Theory of Divine Right of Kingship free essay sample

Chiefs who declare their leadership through kin descent become focused on control of land and resources. As a result, they seek to gain political advantage. Their position in a descent hierarchy typically enables them to call upon ancestors for assistance. Clan rank can typically be associated with associations of spiritual powers. This fusion of the political and social worlds with the religious world is assumed to be ordered and logical. As a result, it is relatively easy to take make a claim of divine kingship. Hierarchical structure would then evolve logically from the chiefdom into a divine kingship as population growth increased and the need for greater political authority and control developed. The issue becomes one of how much control and how far does it reach. Various types of sacred kingship have prevailed in ancient cultures. There are three basic characteristics of sacred kings: (1) they are the receptacle of supernatural or divine power; (2) they descend from divine or semi-divine rulers; and 3) they are agents or mediators of the sacred. We will write a custom essay sample on Theory of Divine Right of Kingship or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Societies view their rulers or chiefs as inheritors of the communitys magical power. The rulers power may be both malevolent and beneficial, and it is believed to be essential in all dimensions of communal life, particularly in agricultural societies where the rulers influence over the weather and the lands fertility ensure the harvest necessary for survival. The supernatural powers of the chief may also protect the community from enemies and calamities and so maintain welfare and order. In this sense, the power of the divine king is based on their ability to divine or access the wisdom of the gods and to be master of the world making things happen according to his knowledge and will. In some societies, particularly those of ancient China, the Middle East, and South America, the ruler was identified with a particular god or as a god himself. The kings of ancient Egypt and Persia and the ruler of the Hittites were regarded as incarnations of the sun-god; the Egyptian king was also identified with the sky-god, as was the emperor of China who drew his Mandate from Heaven. However, the god-king was usually considered an individual deity independent of all others he also could be regarded as the son of a god, an idea found in the cultures such as Japan, Peru (Incas), Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Greek and Roman worlds. The mother of the divine king might then be referred to as mother of god. Finally, a king or ruler might become deified after his death, but this transformation appears more akin to ancestor worship than to sacred kingship in its fullest sense. Sacred kingship often are viewed as ruler mediators or executive agents of a god if they are not gods themselves outright. In this sense, it is the institution of kingship, more than an individual ruler, that bears the mark of the sacred. The deity remains the true lord, while the king seeks to do the will of this god in the community; the king is the link between god and man, the spiritual and the material. All types of sacred kingship share a number of basic functions that the king must fulfill to varying degrees depending on the society and culture. The kings role as bearer of magical power and his influence over the weather, fertility, and health are clear. In a sense, the king would be regarded as more or less the good shepherd who feeds and cares for his flock. Protecting the community from enemies is another crucial function of many sacred kings who, as warlords, attempt to use their divine knowledge and power to make strategic decisions and successfully carry out the proper course of action. This is particularly clear in the Mayan world where supernatural spirit companions such as jaguars played an important role as sources of power and influence. Divine kings may often be a seer or priest in a religious sense. They will function to mediate or divine through oracles, dreams, or prophecies theater believed to hold the divine commands of the Gods themselves. In many cultures, however, the priestly office and its ritual may be entrusted to a special priestly class, although the sacred king is rarely excluded from it. Because the king is believed to be in contact with the sacred, his judicial authority is generally recognized. The ruler may mediate disputes and protect the individuals rights, establishing laws to ensure a stable balance of power in the community. The kings ability to maintain social order has sometimes been extended to the cosmic order, which is thought to be influenced by the sacred rulers earthly actions; conversely, the king can be held responsible for disrupting the cosmos and so causing natural calamities and misfortune. So the trick is to have the magic work as much as possible for the ruler to appear successful.