Question
Which empires have had family feuds for succession?
Answer
The Nanda dynasty which ruled the Magadhan empire just before Alexander's invasion reputedly had one ruler, Dhana Nanda, kill 9 brothers on his way to the throne, a level of bloodshed that was not seen again in imperial succession in India until the Mughals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan...
The Ottoman empire had fratricidal conflict as a routine ritual during succession (mainly because there were dozens of sons of wives and concubines in the harem, and the elimination was almost viewed as a legitimate survivor island type contest to determine the successor). This one is kinda interesting because the later Ottoman rulers were puppets of their viziers anyway. The death of an Ottoman emperor was the signal to start a round of slaughter.
In general succession feuds are the rule, not the exception. The more interesting question is which empires/dynasties had largely peaceful succession traditions lasting any significant length of time. I can't think of any that were not also toothless ceremonial/figurehead monarchies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan...
The Ottoman empire had fratricidal conflict as a routine ritual during succession (mainly because there were dozens of sons of wives and concubines in the harem, and the elimination was almost viewed as a legitimate survivor island type contest to determine the successor). This one is kinda interesting because the later Ottoman rulers were puppets of their viziers anyway. The death of an Ottoman emperor was the signal to start a round of slaughter.
In general succession feuds are the rule, not the exception. The more interesting question is which empires/dynasties had largely peaceful succession traditions lasting any significant length of time. I can't think of any that were not also toothless ceremonial/figurehead monarchies.