5000年にわたる王朝の歴史を俯瞰し、現代の家族と比較検討しながら権力を継承する一族の苦難を浮き彫りにします。継承者を血族から擁立せねばならない君主にとって、対立や主導権争いが絶えない一族を取り仕切ることは王朝の存続と表裏一体でした。歴史上の支配者たちが教訓として今に伝えてきたことは、企業経営を行う現代のリーダーにも驚くほどそのまま当てはめることができます。私たちはそこから何を学ぶことができるでしょうか。
 

• Combines history and anthropology in a global examination of families on the throne
• Discusses dynastic impulses and practices in modern society
• Offers a unique examination of dynasty from a long term perspective
• Shows how personal idiosyncracies attributed to royals can better be understood as structural aspects of dynastic power

     
For thousands of years bloodlines have been held as virtually unassailable credentials for leadership, with supreme political power perceived as a family affair across the globe and throughout history. At the heart of royal dynasties, kings were inflated to superhuman proportions, yet their status came at a price: whilst they may have reigned, they were very often ruled by others who sheltered behind the ruler's proclaimed omnipotence. Descent through the female line also occurred, subverting our common view of dynasty as built on father-son succession. Everywhere, women were important as mothers of boy-kings, and could even rule in their own right in some places.
      
In this Very Short Introduction Jeroen Duindam connects the earliest history of kings and queens to contemporary examples of family-based leadership. His sweeping overview of five millennia of dynastic rule brings to light recurring predicaments of families on the throne. Examining persistent family conflict and the dilemmas of leadership, he shows how the challenge of governing the family was balanced by the necessity of family scions, close or distant, for the survival of dynasties. Tensions between ageing fathers and eager sons can be found among ancient kings as well as in modern business empires. Guidebooks for rulers throughout history provided counsel that will appear strikingly familiar to contemporary leaders. The thoughts and confessions of rulers added a more personal touch to these rules of thumb. Throughout, Duindam sheds light not only on similarities, but also on divergence and change in dynastic practice.