From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The person to be inherited or succeeded, may organize the identity of the heir by appointment. It would be a testament, effective only at the moment of death and reversible before that, or it could be irreversible designation already long before.

Depending on the culture, traditions and laws, the appointment could be sufficient as itself, or it may need some strengthening (justification), acts such as adoption or marriage.

For example Roman Emperors designated often their successors by adopting, which had been an established legal Roman practice long in pre-imperial eras. Cf particularly Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.

Marriage of female relatives, particularly daughters, to desired successors has been utilized by persons to be inherited throughout civilization to organize one's own succession in a way where a ruler may practically appoint his successor. Appointment can be masked by creating and utilizing a right where a female in entitled to have her husband to succeed.

Father-in-law succeeded by son-in-law is obviously not a female succeeding a female: the monarch chose his successor, and formalized that appointment by marrying the chosen man with a royal daughter, which also worked as a way to legitimize the succession.

Sometimes a person is appointed to a governmental position by an elected official without being elected.

A monarch strengthens his position by marrying a princess of the (previous) royal family. And having his Crown Prince and some other children born of that woman. This could even be maximized: a king marries a number of royal princesses, and tries to have children with as many of them as possible.

Marriage was a way to legitimize succession for example by Pharaohs in ancient Egypt, as well as in China.

Inheritance Monarchy Agnatic seniority Matrilineal succession