What is reign?

  • (verb): Have sovereign power.
    Example: "Henry VIII reigned for a long time"
    See also — Additional definitions below

Reign

A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g. Saudi Arabia, Belgium) or of a people (e.g. KwaZulu-Natal). In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies (e.g. Holy Roman Empire) there have been no limits on the duration of a sovereign's reign or incumbency, nor is there a term of office. Thus, a reign usually lasts until the monarch dies, unless the monarchy itself is abolished or the monarch abdicates or is deposed.

Read more about Reign.

Some articles on reign:

Haakon IV Of Norway - Reign - The Scottish Expedition and Death
... Haakon employed an active and aggressive foreign policy towards strengthening Norwegian ties in the west ... His policy relied on friendship and trade with the English king the first known Norwegian trade agreements were made with England in the years 1217–23 (England's first commercial treaties were also made with Norway), and the friendship with Henry III of England was a cornerstone in Haakon's foreign policy ...
Haakon IV Of Norway
... His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king before him ... the troubled civil war era in Norway, but his reign eventually managed to put an end to the internal conflicts ... At the start of his reign, during his minority, his later rival Earl Skule Bårdsson served as regent ...
Five Guineas (British Coin) - King George I
... The coins of this reign weighed 41.7–41.8 grams ... to twentyone shillings and sixpence by the start of George's reign ... The regnal years for this reign are 1716 SECVNDO 1717 TERTIO 1720 SEXTO 1726 DECIMO TERTIO ...
Five Guineas (British Coin) - King James II
... John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of King James II ... In this reign, the weight of the coins varied between 41.5 and 42.0 grams ... The kings' head faces left in this reign, and is surrounded by the inscription, while the obverse is the same as in Charles II's reign except for omitting the interlinked "C"s in the centre of the coin ...
Reign - Regnal Periods - Abolitions
... King Humbert II of Italy reigned for only a few weeks in 1946 before the abolition of the Italian Monarchy ... Tsar Nicholas II of Russia reigned from 1894 to 1917 during the Russian Revolution when he was forced to abdicate and the Russian Empire was overthrown. ...

More definitions of "reign":

  • (noun): A period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful.
    Example: "He was helpless under the reign of his egotism"
  • (noun): The period during which a monarch is sovereign.
    Example: "During the reign of Henry VIII"
  • (noun): Royal authority; the dominion of a monarch.
    Synonyms: sovereignty

Famous quotes containing the word reign:

    Nature seemed to have adorned herself for our departure with a profusion of fringes and curls, mingled with the bright tints of flowers, reflected in the water. But we missed the white water-lily, which is the queen of river flowers, its reign being over for this season.... Many of this species inhabit our Concord water.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    I am monarch of all I survey;
    My right there is none to dispute;
    From the center all round to the sea
    I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
    O Solitude! where are the charms
    That sages have seen in thy face?
    Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
    Than reign in this horrible place.
    William Cowper (1731–1800)

    See how peaceful it is here. The sea is everything. An immense reservoir of nature where I roam at will.... Think of it. On the surface there is hunger and fear. Men still exercise unjust laws. They fight, tear one another to pieces. A mere few feet beneath the waves their reign ceases, their evil drowns. Here on the ocean floor is the only independence. Here I am free.
    Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. Captain Nemo (James Mason)