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History vocabulary · Empires, States and Rulers

Personal union

Meaning in history, with examples

nounCommon term

In history, personal union means: An arrangement in which separate states share the same monarch while retaining distinct political identities.

In Turkish: şahsi birlik

How it is used

Sharing a ruler does not necessarily merge laws, parliaments or administrations.

Example sentences

  1. The personal union joined the crowns but left the two treasuries separate.

    The monarch provides the connection without institutional merger.

  2. A disputed inheritance ended the personal union between the kingdoms.

    A dynastic link can end without either kingdom disappearing.

Common collocations

  • a dynastic personal union
  • end a personal union
  • dynastyA series of rulers who come from the same family and pass power from one generation to the next, or the period during which such a family rules.
  • successionThe process by which a new ruler takes the place of the previous one, and the rules or customs that decide who has the right to the throne.

More terms: Empires, States and Rulers

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