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Apetty kingdom is akingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to anempire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. thenumerous kingdoms ofAnglo-Saxon England unified into theKingdom of England in the 10th century, or the numerousGaelic kingdoms of Ireland as theKingdom of Ireland in the 16th century). Alternatively, a petty kingdom would be a minor kingdom in the immediate vicinity of larger kingdoms, such as the medievalKingdom of Mann and the Isles relative to the kingdoms ofScotland orEngland or the Viking kingdoms of Scandinavia.
In the parallel mainlandSoutheast Asian political model, petty kingdoms were known asmueang.
By the EuropeanHigh Middle Ages, manypost-RomanEarly Middle Ages petty kingdoms had evolved intoprincipalities,grand duchies, orduchies. By the EuropeanEarly Modern era, many of these principalities had beenmediatized into larger monarchies, but the ruling families were not consideredmorganatic for marriage considerations, and ranked equal toroyal families in society. The various small states of theHoly Roman Empire are generally not considered to be petty kingdoms since they were at least nominally subject to theHoly Roman Emperor and not fully independent.
Beyliks were small Turkish principalities (or petty kingdoms) governed byBeys, which were founded acrossAnatolia at the end of the 11th century in a first period, and more extensively during the decline of theSeljuq Sultanate of Rum during the second half of the 13th century.
TheOttoman Empire quickly collected itself underMehmed I and his sonMurad II re-incorporated most of these beyliks into Ottoman territory in a space of around 25 years. The final blow for theKaramanids was struck byMehmed II who conquered their lands and re-assured a homogeneous rule in Anatolia. The further steps towards a single rule by the Ottomans were taken bySelim I who conquered territories ofRamadanids andDulkadirids in 1515 during his campaign against theMamluks, and his sonSüleyman the Magnificent who more or less completely united the present territories ofTurkey (and much more) in his 1534 campaign. Many of the former Anatolian beyliks became the basis for administrative subdivisions in the Ottoman Empire.
Before theKingdom of England was established as a united entity, there were various kingdoms in the area—of which the main seven were known as theheptarchy. These wereWessex,Mercia,Northumbria (which also extended into present-day Scotland and originally formed from the earlier kingdoms ofDeira andBernicia),East Anglia (formed from the union of the early kingdoms ofSuffolk andNorfolk),Sussex,Kent, andEssex. Other small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms existed at various points, includingHwicce,Lindsey (which survived as theParts of Lindsey,Lincolnshire) and theWihtwara (Isle of Wight). These are commonly referred to as "petty kingdoms".[1][2][3][4]
During the 9th and 10th centuries, the Norse also established theKingdom of Jórvík centred around York, and theFive Boroughs of the Danelaw (a.k.a. Danish Mercia). They also controlled the Kingdom of East Anglia during this period.
Prior to the arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes (the later Anglo-Saxons) what is now England was ruled by numerous Brittonic kings, which are discussed underWales below.
Thetaifa were the various Islamic petty kingdoms that existed in Iberia after the collapse of theCaliphate of Cordoba in 1031.
There were various Christian petty kingdoms as well on the peninsula that, in the Middle Ages, consolidated into the modern states ofSpain andPortugal. Over time, these consolidated into two "Crowns" that were themselves unified in the late 15th and early 16th centuries to the unifiedKingdom of Spain.
These include:
TheKingdom of Portugal remained independent throughout most of the period of consolidation, except for a period of 60 years (1580–1640) when it was part of theIberian Union.
The earliest known kingdoms ortribes inIreland are referred to inPtolemy'sGeography, written in the 2nd century. He names theVennicni,Rhobogdi,Erdini,Magnatae,Autini,Gangani,Vellabori,Darini,Voluntii (identified as theUlaid nation or Uluti tribe),Eblani,Cauci,Menapii,Coriondi andBrigantes tribes and kingdoms.
Irishmedievalpseudohistory gives a seemingly idealized division of kingdoms. The island is traditionally divided into fiveprovinces or "fifths" (Old Irishcóiceda, Modern Irishcúige), four of which survive today:Ulaid (Ulster, modern IrishUlaidh) in the north,Cóiced Ol nEchmacht (Connacht) in the west,Mumha (Munster, modern Irishan Mhumhain) in the south west, andLaigin (Leinster, modern IrishLaighin) in the south east. The fifth kingdom,Mide (whose name has survived in the modern counties ofMeath andWestmeath, modern Irishan Mhí andan Iarmhí) in the centre/east, ceased to exist in the Middle Ages.
At various points in history there existed aHigh King of Ireland, who ruled over the other kings assuzerain, much like the British High Kings and Anglo-SaxonBretwalda. There also existedKings of Tara who did not rule all of Ireland but were recognised as holding positions of authority over the other kings. These two titles were not mutually exclusive and were often held by the same individual.
Each of the kings of these kingdoms (titledrí ruirech or 'king of over-kings') was himself an over-king of several regional kings (titledrí buiden orrí tuath), who in turn ruled over severaltúatha, whose rulers held the titlerí benn orri tuaithe. The territories and hierarchy of all of these constantly shifted as old dynasties died and new ones formed, and as lower kings took higher positions. Many of thesetúatha survived as later Irishbaronies.
