History Main / ThousandYearReign

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler and ThoseWackyNazis invoked this trope by promising a [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany thousand-year Reich]]. Berlin would be the new world capital of a greatly expanded "Germania". [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII It lasted merely twelve.]]
** UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill implied something similar in his "finest hour" speech when he proclaimed that ''if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts for a thousand years, people will say this was our finest hour.'' The consesus for the final end of the British Empire was when Hong Kong, the last significant Imperial possession, was given back to the Chinese in 1999. The British Empire therefore dwindled and died in the 59 years following Chutchill's speech. [[note]] The Empire was relegated to a mere administrative tail as early as 1958, when the Colonial Office was wound up and made into an appendage to the Foreign Ministry in the form Foreign And Colonial Office. The word "Colonial" was quietly dropped from the designation in the 1980's, today it's just the Foreign Office. [[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'': Entirely possible, since the ''Reaper's Due'' DLC officially added immortality to the game, allowing, given the length of the game, a reign of almost seven full centuries of lucky, and conversion to later games in the series allows a single ruler to run the nation for a full millennium or more. With timeline extending mods such as When the World Stopped Making Sense, this can even be accomplished without converting the save to a separate game.

** UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill implied something similar in his "finest hour" speech when he proclaimed that ''if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts for a thousand years, people will say this was our finest hour.''. The consesus for the final end of the British Empire was when Hong Kong, the last significant Imperial possession, was given back to the Chinese in 1999. The British Empire therefore dwindled and died in the 59 years following Chutchill's speech. [[note]] The Empire was relegated to a mere administrative tail as early as 1958, when the Colonial Office was wound up and made into an appendage to the Foreign Ministry in the form Foreign And Colonial Office. The word "Colonial" was quietly dropped from the designation in the 1980's, today it's just the Foreign Office. [[/note]]

** UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill implied something similar in his "finest hour" speech when he proclaimed that ''if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts for a thousand years, people will say this was our finest hour.''. The consesus for the final end of the British Empire was when Hong Kong, the last significant Imperial possession, was given back to the Chinese in 1999. The British Empire therefore dwindled and died in the 59 years following Chutchill's speech. [[note]] The Empire was relegated to a mere administrative tail as early as 1958, when the Colonial Office was wound up and made into an appendage to the Foreign Ministry in the form Foreign And Colonial Office. The word "Colonial" was quietly dropped from the designation in the 1980's. today it's just the Foreign Office. [[/note]]

** Later, when Kuvira takes Zaofu for her Earth Empire, banners are hanged [[BilingualBonus which read]] "May Kuvira live for 10,000 years".
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' begins with Twilight Sparkle reading an old legend that states that the stars would aid in the escape of the Nightmare Moon on the longest day of the 1000th year of her banishment, when she would bring about nighttime eternal. Princess Celestia reigned as sole sovereign during this entire time.

* ''ValkyriaChroniclesIII'': Dahau declares that he will create a new homeland for the Darcsen people that will endure for a thousand years.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', this is how long Commodus wants his incestuous line to last, when he thinks he's won completely.

* The city of Ember in ''Literature/TheBooksOfEmber'' was designed to last exactly 200 years and no longer. Too bad that the note meant to inform the populace of this got lost.

* ''Literature/LeftBehind'': The interpretation of Literature/TheBible mentioned in the Religion folder below takes place in ''Kingdom Come'', during which only "glorifieds" and "naturals" who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will be allowed to live to the end of the Millenium, while [[DeathsHourglass "naturals" who stay unbelievers by the time they reach 100 years of age will die and go to Hell]]. [[LaResistance The Other Light faction]] sees GodIsEvil because of this and has prepared for this contingency by passing down their teaching to the next generation of its converts so that the generation that gets to [[FinalBattle confront God and Jesus at the end of the Millennium]] will be "assured victory" when [[SealedEvilInACan Satan is released]]. [[CurbStompBattle Unfortunately for them]], [[YouCantFightFate it didn't turn out as they hoped]].
* [[AntiVillain The Lord Ruler]] from ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' calls his reign "[[TheEmpire The Final Empire]]", because he believes that the empire ([[ImmortalRuler and he himself]]) will last forever.

Emerging from a [[HarsherInHindsight new caliphate]]\\

[[folder:Religion]]
* The Literature/BookOfRevelation says that UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} will reign with the Saints for 1,000 years, during which time {{Satan}} is bound, before dad [[{{God}} Jehovah]] steps in. The nature of this reign and whether the time period is meant to be taken literally has been debated throughout the history of UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}; the 19th-century pre-millennial interpretation of the Bible was that it should be taken literally.

