This handy little reference book, first published in hardback in 1989, has now been updated and is available for the first time as part of the Oxford Paperback Reference series. With guidance from a small number of expert scholars from a variety of academic fields (such as Egyptologists and scholars in Islamic history) John E. Morby has created this compact and useful reference book ideal for anyone needing highly accurate but accessible data on monarchs, reigning princes, and ruling families. Motivated by the lack of any book of this type on the market John E. Morby here has combined his interest in the subject with his own extensive research. Ranging from Horus Aha, the first ruler of the first dynasty of Ancient Egypt, to Muhammad VII, King of Morocco since 1999, the text is composed of clearly designed chronological tables which show not only the various kings, queens, emperors, and empresses who have ruled the countries of the world but also the regencies, joint reigns, abdications and depositions, interregna and foreign rule, mandates, protectorates and dynastic unions.Lineages follow each ruler's name and are given in the male line (unless otherwise indicated) thus setting each reign in the historical context of that particular dynasty. The book charts the progress of rulers and ruling families through revolution and conquest, from autonomy to independence, and from independence back to autonomy. The tables are supplemented with notes providing further information on such issues as the problems of chronology and dating, non-western calendrical systems and early calendrical systems, and the meanings of certain monarchical titles throughout the world and throughout history. There are also bibliographies at the end of each table to provide the reader with a guide to the principal sources used and point the way to possible further research.Examples of some of the rulers and dynasties included: The Ancient Near East: Ancient Egypt (Horus Aha to Senedjemibre Nectanebo II), Assyria (Sulili to Ashur-uballit II), The Kingdom of Lydia (Gyges to Croesus) The Hellenistic World: The Kingdom of Macedonia (Perdiccas I to Perseus), Bithynia and Pontus (Zipoites to Pharnaces II), The Parthian Empire (Arsaces I to Artabanus IV) The Roman and Byzantine Worlds: The Roman Empire (Augustus to Romulus Augustus), The Herodian Kingdoms (Herod the Great to Agrippa II), The Kingdom of Armenia (Ashot I the Great to Gurgen II), The Empire of Trebizond (Alexius I to David) The Barbarian West: The Visigothic Kingdom (Alaric I to Agila II), The Ostrogothic Kingdom (Theoderic the Great to Teias) The British Isles: The Kingdom of England (Egbert to Elizabeth II), The Principality of Wales (Merfyn the Freckled to David III) France: The Duchy of Brittany (Alan I Wrybeard to Anne), The Principality of Monaco (Lambert Grimaldi to Rainier III) The Low Countries: The County of Holland (Dirk I to Jacqueline), The County of Brabant (Godfrey I the Bearded to Philip of St Pol), The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg (Adolf to John) Italy: The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily (Robert Guiscard to Francis II), The Este in Ferrara and Modena (Azzo I to Francis V), The House of Savoy (Humbert I Whitehands to Humbert II) The Iberian Peninsula: The Kingdom of Aragon (Ramiro I to Ferdinand II the Catholic), The Kingdom of Portugal (Henry to Manuel II) The German-speaking States: The Holy Roman Empire (Charles I the Great to Francis II), The House of Hesse (Henry I the Child to Ernest Louis) Scandinavia: The Kingdom of Norway (Harald I Fairhair to Olav V) Eastern Europe: The Kingdom of Bohemia (Borivoj I to Ferdinand I), Medieval Serbia (Stephen Nemanja to Stephen Tomasevic) Russia: The Princedom of Kiev (Oleg to Gleb) Crusader States: The Kingdom of Jerusalem (Godfrey of Bouillon to Henry II), The Empire of Constantinople (Baldwin I to Baldwin II) Islamic Dynasties (except India): The Caliphate of Cordoba ('Abd al-Rahman I to Hisham III, al-Mu'tadd), The Kingdom of Granada (Muhammad I to Muhammad XII), The Seljuqid Dynasty (Toghril Beg to Toghril III) India: The Maurya Empire (Chandragupta Maurya to Brihadratha), The Delhi Sultanate (Aybak to Ibrahim II), The Mogul Empire (Babur to Bahadur Shah II) The Far East: China (Shih Huang Ti to Hsuan T'ung), Japan (Jimmu to Akihito), The Kingdom of Laos (Kingkitsarat to Savangvatthana) Africa: The Ethiopian Empire (Yekuno 'Amlak to Asfa Wossen), The Kingdom of Madagascar (Andriantsimitoviaminandriana to Ranavalona III) The New World: The Inca Empire (Manco Capac to Tupac Amaru), The Aztec Empire (Acamapichtli to Cuauhtemoc), The Kingdom of Hawaii (Kamehameha I to Liliuokalani)