ABSTRACT
In his lengthy introduction to Succession to High Office, Jack Goody (1966) analyzes different societies' modes of transferring the highest office, generally the kingship. Many of his examples come from African societies, but he also cites ancient Rome and the Ottomans as well as a wide range of examples from European history and literature, including the cases of King Lear and Prince Hal. On the surface these succession systems differ radically. During the early centuries of the Ottoman sultanate, to prevent succession struggles, once one son succeeded to the throne, all of his brothers were killed, assuring that the sultan's family would never grow. At the other extreme, among the Zaria Hausa of Northern Nigeria, the kingship was passed from one segment of the royal dynasty to another. By citing examples from societies that differed so greatly in size, level of complexity, family systems, and religions, Goody underlines his contention that the issues that have complicated succession to chieftainships in relatively small preliterate societies are structurally similar to succession problems in late traditional and modern societies.