Several of the regional kings were at various points independent of their provincial over-king and indeed rivalled them in power and territory.Bréifne was originally part of Connacht but much of it lay in what is today Ulster. It later split intoEast andWest Bréifne.Airgíalla (Oriel) andCenél nEógain (also known as the Northern Uí Néill, in contrast to theSouthern Uí Néill who ruledMide;In Fochla orIn Tuaiscert, both meaning "the North";Ailech; and Tyrone/Tír Eoghain) were nominally part ofUlaid.Osraige (Ossory) was originally part ofMumha, but lay betweenMumha andLaigin and was controlled by both at various points.Dál Riata was also an Irish (sub-)kingdom, which mostly lay in modernArgyll and Bute in Scotland but originated in and initially extended into north-eastern Ireland and was (nominally) subject toUlaid. In the 12th century Munster was split into two smaller over-kingdoms:Deasmhumhain (Desmond, literally South Munster) andTuadhmhumhain (Thomond, literally North Munster).
In addition to the Irish petty kingdoms, there was a Norse presence on the island from the 9th century. They conquered Dublin, where they established theKingdom of Dublin (Old Norse:Dyflin, Old Irish:Duibhlinn), which at various points was closely tied with the NorseKingdom of Jórvík which was centred on modern York, England. The Norse also controlled several other coastal settlements, including Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick.
Before theunification of Nepal by theShah Dynasty there were dozens of petty kingdoms. TheKarnali region was called theBaise Rajya (Nepali:बाइसे राज्य), i.e. 22 Kingdoms, and theGandaki region to the east was calledChaubisi Rajya (Nepali:चौबिसी राज्य), i.e. 24 Kingdoms.
The petty kingdoms of Norway numbered at least 28:
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The Pre-colonial petty kingdoms of the Philippines were locally known asBarangays and can be divided into culture groups, over whether they were predominantly Malay, Indianized, Sinified or Islamized.
There were many petty kingdoms inScotland before its unification. They can be grouped by language:
According to theNorse sagas, and modern history,Sweden was divided into more-or-less independent units in some areas corresponding to thefolklands and the modern traditional provinces. According to the sagas, the folklands and provinces of easternSvealand were united under the Swedish king atGamla Uppsala. Moreover, the domains of this king could also include parts ofGötaland and even southern Norway. This probably reflects the volatile politics of Iron Age Scandinavia. The province ofSmåland once consisted of several petty kingdoms; indeed, the name Småland means small lands/countries.
Chagga Kingdoms, also historically referred to as the Chaggaland, were a pre-colonial series of a Bantu sovereign states of theChagga people onMount Kilimanjaro in modern-day northernKilimanjaro Region ofTanzania. The mountain was divided into kingdoms, which the British authority ultimately degraded to chiefdoms and which, by 1886, were governed by sovereign independentmangis (kings inKichagga). After that, Kilimanjaro was included in the governing structure, and the "chiefs" authority was constrained accordingly. From 1886 to 1916, Kilimanjaro was governed by the Germans as part of German East Africa. From 1916 to 1961, it was governed by the British as a part of the territory that had been renamed Tanganyika. In December 1961, it was incorporated into the independent sovereign state of Tanganyika. However, as of 1899, there were 37 Kingdoms atop the mountain, according to August Windenmann, a German surgeon stationed at Moshi in the 1890s.
Rarely has the country of Wales formed one cohesive kingdom. For the greater part of its history, Wales evolved into four kingdoms, or principalities, following the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century. Mountainous terrain, forested river valleys, and remote uplandmoors contributed to a strong sense of localism and autonomy, though the Welsh people shared a deeply felt sentiment of nationality, as reflected in Welsh law codified in the 10th century. According to historian Professor John Davies, there are four geographic regions more or less equal in terms of resources and population, from which four principalities emerged: Ynys Môn for Gwynedd, the Severn river valley for Powys, the Vale for Glamorgan and the lands up to the Wye (Morgannwg), and the Ystrad Tywi (Valley of the Tywi) for Deheubarth. Rhodri the Great inherited Gwynedd from his father and Powys through his mother, and married Angharad of Seisyllwg (Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire) and ruling there by right of his wife. Rhodri exerted great influence in the rest of Wales as well, and after his death his realms were divided amongst his sons. Nevertheless, theHouse of Aberffraw of Gwynedd, as the senior line descendants ofRhodri the Great, claimed overlordship over the whole of Wales, though they would encounter resistance by junior dynasts of Dinefwr. It would not be until the 1216Council of Aberdyfi that the Aberffraw line underLlywelyn the Great would be able to secure their position as Prince of the Welsh.
There existed other Brittonic petty kingdoms outside modern Wales and the North West of England. These are collectively known asHen Ogledd or 'the Old North'. With the exception ofYstrad Clut, which became part of Scotland in around the 11th century, most of these had been absorbed into Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by the 8th century.
It is hard, in fact, even to find a satisfactory terminology for the political units we can imagine the early Anglo-Saxons to have had. Tribe, petty kingdom and kingdom are the terms most commonly used.
S Britain (except Wales and Strathclyde) divided into a number of petty kingdoms incl. the so-called Heptarchy
