Features and characteristics of despotism. Ancient Eastern despotism. Despotism is ...

The word "despotism" on many people's lips, but people often do not know the exact meaning of the word and use it appropriately and not quite. Below we will describe what despotism is, how different sources interpret this word, and what are its characteristics.

Despotism is what?

We begin with the most general definition of the word. So, despotism is a specific form of the state, when all power belongs exclusively to the monarch. Such power is not regulated by law, the monarchy, as a rule, hereditary, and the ruler rules, relying on the military-administrative apparatus.

Most often, despotism was encountered as a form of state government in the ancient Eastern empires. For example, in Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Babylonia, China, India. Naturally, in this case the word of the despot was a law and was not discussed. It was at the time of despotism that the most stupid and bloody laws were adopted. And this is not surprising, since the personality of the ruler was idolized. A vivid example is the Egyptians. Even after death, Pharaoh was equated with God, and he was given appropriate honors. Despite the fact that the power of the despot was de jure unlimited, de facto everything was not so. The activities of the despot were limited and often even subordinated to the interests of a narrow circle of the nobility. Thus, despotism is a convenient form of government for elites and often coexists with the oligarchy.

Consider the concept of "ancient Eastern despotism"

The concept of eastern despotism comes from Herodotus, the father of history. He described the situation when the rulers did not just close the temples, large and small, but also forced the people to build themselves huge, majestic tombs and tombs. The concept of the ancient East despotism had certain features. Thus, the head of state, the ruler of the court and the personification of the universal law, was a despot ruler. He was worshiped, he was deified, he was hated and feared. The form of government was, of course, monarchical, and power was inherited. But the despot could not rule without reliance on a powerful ramified administrative apparatus. It was necessary to effectively manage a diverse society, in which various strata were formed, not to mention the formed property inequality. In addition, in ancient times the society of the East took shape and acquired those features that can be traced even today. For example, it was differentiated, and each social layer did not just have its place in the hierarchy, but also differed in its organization, rights and responsibilities. It was on such a foundation that the rudiments of despotism of the Ancient East could form and flourish.

Hierarchy of the ancient Eastern society

Speaking about the society of the Ancient East, we can not ignore such a social phenomenon as slaves. Most often it was the so-called home slavery, when the slave was the property of a huge family. In addition, the slaves worked in the temple complexes, in construction, in the fields. Who became a slave?

In principle, any man could become a slave. Most often, this social layer was replenished by prisoners of war. But it also happened that a free man could become a slave. This is debt bondage. The more and more the community became, the larger the scale it acquired the debt slavery. If we talk about slavery in general, then in Egypt and China at the turn of the 2-3 centuries even created markets, which sold only slaves for every taste. Slave could afford to buy even a shepherd, a gardener or artisan of the middle hand. This also includes despotism. All this points to the enormous scale of the slave trade.

Characteristic features of the eastern despotism

First, it is the religious content of the power of the despotic ruler. The monarch under despotism is considered an animated god, his incarnation. Accordingly, his authority was given by none other than the Most High, and was absolute.

The monarch was considered the only judge, a measure of the legitimacy of any act. All this talked about this: from attitudes toward the monarch to his title. Such a statement of the problem of power was to unite society. And it united. After all, if the power is given to the monarch from above, if it is given to him from God, then it is simply useless to contradict the ruler. This is stupid, because the divine power is wise by definition and is aimed at the good of the people. Therefore, the power of the despot and kept, the people were simply afraid to go against their ruler. Moreover, he was considered nothing more than a supreme priest or head of the entire priestly hierarchy. Let us consider other characteristic traits of despotism.

Obligations of the despot as head of the priestly hierarchy

He had every right to conduct all religious ceremonies related to the birth and cycle of fertility. In some cases, the ruler could even cancel the veneration of the old gods and establish an entirely new cult (as happened in Egypt).

But what the ruling monarch should not do at all is to take part in rituals connected with death. This was partly due to the fact that the divine power could only bear good, only win, but not sow death and sorrow. In addition, sometimes the rulers introduced their own cult. This created the impression of immunity, the sacredness of the body of the ruler. Consequently, the attempt could be equated with sacrilege, acting against God (or gods) and punished in the most severe manner. For example, an unlucky killer could be executed, expelled, and the like. But not everything was so smooth.

Gold cage for the despot

Despotism is not inviolability. The monarch lived in a golden cage, because he was bound by many restrictions. For example, his life was clearly regulated by palace etiquette, conventions and prejudices. Often this was done in order to protect the sacred monarch. However, sometimes the ruler could even be killed simply because, according to the astrologer, his life on earth had expired. It is not necessary to explain why the courts always had a magician-forecaster. Any ruler was interested in that the astrologer maximally prolong his life. As a result, it was astrologers who played the role of "gray cardinals", because, paradoxically, the life of the semi-divine ruler depended on them.

Let us touch on the peculiarities of the power of the despotic monarch

His position had nothing to do with the identification of the ruler and the state itself. He simply took his place among other binding institutions of power. And yet his power was not so unlimited. For example, the ruler obeyed a lot of laws and rules established earlier. Yes, the ruler could establish new rules of life by issuing laws and decrees, but at the same time, these laws had some limitations.

In particular, they should not contradict the fundamental foundations of society. An excellent example of this may be India. Although the ruler could issue any decrees, they should not in any case touch upon the violation of the caste system and the life of people, issues related to faith. Very interesting is the question of who decides whether this or that law corresponds to the will of the gods or violates it. Even in Babylon, the adopted laws should not conflict with the traditional principles of law and order. Even the first set of laws was created as an attempt to shield traditional practices from new destructive phenomena in society.

Could the despot judge?

In addition, the power of the despot did not contain judicial rights. He by default was the ruler of justice. He could pardon the criminal or punish him at his discretion. Sometimes there appeared a kind of royal justice, for example, the representative of such a court was Solomon. Thus, despotism is often not what people mean by this word.