The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies

374 Pages·2007·4.31 MB·English

by  A. J. S. Spawforth

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TheCourtandCourtSocietyinAncientMonarchies
Monarchywaswidespreadasapoliticalsystemintheancientworld.
Thisvolumeoffersthefirstsubstantialdiscussionofancientmonar-
chiesfromtheviewpointoftheruler’scourt.Themonarchiestreated
areAchaemenidandSasanianPersia,theempireofAlexander,Rome
underboththeearlyandlaterCaesars,theHanrulersofChinaand
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
monarchicalstructuresofpowerandcontrol.Thisapproachisbroadly
inspiredbyworkoncourtsinlaterperiodsofhistory,especiallyearly
modernFrance.Thecasestudiesconfirmthatancientmonarchiescre-
atedtheconditionsfortheemergenceofacourtandcourtsociety.The
culturally specific conditions in which these monarchies functioned
meantvarietyinthecharacteroftheruler’scourtfromonesocietyto
another.
a. j. s. spawforth is Professor of Ancient History at the
University of Newcastle. His publications include Hellenistic and
RomanSparta:ATaleofTwoCities(withPaulCartledge,2ndedition,
2002),TheCompleteGreekTemples(2006)andco-editing,withSimon
Hornblower, The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd edition revised,
2003).

The Court and Court Society
in Ancient Monarchies
Editedby
a. j. s. spawforth
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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Cambridge University Press
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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© Cambridge University Press 2007
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2007
ISBN-13 978-0-511-35457-1 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-10 0-511-35457-6 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-87448-9 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-87448-3 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
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Contents
List of figures [page vi]
Listoftables [viii]
Notesoncontributors [ix]
Acknowledgements [xi]
Listofabbreviations [xii]
Introduction [1]
tony spawforth
1 Newoutofold?CourtandcourtceremoniesinAchaemenid
Persia [17]
maria brosius
2 King,courtandroyalrepresentationintheSasanian
empire [58]
josef wieseho¨fer
3 ThecourtofAlexandertheGreatbetweenEuropeandAsia [82]
tony spawforth
4 Friendsinhighplaces:thecreationofthecourtoftheRoman
emperor [121]
jeremy paterson
5 TheimperialcourtofthelateRomanempire,
c.AD300–c.AD450 [157]
rowland smith
6 TheimperialcourtinHanChina [233]
hans van ess
7 CourtandpalaceinancientEgypt:theAmarnaperiodandlater
EighteenthDynasty [267]
kate spence
Bibliography [329]
Index [354]
Figures
1.1 StaircaseoftheApadana(afterF.Krefter) page28
1.2 AudiencescenefromPersepolis.Photo:M.Brosius 32
1.3 PlanofPasargadae.DrawingbyMarionCox 48
1.4 PlanofPersepolis 50
2.1 ReliefofShabuhrIatNaqsh-iRajabnearPersepolis.
Photo:J.Wieseho¨fer 68
2.2 ThedeerhuntfromthereliefofKhusroIIatTaq-iBustan.
Photo:J.Wieseho¨fer 76
5.1 The‘palace’ofDiocletianatSplit(artist’sreconstructionby
E.He´brard.PhotographfromE.He´brardandJ.Zeiller,
Spalato,lePalaisdeDiocl´etien,Paris1912) 190
5.2 The‘palace’ofDiocletianatSplit(plan,fromD.S.Robinson,
GreekandRomanArchitecture,Cambridge,1929) 192
5.3 TheodosiusIandhiscourtintheHippodromein
Constantinople 214
5.4 The‘MissoriumofTheodosius’(RealAcademiadeHistoria,
Madrid).PhotobyVisipix.com 217
5.5 Leafofanivorydiptychcommemoratingtheentryof
ProbianusintohistermofofficeasVicariusofRome(from
L.vonSybelChristlicheAntik´e,volume2.Marburg,1909) 218
7.1 RoyalprocessionfromtheNarmerPalette 270
7.2 Akhenatenandhisfamilyinchariots(reproducedbykind
permissionoftheEgyptExplorationSociety) 292
7.3 Huyawiththeroyalfamily(reproducedbykindpermission
oftheEgyptExplorationSociety) 296
7.4 Planofel-Amarna 304
7.5 ThepalaceofAmenhotepIIIatKomel-‘Abd 306
7.6 TheKing’sHouseatel-Amarna(reproducedbykind
permissionoftheEgyptExplorationSociety) 307
7.7 TheNorthPalaceatel-Amarna 308
7.8 Thereceptionofforeigntribute(reproducedbykind
permissionoftheEgyptExplorationSociety) 314
Listoffigures vii
7.9 AkhenatenandNefertitirewardingtheofficialParennefer
(reproducedbykindpermissionoftheEgyptExploration
Society) 315
7.10 RewardscenefromthetombofAyatel-Amarna(reproduced
bykindpermissionoftheEgyptExplorationSociety) 321
Table
2.1 TableshowingtherulersoftheSasaniandynasty page80