI of France executed following a trial by the National Convention
123. 1801 Emperor Paul of Russia by Count Pahlen and his accomplices
124. 1815 Joachim Murat, executed in Calabria by orders of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
125. 1828 Shaka King of the Zulus by his half-brother and successor Dingane and accomplices
126. 1855 Hamengkubuwono V of Yogyakarta by his fifth wife, Kanjeng Mas Hemawati
127. 1867 Maximilian I of Mexico executed after a Mexican court-martial
128. 1881 Alexander II of Russia by Ignacy Hryniewiecki, a member of Narodnaya Volya (People's Will)
129. 1895 Min of Joseon by three mercenary killers allegedly hired by Japanese minister to Korea Miura Goro
130. 1896 Nasser al-Din Shah, Qajar king of Persia (Iran), by Mirza Reza Kermani
131. 1898 Empress Elisabeth of Austria by Luigi Lucheni, an anarchist in Geneva.
132. 1900 Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Gaetano Bresci
133. 1903 Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga by a group of army officers
134. 1908 Carlos I of Portugal, assassinated with his son Infante Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal by Alfredo Luís da Costa and Manuel Buiça, both connected to the Carbonária (the Portuguese section of the Carbonari)
135. 1908 the Guangxu Emperor by arsenic poisoning, perhaps on orders from Empress Dowager Cixi or Yuan Shikai.
136. 1913 George I of Greece by Alexandros Schinas
137. 1918 Nicholas II of Russia and the Imperial Family executed by a Bolshevik firing squad under the command of Yakov Yurovsky
138. 1933 Mohammed Nadir Shah, king of Afghanistan, assassinated by student Abdul Khaliq Hazara
139. 1934 Alexander I of Yugoslavia by Vlado Chernozemski, a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
140. 1936 George V of the United Kingdom by Bertrand Dawson, his personal physician.
141. 1946 Ananda Mahidol of Thailand. The King's death is still a mystery and may have been either regicide or suicide.
142. 1948 Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din, king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, assassinated in the Alwaziri coup
143. 1951 Abdullah I of Jordan by Mustafa Ashi
144. 1958 Faisal II of Iraq executed by firing squad under the command of Captain Abdus Sattar As Sab, a member of the coup d'état led by Colonel Abdul Karim Qassim
145. 1975 Faisal of Saudi Arabia by his nephew Faisal bin Musa'id (Assassin publicly beheaded)
146. 1975 Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, widely suspected to have been murdered in his sleep by asphyxiation on the orders of the Derg junta, which had deposed him a year earlier.
147. 2001 Birendra of Nepal, by his son Crown Prince Dipendra, in the Nepalese royal massacre

Note that some of the aforementioned monarchs, such as Nicholas II and Haile Selassie, have already ceased to be rulers at the time of their deaths.

See also

• Fifth Monarchists saw the overthrow of Charles I as a divine sign of the second coming of Jesus.
• Society of King Charles the Martyr
• Tyrannicide (killing of a tyrant)
• Patricide (killing of one's father)
• Matricide (killing one's mother)
• Fratricide (killing one's brother)
• Sororicide (killing one's sister)
• Monarchomachs