* Entirely possible in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' since the ''Reaper's Due'' DLC officially added immortality to the game, allowing, given the length of the game, a reign of almost seven full centuries of lucky, and conversion to later games in the series allows a single ruler to run the nation for a full millennium or more. With timeline extending mods such as When the World Stopped Making Sense, this can even be accomplished without converting the save to a separate game, as demonstrated by the [[LetsPlay Let's Player]] Kailvin in one of his last series before leaving Website/YouTube, appropriately titled "The 1000 Year Reign".
%%* Millennial Kingdom, as per ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei''.%%ZCE

* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. One episode revolves around them locking up their dragon Dojo for the day, because on that particular day he'll turn evil, grow two heads and devour all of the magical Shen Gong Wu items, leading to 1,000 years of darkness. The spoof comes from the time being more like 962, but 1,000 sounds more dramatic.

This is when someone declares that a particular organization or achievement will endure for (at least) a certain amount of time, the prediction usually being wildly optimistic and incurring a high risk of TemptingFate. 1,000 years is the gold standard when talking about empires and dynasties, but various big, round numbers may be conjured. '''The important thing is that this is about assuming the length beforehand, not how long it actually lasts.'''

This is when someone declares that a particular government/institution/monument/etc. will endure for (at least) a certain amount of time, the prediction usually being wildly optimistic and incurring a high risk of TemptingFate. 1,000 years is the gold standard when talking about empires and dynasties, but various big, round numbers may be conjured. '''The important thing is that this is about assuming the length beforehand, not how long it actually lasts.'''

This is when TheEmpire, or some other organization, is somehow predicted to last a certain (usually very ambitious) amount of time. 1,000 years is common, but there are likely other time frames. '''The important thing is that this is about assuming the length beforehand, not how long it actually lasts.'''

This is when TheEmpire, or some other organization, is somehow estimated to last a certain amount of time. 1,000 years is common, but there are likely other time frames. '''The important thing is that this is about assuming the length beforehand, not how long it actually lasts.'''

** There is a careful delineation with these acclamation, Empresses are acclaimed "A thousand years!" And sometimes, particularly powerful officials would be sarcastically greeted (not out loud, obviously) with "Nine thousand years!" Even after [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors the Republic was proclaimed on 1911]], such slogans were used for the Republic or various leaders such as Mao and Chiang. Today, this slogan is used at the Tienanmen gate in Beijing, as "[May the] People's Republic of China [last for] ten thousand years"; meanwhile, presidential speeches in Taiwan used, until 2016, to be closed with "[May] the Republic of China [live for] ten thousand years!", with pro-independence activists suing their own versions.

->'''Kimiko''': Why a thousand?
->'''Master Fung''': It is really 962 years, but a thousand sounds more ominous.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', that is how long Commodus wants his incestuous line to last, when he thinks he's won completely.
* Referenced several times in the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII drama ''Film/Conspiracy2001'', which takes place at a time when the Nazis were absolutely convinced that they were moments away from victory.
-->'''Neumann:''' Neumann, director of the Four-Year-Plan. Whom may I be speaking to?
-->'''Klopfer:''' I speak for Martin Bormann, of the Thousand-Year-Plan.
* In Franchise/StarWars ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' Palpatine references the thousand years of the Republic. In ''Film/ANewHope'' Obi-Wan refers to a thousand generations (approx. 25,000 years).[[note]]This was reconciled in the ExpandedUniverse by stating that the Republic as a whole has existed and been protected by the Jedi for 25,000 years, but that 1,000 years before the films the Ruusan Reformation restructured the Republic and formed the government that lasted until it was replaced by the Empire. In the new Disney canon, the details have yet to be revealed but it seems to be broadly similar. In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', references are made to the "Old Republic" that preceded the current thousand-year-old Galactic Republic.[[/note]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''Literature/TheCityOfEmber'' was designed to last exactly 200 years and no longer. Too bad the note meant to inform the populace of this got lost.
* ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'': Hari Seldon, creator of psychohistory, a set of [[PrescienceByAnalysis mathematical formulas that can predict human behaviour]], anticipates that the [[GalacticSuperpower Galactic Empire]] will collapse and leave the Milky Way in anarchy for [[TenThousandYears thirty thousand years]], an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this trope's usual meaning. The [[ThePlan Seldon Plan]], developed through psychohistory, will shorten this interval to about one thousand years instead. It becomes popular knowledge in the galaxy that the Foundation of Terminus is undefeatable. The first book, ''Foundation'', has also been published under the title ''Literature/TheThousandYearPlan''.
* According to the 19th century pre-millennial interpretation of Literature/TheBible, after Armageddon, UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} will reign over the Earth for this amount of time before dad Jehovah steps in.
* The above interpretation of The Bible takes place in ''Kingdom Come'' from the Literature/LeftBehind series, during which only "glorifieds" and "naturals" who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will be allowed to live to the end of the Millenium, while [[DeathsHourglass "naturals" who stay unbelievers by the time they reach 100 years of age will die and go to Hell.]] [[LaResistance The Other Light faction]] sees GodIsEvil because of this and has prepared for this contingency by passing down their teaching to the next generation of its converts so that the generation that gets to [[FinalBattle confront God and Jesus at the end of the Millennium]] will be "assured victory" when [[SealedEvilInACan Satan is released.]] [[CurbStompBattle Unfortunately for them,]] [[YouCantFightFate it didn't turn out as they hoped.]]
* The trope is mentioned in ''Literature/TheElenium'', where a reference is made to a historical figure creating an empire of a thousand years that barely outlived its founder.
* The [[AntiVillain Lord Ruler]] from ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' called his reign "[[TheEmpire The Final Empire]]", because he believed that the empire ([[{{Immortality}} and he himself]]) would last forever.
* The Literature/ChungKuo boast of their reign having lasted three thousand years. However the reader knows that history has been rewritten so that the Chung Kuo are an ancient Chinese empire that conquered Western Europe in the days ancient Rome, whereas it's actually just 200 years old.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The Lannisters in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' have this goal in mind. In Season 1 Lord Tywin discusses the war plans with his son Jaime, explaining that the events of the coming months will either cement a Lannister/Baratheon dynasty on the Iron Throne that could last a thousand years, or they could collapse into nothing like the Targaryens (who made it to 300 years themselves). [[spoiler:They collapse into nothing in less than 8]].
* In ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' episode "[[Recap/TheWildWildWestS1E11TheNightOfTheRedEyedMadmen The Night of the Red-Eyed Madmen]]", General Grimm is ANaziByAnyOtherName who wants to take over the American Southwest and [[DayOfTheJackboot place it under strict military rule]]. His [[TheDragon second-in-command]] predicts that his reign will last "a thousand years".

