The court and court society in ancient monarchies / edited by A. J. S. Spawforth.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Spawforth, Antony.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Courts and courtiers.

Kings and rulers, Ancient.

Monarchy.

Physical Description:

xiii, 358 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Summary:

Monarchy was widespread as a political system in the ancient world. This volume offers the first substantial discussion of ancient monarchies from the viewpoint of the ruler's court. The monarchies treated are Achaemenid and Sasanian Persia, the empire of Alexander, Rome under both the early and later Caesars, the Han rulers of China and Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty. A comparative approach is adopted to major aspects of ancient courts, including their organisation and physical setting, their role as a vehicle for display, and their place in monarchial structures of power and control. This approach is broadly inspired by work on courts in later periods of history, especially early-modern France. The case studies confirm that ancient monarchies created the conditions for the emergence of a court and court society. The culturally specific conditions in which these monarchies functioned meant variety in the character of the ruler's court from one society to another.

Contents:

1 New out of old? Court and court ceremonies in Achaemenid Persia / Maria Brosius 17

2 King, court and royal representation in the Sasanian empire / Josef Wiesehofer 58

3 The court of Alexander the Great between Europe and Asia / Tony Spawforth 82

4 Friends in high places: the creation of the court of the Roman emperor / Jeremy Paterson 121

5 The imperial court of the late Roman empire, c. AD 300-c. AD 450 / Rowland Smith 157

6 The imperial court in Han China / Hans Van Ess 233

7 Court and palace in ancient Egypt: the Amarna period and later Eighteenth Dynasty / Kate Spence 267.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [329]-353) and index.

ISBN:

0521874483

9780521874489

OCLC:

86090277

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description