List of coups and coup attempts

A coup d'état, often abbreviated to coup, is the overthrow of a lawful government through illegal means.

If force or violence are not involved, such an event is sometimes called a soft or bloodless coup.

In another variation, a ruler who came to power through legal means may try to stay in power through illegal means, thus preventing the next legal ruler from taking power.

This is a chronological list of such coups and coup attempts, from ancient times to the present.

Scholarly databases and lists of coups include the following:

General Bonaparte during the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire in Saint-Cloud, detail of painting by François Bouchot , 1840
The assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BC), as depicted by Vincenzo Camuccini
As-Saffah is proclaimed as the first Abbasid caliph , from Balami's Tarikhnama
General Yi Seong-gye, later crowned Taejo of Joseon
Patrona Halil rebellion; painting by Jean Baptiste Vanmour
Execution of Claude François de Malet and his co-conspirators on 29 October 1812 following the Malet coup in France
The caudillo Antonio López de Santa Anna was involved in several coups in early post-independence Mexico.
The Empire of Brazil ended in a coup d'état which formed a republic.
The 5 October 1910 revolution which established a Republic in Portugal
Citizens throng around The Citadel ( La ciudadela ) building during La decena tragica in 1913
Defendants in the Beer Hall Putsch trial. Ludendorff is fifth from the left, with Hitler to the right. Ernst Röhm is to the right and in front of Hitler. Note that only two of the defendants, Hitler and Frick , were dressed in civilian clothing.
Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922. Mussolini stayed out of most of the march.
Józef Piłsudski and other leaders of the May Coup (1926) on Poniatowski Bridge in Warsaw
March in support of the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Chile , in front of La Moneda Palace (12 June 1932)
1st Lt. Nibu Masatada and his rebel troops in the 26 February Incident of 1936
The conference room where Hitler survived the 20 July plot of 1944 after the explosion
Events of the 1953 Iranian coup d'état
TV Senado video on Lott's countercoup (English subtitles)
Tanks in Bangkok 's street in 2006