# Usurper > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Usurper > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Usurper.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usurper > Source revision: 1352753621 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Illegitimate or controversial claimant to state power "Usurp" and "Usurpation" redirect here. For other uses, see [Usurper (disambiguation)](/source/Usurper_(disambiguation)). For a list, see [List of usurpers](/source/List_of_usurpers). A **usurper** is an [illegitimate](/source/Legitimacy_(political)) or controversial claimant to [power](/source/Power_(social_and_political)), often but not always in a [monarchy](/source/Monarchy).[1][2] In other words, one who takes the power of a [country](/source/Country), [city](/source/City), or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as one's own.[3] Usurpers can rise to power in a region by often unexpected physical force such as via a [coup d'état](/source/Coup_d'%C3%A9tat), as well as through political influence and deceit.[4] ## Etymology The word originally came from the Latin word *usurpare* (“to seize", "to take forcefully" or "to use”).[5] ## Politics The ancient Greeks had their own conception of what usurpers were, calling them tyrants.[6] In the [ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) usage, a [tyrant](/source/Tyrant) (*tyrannos*/*τύραννος* in Greek) was an individual who rose to power via unconstitutional or illegitimate means, usually not being an heir to an existing throne.[6] Such individuals were perceived negatively by political philosophers such as [Socrates](/source/Socrates), [Plato](/source/Plato) and [Aristotle](/source/Aristotle).[7][8][9] Usurpers often try to legitimize their position by claiming to be a descendant of a ruler that they may or may not be related to. According to [Herodotus](/source/Herodotus), this was done by someone impersonating [Smerdis](/source/Smerdis) in order to seize the throne of [Cyrus the Great](/source/Cyrus_the_Great) after his death.[10] The concept of usurpation played a huge role in the governance of monarchies, often carrying disdain to those who have been accused of it.[11] Lengthy advice was given to potential and actual usurpers by the political philosopher [Niccolo Machiavelli](/source/Niccolo_Machiavelli) in his book [The Prince](/source/The_Prince).[12][13] Methods discussed were pertinent to the establishment of a more secure principality for the ruler, which Machiavelli stated would require evil to be done at some point.[14] ## See also - [Roman usurper](/source/Roman_usurper) - [Son of a nobody](/source/Son_of_a_nobody) ## Further reading - [Key, T. Hewitt](/source/Thomas_Hewitt_Key) (1855). ["On the Derivation and Meaning of the Latin Verb *usurpare*"](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3924121;view=1up;seq=106). *Transactions of the Philological Society* (8). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Usurpation of Richard the Third » 31 Jul 1936 » The Spectator Archive"](http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/31st-july-1936/29/the-usurpation-of-richard-the-third). *The Spectator Archive*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Levine, Mortimer (1959). ["Richard III – Usurper or Lawful King?"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2850815). *Speculum*. **34** (3): 391–401. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2850815](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2850815). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0038-7134](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0038-7134). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2850815](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2850815). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Definition of USURPER"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/usurper). *www.merriam-webster.com*. Retrieved 2019-03-22. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** "[In the end, usurpers accumulate power by taking it from the other State institutions, either by minimizing the role of the legislative power, or undermining the independence of the judiciary.](https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/nicol-s-maduro-usurper/)", [openDemocracy](/source/OpenDemocracy) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["usurp"](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/usurp). *[Collins English Dictionary](/source/Collins_English_Dictionary)*. [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1120411289](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1120411289). Retrieved 2019-08-30. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kagan_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kagan_6-1) Kagan, Donald (1998). [*Pericles Of Athens And The Birth Of Democracy*](https://books.google.com/books?id=viBOKgmt8LkC&q=usurper%20tyrannos%20pericles&pg=PA250). Simon and Schuster. p. 250. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780684863955](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780684863955). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The Republic, by Plato"](https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1497). *gutenberg.org*. Retrieved 2019-10-05. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Aristotle (2010). [*The Politics, Book 5, Chapter 10*](https://books.google.com/books?id=mEwLXFyp0ccC&q=aristotle%20politics&pg=PA169). University of Chicago Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780226026701](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780226026701). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Aristotle, Politics, Book 5"](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0058%3Abook%3D5). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Herodotus, *The Histories* Book 3, [61–79](https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/3c*.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** "Whilst Henry possessed all the qualities necessary to be a successful medieval king, his path to kingship as a usurpation rather than a hereditary succession would cast doubt over his legitimacy for the entirety of his rule." – [HistoricUK](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Henry-IV/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Butterfield, Herbert (1962). ["The Statecraft of Machiavelli"](https://books.google.com/books?id=HicLAQAAIAAJ). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Strauss, Leo (2014). [*Thoughts on Machiavelli*](https://books.google.com/books?id=oi2GDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1). University of Chicago Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780226230979](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780226230979). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** The Prince, chap. 15 (end) Authority control databases GND This government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Gov-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AGov-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Gov-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Usurper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usurper) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usurper?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.