Loyalty Had Its Limits
Sibling rivalry rarely stayed behind the curtain when power, money, or public attention was involved. In royal courts, family resentment produced coups and civil wars, while later centuries forced hoaxes and ideological feuds. Whatever the case may be, these 20 siblings prove that whatever disagreements we may have today pale in comparison with the past.
N. Currier (Firm) on Wikimedia
1. Cleopatra and Ptolemy VIII
Cleopatra II married her younger brother, Ptolemy VIII, and their relationship eventually descended into a struggle for control of Egypt. She drove him from Alexandria during a civil war, after which accounts claim that Ptolemy killed and dismembered their son, reportedly sending the remains to Cleopatra as a birthday gift.
2. Lucilla Tried to Have Commodus Assassinated
Before Commodus ever became emperor, his older sister Lucilla had been Augusta and the wife of co-emperor Lucius Verus. That meant she had high standing at court, and in 182 CE, she joined a conspiracy to assassinate Commodus. A relative by marriage, Quintianus was chosen to carry out the plan, but before he did anything, he announced that the Senate sent him, which spoiled the plot and ended with Lucilla exiled and executed on her brother’s order.
3. Caracalla Erased Geta From History
When Septimius Severus died in 211 CE, his sons Caracalla and Geta inherited the Roman Empire together. Well, that arrangement ended very quickly; Caracalla lured Geta to a supposed reconciliation only to have him killed by guards. Caracalla then purged Geta’s supporters and ordered his brother’s name and image erased, which is why Geta’s face is actually gone from the surviving Severan Tondo.
4. Li Shimin Ambushed Two Brothers
Li Shimin settled his succession dispute in 626 by ambushing his brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. He personally shot Jiancheng, while his officer killed Yuanji. He then displayed the brothers’ heads to stop their forces from resisting. It only took days for Li Shimin to become crown prince, and just two months later his father abdicated to him, allowing him to take the throne as Emperor.
Unknown artistUnknown artist on Wikimedia
5. The Norman Brothers Fought Over a Chamber Pot
According to a medieval chronicler, William the Conqueror’s sons once dumped a full chamber pot over their older brother Robert, which is what pretty much led to his first rebellion in 1077. Their rivalry continued well after William’s death, particularly when Henry seized the English crown while Robert was returning from the First Crusade. Henry defeated Robert in 1106 and kept him imprisoned until his death nearly 30 years later.
6. Henry II’s Sons Repeatedly Rebelled Against Him
Henry the Young King had already been crowned during his father’s lifetime, but that hardly gave Henry II enough independent authority to exercise. In 1173, the Young King joined brothers Richard and Geoffrey, their mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, and foreign allies in an 18-month revolt against Henry II. The king defeated them and reconciled with his sons, but Richard tried it again in 1189, while the youngest brother John also defected shortly before Henry II died.
Unknown author, possibly Matthew Paris (c. 1200 – 1259) on Wikimedia
7. Yoritomo Hunted Down His Brother
Minamoto no Yoshitsune helped secure his clan’s victory in the Genpei War between 1184 and 1185, and his older half-brother Yoritomo resented those independent dealings with the imperial court. He then canceled Yoshitsune’s appointments and had him declared an enemy. Yoshitsune was also forced to take his own life in 1189 after his final protector turned against him.
Fujiwara no Takanobu on Wikimedia
8. Sweden’s Royal Brothers Traded Imprisonments
Swedish dukes Eric and Valdemar captured their brother King Birger in 1306 and imprisoned him for two years. Birger obviously didn’t take kindly to that, exacting revenge at a Christmas banquet in 1317 by arresting both brothers after they’d gone to bed. Eric and Valdemar later died in the castle dungeon, but Birger wasn’t off the hook—public backlash forced him to flee Sweden.
9. Henry of Trastámara Personally Killed King Pedro
Henry of Trastámara repeatedly butted heads with his half-brother, Pedro I, for control of Castile. Pedro regained his throne after defeating Henry in 1367, but Henry rebuilt his army and returned for another round. In 1369, the brothers fought each other in person, and Henry killed Pedro before claiming the crown for himself as Henry II.
