dynasty

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/topic/dynasty
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

dynasty, a family or line of rulers, a succession of sovereigns of a country belonging to a single family or tracing their descent to a common ancestor (Greek dynadeia, "sovereignty").

The term is particularly used in the history of ancient Egypt as a convenient means of arranging the chronology.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.