[[folder: Music ]]

->Empires built and [[FinalSolution nations burned]]\\

[[folder: Religion ]]
* The Book of Revelation says Christ will reign with the Saints for 1,000 years, during which time Satan is bound. The nature of this reign and whether the time period is meant to be taken literally has been debated throughout the history of Christianity.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Millennial Kingdom, as per ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei''
* Entirely possible in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' ''II'' since the ''Reaper's Due'' DLC officially added immortality to the game, allowing, given the length of the game, a reign of almost seven full centuries of lucky, and conversion to later games in the series allows a single ruler to run the nation for a full millennium or more.
** With timeline extending mods such as When the World Stopped Making Sense, this can even be accomplished without converting the save to a separate game, as demonstrated by the Let's Player Kailvin in one of his last series before leaving ''Website/YouTube'', appropriately titled The 1000 Year Reign.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic: Nazi Science '' sneers'' at your pathetic notions of arithmetic!


[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The "Woodland Critter Christmas" episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', where the TheAntichrist is supposed to "bring a thousand years of darkness to the forest".
* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. One episode revolves around them locking up their dragon Dojo for the day, because on that particular day he'll turn evil, grow two heads and devour all of the magical Shen Gong Wu items, leading to 1,000 years of darkness. The spoof comes from the time being more like 962, but 1,000 sounds more dramatic.

** Later, when Kuvira took Zaofu for her Earth Empire, banners were hanged [[BilingualBonus which read]] “May Kuvira live for 10,000 years.”
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' begins with Twilight Sparkle reading an old legend that states that the stars would aid in the escape of the Nightmare Moon on the longest day of the 1000th year of her banishment, when she would bring about nighttime eternal. Princess Celestia reigned as sole sovereign during this entire time.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* In terms of a single Royal Family managing to pull off a Thousand Year Reign, one of the few examples is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty Capetian Dynasty]]. The current, as of 2021, king of Spain is a direct male-line descendant of Hugh Capet, who was himself crowned King of the Franks in 987. For more than a thousand years, they have almost continuously been kings of ''something'', with few interruptions.

* In UsefulNotes/{{Vietnam}}, ''vạn tuế'' is used in this capacity.

** Another example is the Yamato Dynasty, also known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_House_of_Japan The Imperial House of Japan]]. The first ''historically'' documented Emperor is Kinmei-tennō, who reigned in the mid-6th century, making this the oldest dynasty anywhere in the world. Traditionally, the first Emperor was Jinmu-tennō who started his reign in 660 BC; if true, then the Imperial House of Japan has achieved a genuine ThousandYearReign ''twice.''