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Fratricide (from Latin fratricidium; from frater 'brother' and -cīdium 'killing' – the assimilated root ofcaedere 'to kill, cut down') is the act of killing one's ownbrother.
It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (an assassin). The victim need not be the perpetrator's biological brother. In a military context, fratricide refers to a service member killing a comrade.
The term is often used metaphorically to refer tocivil wars.[2][3]
TheAbrahamic religions recognize the biblical account ofCain and Abel as the first fratricidalmurder to be committed.Esau swore to killJacob afterJacob stole his blessings, and later,Jacob's sons planned to killJoseph, but instead sold him. Judge Gideon's son,Avimelech, killed his seventy brothers leaving the youngest,Jotham.
In themythology of ancient Rome, the city is founded as the result of a fratricide, with the twinsRomulus and Remus quarreling over who has the favour of the gods and over each other's plans to buildRome, with Romulus becoming Rome's first king and namesake after killing his brother.[4]
InGreek mythology,Cassiphone, the daughter ofOdysseus andCirce, killed her half-brother and husbandTelemachus in revenge after he killed her mother Circe following a quarrell between the two.[5]
Inancient Egyptian mythology, the godOsiris is murdered by his brotherSet who usurps the throne.
In the Hindu epicMahābhārata,Karna was killed byArjuna who was unaware that Karna was his eldest brother.
The only known fratricides in theRoman Empire areRomulus killingRemus and the reasonably well-known murder ofGeta on the orders of his brotherCaracalla in 211. The brothers had a fraught relationship enduring many years; upon their fatherSeptimius Severus's death in February 211, they succeeded him as co-emperors. Their joint rule was embittered and unsuccessful, with each of them conspiring to have the other one murdered. In December of that year, Caracalla pretended to be holding a reconciliation in their motherJulia Domna's apartment when Geta was lured to come unarmed and unguarded. A group ofCenturions loyal to Caracalla ambushed him upon Geta's arrival, with Geta dying in his mother's arms.[6] It is said that the fratricide would often come back to haunt Caracalla.
There are many recorded fratricides in Persia, the most famous of which involvingCyrus the Great's sonsCambyses II andBardiya, the former killing the latter. There are also stories about the sons ofArtaxerxes I,Xerxes II,Sogdianus, andDarius II, all of which concern competition for the throne. In addition, there were many fratricides recorded during theParthian andSassanid Empires.
PrinceLi Shimin (Prince of Qin), the second son ofEmperor Gaozu, was in an intense rivalry with his elder brother Crown PrinceLi Jiancheng and younger brother PrinceLi Yuanji (Prince of Qi). He took control and set up an ambush at Xuanwu Gate, the northern gate leading to the Palace City of the imperial capitalChang'an. There, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were murdered by Li Shimin and his men. Within three days after the coup, Li Shimin was installed as the crown prince. Emperor Gaozu abdicated another sixty days later and passed the throne to Li Shimin, who would become known as Emperor Taizong.
Fratricide was not originally legal in theOttoman Empire. The practice of fratricide was legalized byMehmed II. His grandfather,Mehmed I, struggled over the throne with his brothersSüleyman,İsa, andMusa during theOttoman Interregnum. This civil war lasted eight years and weakened the empire due to the casualties it inflicted and the division it sowed in Ottoman society. As a result, Mehmed II formally legalized the practice of fratricide in order to preserve the state and not further place strain on the unity as previous civil wars did. Mehmed II stated, "Of any of my sons that ascends the throne, it is acceptable for him to kill his brothers for the common benefit of the people (nizam-i alem). The majority of theulama (Muslim scholars) have approved this; let action be taken accordingly."[7]
When Mehmed's son,Bayezid II died, his sonSelim I immediately assumed the throne and proceeded to execute his two brothersAhmed andKorkut. The largest practice of fratricide was committed byMehmed III when he had 19 of his brothers murdered and buried alongside their father. His successorAhmed I, when faced with public disapproval for the practice of fratricide, decided to outlaw the practice and replace it with seniority ascension system along with imprisonment in theKafes of any prince who would be a possible threat to the throne.[citation needed]
In the Mughal Empire, fratricides often occurred as a result of wars of succession.Shah Jahan had his eldest brother Khusrau Mirza killed in 1622.[8] Shah Jahan also had his brother Shahriyar killed in 1628. Shah Jahan's son,Dara Shikoh was assassinated by four of his brother Aurangzeb's henchmen in front of his terrified son on the night of 30 August 1659 (9 September Gregorian).
The events in the Greek tragedy Antigone unfold due to the previous war between the princely brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, who killed each other in combat. Polyneices had challenged his brother's claim to the throne of the city Thebes, and attacked the city with an army from Argos. Eteocles fought for Thebes to defend the city against Polyneices and his army. The two killed each other by stabbing in the heart.
Ashoka, also known as Chand-Ashoka (Cruel Ashoka), killed his brothers as punishment for the king's (his father) death and quarrel for the kingdom (war of succession). Later on, Ashoka conquered Greater India entire, before he adoptedBuddhism and forsook war.
Shaka, the Zulu king, was killed by his half-brotherDingane and his brotherMhlangana in 1828. Dingane became the Zulu leader until he was assassinated in 1840 in theHlatikhulu Forest.
Between 1965 and 1966, 12-year-old Piedad Martínez del Águila killed four of her younger siblings, including two brothers, in thedel Águila family killings.[9]
In 2008, Erin Caffey planned the murder of her younger brothers and mother in theCaffey family murders.[10] In 2010,Derrick Bird killed his twin brother and then eleven other people using a shotgun and a .22 caliber rifle in Cumbria, England.[11] In 2015, Robert and Michael Bever murdered their two younger brothers in theBroken Arrow murders.[12]On March 25, 2022, rapperArchie Eversole, known for his 2002 song “We Ready”, was shot in the head by his brother. Eversole died of his injuries on April 3, 2022.[13]In early September of 2022, Myles Sanderson killed his brother, Damien, and ten other people as well as wounding seventeen others in amass stabbing.[14]
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