Editing Monarch (section)

===Monarchs in Asia===
{{Further|Monarchies in Asia}}
[[File:Crown Prince & Princess & Emperor Showa & Empress Kojun wedding 1959-4.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|From left to right, Japanese [[Hirohito|emperor Hirohito]], [[Akihito|crown prince Akihito]], [[Empress Michiko|crown princess Michiko]] and [[Empress Kōjun|empress Nagako]], 1959]]

In China, before the abolition of the monarchy in 1912, the [[emperor of China]] was traditionally regarded as the ruler of "[[Tianxia|All under heaven]]". "King" is the usual translation for the term {{transliteration|zh|wang}} ({{lang|zh|王}}), the sovereign before the [[Qin dynasty]] and during the [[Ten Kingdoms]] period. During the early [[Han dynasty]], China had a number of kingdoms, each about the size of a [[province]] and subordinate to the Emperor.

In Korea, {{transliteration|ko|Daewang}} (great king), or {{transliteration|ko|Wang}} (king), was a Chinese royal style used in many states rising from the dissolution of [[Gojoseon]], [[Buyeo kingdom|Buyeo]], [[Goguryeo]], [[Baekje]], [[Silla]], [[Balhae]], [[Goryeo]], and [[Joseon]]. The legendary [[Dangun]] Wanggeom founded the first kingdom, Gojoseon. Some scholars maintain that the term {{transliteration|ko|Dangun}} also refers to a title used by all rulers of Gojoseon and that {{transliteration|ko|Wanggeom}} is the proper name of the founder. {{transliteration|ko|Gyuwon Sahwa}} (1675) describes The Annals of the {{transliteration|ko|Dangun}} as a collection of nationalistic legends. The monarchs of Goguryeo and some monarchs of Silla used the title {{transliteration|ko|[[Taewang]]}}, meaning "Greatest King". The early monarchs of Silla used the titles of {{transliteration|ko|Geoseogan}}, {{transliteration|ko|Chachaung}}, {{transliteration|ko|Isageum}}, and finally {{transliteration|ko|Maripgan}} until 503. The title {{transliteration|ko|Gun}} (prince) can refer to the dethroned rulers of the Joseon dynasty as well. Under the [[Korean Empire]] (1897–1910), the rulers of Korea were given the title of {{transliteration|ko|Hwangje}}, meaning the "emperor". Today, Members of the [[Korean Imperial family]] continue to participate in numerous traditional ceremonies, and groups exist to preserve Korea's imperial heritage.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}

The [[Imperial House of Japan|Japanese monarchy]] is now the only monarchy to still use the title of emperor.

In modern history, between 1925 and 1979, Iran was ruled by two emperors from the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] that used the title of "Shahanshah" (or "King of Kings"). The last Iranian Shahanshah was King [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], who was forced to abdicate the throne as a result of a revolution in Iran. In fact the Persian (Iranian) kingdom goes back to about 2,700 BC (see [[Kings of iran#Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)|list of kings of Persia]]), but reached its ultimate height and glory when King [[Cyrus the Great]] (known as "The Great Kourosh" in Iran) started the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid dynasty]]. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of [[Ancient Near East|the ancient Near East]], expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of [[Southwest Asia]] and much of [[Central Asia]] and the Caucasus. From the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and [[Hellespont]] in the west to the [[Indus River]] in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen.

[[Thailand]] and Bhutan are like the United Kingdom in that they are constitutional monarchies ruled by a king. [[Jordan]] and many other Middle Eastern monarchies are ruled by a [[Malik]] and parts of the [[United Arab Emirates]], such as [[Dubai]], are still ruled by monarchs.

[[File:Sultan Mehmet III of the Ottoman Empire.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Sultan [[Mehmed III]] of the [[Ottoman dynasty]]]]

[[Saudi Arabia]] is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area and the second-largest in the Arab world (after Algeria). It was founded by [[Ibn Saud|Abdul-Aziz bin Saud]] in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the kingdom began in 1902 when he captured [[Riyadh]], the ancestral home of his family, the [[House of Saud]]; succession to the throne was limited to sons of Ibn Saud until 2015, when [[Muhammad bin Nayef|a grandson]] was elevated to Crown Prince. The Saudi Arabian government has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, and designates itself as [[Islamic]]. The King bears the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to the two holiest places in Islam: [[Masjid al-Haram]] in [[Mecca]], and [[Masjid al-Nabawi]] in [[Medina]].

