Sacral and Divine Ruler in Western Han and Seleucid empires.
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This paper intends to give a brief overview and comparison of the role of sacral and divine rulership in ancient China during the Western Han dynasty and in the ancient Seleucid Empire. It will present an overview of the evolution of ideas about the sacral and divine rulership in both of these ancient states (while at least briefly touching on the period-specific perception of godhood itself), of the process and ideology of deifying a ruler, and of the formal characteristics of the ruler cults. The main intention of the paper is to explain what role (if any) did ruler’s godhood have as their tool of political power, specifically to investigate the importance of sacrality for the legitimacy of the ruler, and to highlight the differences and similarities of both ancient states with respect to the above mentioned and make a comparison of them. |
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