10. Atahualpa Ordered Huáscar’s Death From Captivity
Following Huayna Capac’s death in the late 1520s, his sons Huáscar and Atahualpa became rival claimants to the enormous Inca Empire. Naturally, that very succession conflict grew into a civil war lasting until 1532, when Huáscar was captured, and Atahualpa’s commanders took control of Cusco. Forces captured Atahualpa soon after, and while imprisoned in 1533 he ordered Huáscar killed before the Spaniards executed Atahualpa just months later.
11. John III Overthrew Erik XIV
King Erik XIV of Sweden arrested his half-brother John in 1563 after accusing him of treason. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was only five years later that John and another brother, Duke Charles, led a rebellion that removed Erik from power and placed him in prison. Erik then died in captivity in 1577.
After Johan Baptista van Uther on Wikimedia
12. Aurangzeb Defeated Every Brother Who Challenged Him
In 1657, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was suffering from a serious illness, one that caused his four sons to begin fighting for the throne. The story goes that Aurangzeb defeated Dara Shikoh with help from another brother, Murad Bakhsh, before turning against Murad and defeating Shah Shuja. Dara and Murad were then executed, Shah Shuja fled, and their father remained imprisoned until his death.
Darbarscene.jpg: Cordanrad
derivative work: Rani nurmai (talk) on Wikimedia
13. Dingane Killed Shaka…Then Mhlangana
On September 22, 1828, Zulu ruler Shaka was assassinated by his half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana (and his attendant Mbopha). The partnership lasted just long enough to remove Shaka; Dingane didn’t wait long to have Mhlangana and Mbopha killed before taking the throne himself.
Allen Francis Gardiner on Wikimedia
14. The Fox Sisters
In 1848, 14-year-old Maggie Fox and her 11-year-old sister Kate claimed that mysterious knocking sounds in their New York home came from a spirit. Their older sister Leah managed the act, and the three built legitimate careers as mediums while helping turn Spiritualism into an international movement. In 1888, Maggie spilled the beans that they made the noises themselves by cracking their toes, though she withdrew that the following year.
Emma Hardinge Britten on Wikimedia
15. Mehmed III Had All 19 Of His Brothers Strangled
When Mehmed III inherited the Ottoman throne in 1595, all 19 of his brothers and half-brothers were considered possible rivals. To eliminate any threats, he summoned the princes and had them strangled with silk bowstrings.
Cristofano dell'Altissimo on Wikimedia
16. The Papin Sisters’ Double Murder
Christine and Léa Papin were live-in maids when they killed their employer and her adult daughter in 1933. When police arrived, they found the duo locked inside the attic, and both confessed almost immediately. Christine got slapped with a death sentence (later commuted to life), and Léa got ten years. To this day, no one really knows why they did it, though some suspect it had to do with a class imbalance.
Unknown author (Keystone France) on Wikimedia
17. Peter the Great Sent Sophia to a Convent
Sophia Alekseyevna served as Russia’s regent while her younger half-brothers, Peter and Ivan, were joint tsars. When her rule ended in 1689, Peter wound up gathering enough support to remove her from power—which he did. He confined her to the Novodevichy Convent, and she stayed there for the rest of her life.
Attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier on Wikimedia
18. Yi Bang-Won Killed His Half-Brothers
Yi Bang-won helped his father establish Korea’s Joseon dynasty, which should have been enough to protect him…but despite it all, a younger half-brother was named crown prince. In 1398, Bang-won launched a palace attack that killed both of his younger half-brothers and several influential officials. He then became King Taejong.
19. The González Sisters
Beginning in the 1950s, sisters Delfina and María de Jesús González ran brothels recruiting women with phony offers of real work. A 1964 investigation uncovered bodies on their properties and exposed a deep-rooted system of trafficking and murder. The sisters were sentenced to 40 years in prison, and even Guinness World Records states they have at least 90 killings under their belts.
20. Selim I Cleared His Family From the Throne
Ottoman prince Selim rebelled against his father, Bayezid II, and eventually forced him to give up the throne in 1512. Oh, that wasn’t enough, though. His brothers Ahmed and Korkut remained possible rivals, so Selim had both men executed, earning himself a reputation for ruthlessness very quickly.
