 The numbers here indicate the seniority in birth of an emperor's sons as the Ming Dynasty was the only Chinese dynasty to have the eldest surviving son succeed the throne in continuous fashion (though not for the Yongle, from whom all subsequent Ming emperors descend and Jingtai Emperors – both of whom usurped the throne; while the Jiajing – "see above", and Chongzhen Emperors succeeded sonless brother), not unlike the Salic Law practised in some contemporary European monarchies (except that the eldest son by a non-principal consort was duly considered).After the fall of the dynasty in 1644 and the Chongzhen Emperor's suicide, a series of Ming princes based in the south of China claimed the imperial title, their court being known as the Southern Ming dynasty.These claimants are given with their era names, and the timespans of their purported reigns in brackets.