# Reign > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Reign > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Reign.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign > Source revision: 1351429557 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Period in which a sovereign rules}} {{Other uses}} A '''reign''' is the period of a person's or [dynasty](/source/dynasty)'s occupation of the office of [monarch](/source/monarch) of a nation (e.g., [Saudi Arabia](/source/King_of_Saudi_Arabia), [Belgium](/source/List_of_Belgian_monarchs), [Andorra](/source/Co-princes_of_Andorra)), of a people (e.g., [the Franks](/source/List_of_Frankish_kings), [the Zulus](/source/List_of_Zulu_kings)) or of a spiritual community (e.g., [Catholicism](/source/Pope), [Tibetan Buddhism](/source/Dalai_Lama), [Nizari Ismailism](/source/Aga_Khan)).{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/reign|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925222719/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/reign|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 25, 2016|title=reign - definition of reign in English {{!}} Oxford Dictionaries|website=[Oxford Dictionaries](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary) {{!}} English|access-date=2017-04-09}} In most [hereditary monarchies](/source/hereditary_monarchies) and some elective monarchies (e.g., [Holy Roman Empire](/source/Holy_Roman_Empire)) there have been no limits on the duration of a sovereign's reign or [incumbency](/source/incumbent), nor is there a [term of office](/source/term_limit). Thus, a reign usually lasts until the monarch dies, unless the monarchy itself is abolished or the monarch abdicates or is deposed. In [elective monarchies](/source/elective_monarchy), there may be a fixed period of time for the duration of the monarch's tenure in office (e.g., [Malaysia](/source/King_of_Malaysia)). The term of a reign can be indicated with the abbreviation "r." (for [Latin](/source/Latin) ''{{lang|la|regnavit}}/{{lang|la|rexit}}'') after a sovereign's name,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ym12CgAAQBAJ&q=%22r.%22+abbreviation+monarch+%22reigned%22&pg=PA238|title=Fonseca Robbins´Lexicon|last=Robbins|first=John Fonseca|date=2015-08-31|publisher=[Clube de Autores](/source/Clube_de_Autores)|location=[Joinville](/source/Joinville)|pages=238|language=en}} such as the following: :[George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions, Emperor of India](/source/George_VI) (r. 1936–1952). ==End of reign== A reign can be ended in several ways: * [Abdication](/source/Abdication) * [Abolition of monarchy](/source/Abolition_of_monarchy) * [Death](/source/Death) * [Deposition](/source/List_of_deposed_politicians) ===Abdication=== {{Main|List of monarchs who abdicated}} * Emperor [Ferdinand I of Austria](/source/Ferdinand_I_of_Austria), King of [Hungary](/source/Kingdom_of_Hungary) and [Bohemia](/source/Kingdom_of_Bohemia), King of [Lombardy-Venetia](/source/Kingdom_of_Lombardy%E2%80%93Venetia) (r. 1835–1848) was abdicated due to his disabilities ([feeble-mindedness](/source/Feeble-minded) and [epilepsy](/source/epilepsy)). His successor, Emperor [Franz Josef](/source/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria) (r. 1848–1916) reigned for 68 years. * King [Edward VIII](/source/Edward_VIII) of the United Kingdom reigned from January to December 1936 before he abdicated the throne. After his abdication he became known as the [Duke of Windsor](/source/Duke_of_Windsor). No other monarch of the [Kingdom of Great Britain](/source/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain) (1707–1800), the [United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland](/source/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland), the [United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland](/source/United_Kingdom), or any [Dominion](/source/Dominion) or [Commonwealth realm](/source/Commonwealth_realm) has ever abdicated, though forced abdications did occur on rare occasions in the [Kingdom of England](/source/England) and the [Kingdom of Scotland](/source/Scotland) prior to their merger in 1707. * Queen [Wilhelmina of the Netherlands](/source/Wilhelmina_of_the_Netherlands) reigned from 1890 to 1948, before abdicating in favor of her daughter, Queen [Juliana](/source/Juliana_of_the_Netherlands) who then reigned until 1980 when she abdicated in favor of her daughter, Queen [Beatrix of the Netherlands](/source/Beatrix_of_the_Netherlands). Beatrix followed suit and abdicated in 2013 in favor of her son and heir apparent, King [Willem-Alexander](/source/Willem-Alexander_of_the_Netherlands). ===Abolition of monarchy=== * King [Louis XVI](/source/Louis_XVI) of France reigned from 1774 until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792 and his execution the following year. * [Xuantong Emperor](/source/Puyi) of [China](/source/Qing_dynasty) abdicated in 1912 following the [Xinhai Revolution](/source/1911_Revolution), marking the end of the [Chinese monarchy](/source/Monarchy_of_China). * King [Umberto II of Italy](/source/Umberto_II_of_Italy) reigned for only a few weeks in 1946 before the abolition of the [Italian](/source/Italy) Monarchy. * King [Constantine II of Greece](/source/Constantine_II_of_Greece) reigned from 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy in 1973. * Tsar [Nicholas II](/source/Nicholas_II) of Russia reigned from 1894 until 1917 when he was forced to abdicate and the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire) was overthrown during the [Russian Revolution](/source/Russian_Revolution_(1917)). * Emperor [Haile Selassie](/source/Haile_Selassie) of [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopian_Empire) reigned for over 40 years (1930-1974) until the [Derg](/source/Derg) forced him to abdicate and abolished the 3,000 year old monarchy, making him the 225th and final Emperor of Ethiopia. * [Shah](/source/Shah) [Mohammad Reza Pahlavi](/source/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi) of [Iran](/source/Iran) reigned for more than 37 years (1941–1979) until the [Iranian Revolution](/source/Iranian_Revolution), which superseded the 2,500 years of monarchy with an [Islamic republic](/source/Islamic_Republic_of_Iran) system of government. The Shah died the following year and is buried in [Cairo](/source/Cairo). ==See also== *[Interregnum](/source/Interregnum) *[Rex (title)](/source/Rex_(title)) ==References== {{Reflist}} Category:Reigns --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.