[[Oman]] is led by Sultan [[Haitham bin Tariq Al Said]]. The [[Kingdom of Jordan]] is one of the [[Middle East]]'s more modern monarchies is also ruled by a [[malik]]. In Arab and Arabized countries, [[malik]] (absolute King) is the absolute word to render a monarch and is superior to all other titles. [[Nepal]] abolished their monarchy in 2008. [[Sri Lanka]] had a complex system of monarchies from 543 BC to 1815. Between 47–42 BC, Anula of Sri Lanka became the country's first female head of state as well as Asia's first head of state.{{dubious|date=September 2010}}

In [[Malaysia]]'s constitutional monarchy, the [[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]] (the supreme lord of the federation) is ''de facto'' rotated every five years among the nine rulers of the Malay states of Malaysia (those nine of the thirteen states of Malaysia that have hereditary royal rulers), elected by ''Majlis Raja-Raja'' ([[Conference of Rulers]]).

Under [[Brunei]]'s 1959 constitution, the [[sultan of Brunei]] is the head of state with full executive authority, including emergency powers, since 1962. Prime Minister of Brunei is a title held by the sultan. As the prime minister, the sultan presides over the cabinet.

[[File:Norodom Sihanouk Coronation Regalia 1941.png|thumb|upright|King [[Norodom Sihanouk]] of Cambodia]]

[[Cambodia]] has been a kingdom since the 1st century. The power of the absolute monarchy was reduced when it became the [[French Protectorate of Cambodia]] from 1863 to 1953. It returned to an absolute monarchy from 1953 until the establishment of a republic following the [[Cambodian coup of 1970|1970 coup]]. The monarchy was restored as a constitutional monarchy in 1993 with the king as a largely symbolic figurehead.

[[File:The Sinhalese Royal Family of King Devanampiya Tissa and Prince Uththiya.JPG|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Sri Lankan [[Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura|King Devanampiya Tissa]], Queen consort Anula, and [[Uttiya of Anuradhapura|Prince Uththiya]], {{c.|307 BC}}]]

In the [[Philippines]], the [[History of the Philippines (900–1521)|pre-Colonial]] [[Filipino people|Filipino]] nobility, variously titled the ''harì'' (today meaning "king"), ''[[Lakan]]'', ''[[Raja]]'' and ''[[Datu]]'' belonged to the caste called ''Uring [[Maharlika]]'' (Noble Class). When the islands [[Spanish colonization of the Philippines|were annexed]] to the [[Spanish Empire]] in the late 16th century, the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish monarch]] became the sovereign while local rulers often retained their prestige as part of the [[Christianity in the Philippines|Christianised]] nobility called the ''[[Principalía]]''. After the [[Spanish–American War]], the country was ceded to the United States of America and made into a territory and eventually a [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|commonwealth]], thus ending monarchism. While the Philippines is currently a republic, the [[Sultanate of Sulu|Sultan of Sulu]] and [[Sultanate of Maguindanao|Sultan of Maguindanao]] retain their titles only for ceremonial purposes but are considered ordinary citizens by the [[1987 Constitution]].

[[Bhutan]] has been an independent kingdom since 1907. The first [[Druk Gyalpo]] (''Dragon King'') was elected and thereafter became a hereditary absolute monarchy. It became a constitutional monarchy in 2008.

[[Tibet]] was a monarchy since the [[Tibetan Empire]] in the 6th century. It was ruled by the [[Yuan dynasty]] following the Mongol invasion in the 13th century and became an effective [[diarchy]] with the [[Dalai Lama]] as co-ruler. It came under the rule of the Chinese [[Qing dynasty]] from 1724 until 1912 when it gained de facto independence. The [[Dalai Lama]] became an absolute temporal monarch until the [[annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]] in 1951.

[[Nepal]] was a monarchy for most of its history until becoming a federal republic in 2008.