On 20Jun2020 0500, Phil Pugliese - philpugliese at yahoo.com (via tml
list) wrote:

> Uh, NO, the 'anomaly' was the very short period of time, relatively,  > which encompassed the Barracks Emperors, which were not even all >
enumerated for god's sake! And outside of that anomalous period it >
just really didn't happen. In addition there's no indication that >
assassination was performed personally by the successor during that >
time.. That would have been risky & stupid. And, KIA's in battle > don't
count. > If anything that period of time would undoubtedly be considered
an > embarrassing interlude best forgotten rather than a precedent.
You might want to check Supplement 8's list. Assassinations occurred
before the civil war.

I grant you that it was MegaTraveller that stated that Porfiria wasn't
just selected by the Moot as the new empress, but had to do the deed
herself, but that doesn't contradict CT. In fact, it explains why so
many emperors died in battle, leading their fleets personally, and so
many ascended in the same way - it gave them an air of legitimacy.

Note that Cleon IV was suspected of assassinating his predecessor,
strong-armed the Moot into recognising him, and while he was
assassinated in turn it wasn't until he'd been on the throne for 80
years (and was 132 years old).

Of the first fourteen emperors (those before the civil war), seven died
of natural causes, one by accident, one abdicated, and five were
assassinated, or more than one in three.

After the civil war none were assassinated, and one died in an accident.

Given our history on Earth, I know which period seems more likely to me,
and it's not the five centuries of unbroken inheritance by birth.

--
Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com>