Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Figures......Page 8
Table......Page 10
Notes on contributors......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 13
Abbreviations......Page 14
Introduction......Page 17
Introduction......Page 33
Historical background......Page 35
External influence on the establishment of the Persian court......Page 36
The Babylonian and Assyrian courts......Page 39
The Achaemenid court......Page 41
King’s Councillors, Royal Judges and the King’s Eye......Page 46
A court for royal women?......Page 47
Royal physicians......Page 50
The outer court......Page 51
Structures of communication......Page 55
Royal representation and royal centre......Page 56
Royal banquets and royal hunt......Page 57
The royal entourage......Page 61
The physical space of the court: Pasargadae, Persepolis and Susa......Page 62
Persepolis and Susa......Page 66
Ways of recruitment......Page 69
Manifestation of social ranking through royal gifts......Page 70
Conclusion......Page 72
Introduction......Page 74
A short history of the Sasanian empire......Page 75
The sources......Page 77
The constitution of the court......Page 79
Social ranking in the Sasanian empire and court and the recruitment of ‘courtiers’......Page 82
The ‘stateliness’ of the court and structures of communication at court......Page 87
Royal representation: manners and the cultural example of the court......Page 90
Conclusion......Page 94
Introduction......Page 98
Issues of definition......Page 99
Bias in the ancient evidence......Page 104
The court of Philip II......Page 106
Alexander’s court before 330 BC......Page 108
Alexander’s initial adoption of Persian court ceremonial (330 BC)......Page 109
Alexander’s tented quarters......Page 110
Feasts and audiences......Page 113
Upgrading the royal table......Page 115
Timing and context of the adoption of Persian ceremonial......Page 117
Social ranking, court ceremonial and obeisance......Page 118
Conclusion: court and state-building......Page 122
A. The ancient texts......Page 128
B. Commentary......Page 134
Introduction......Page 137
The genesis of the emperor’s court at Rome......Page 144
Modelling monarchy and the Dictator’s Dilemma......Page 150
Imperial circles......Page 156
Ritual and routine......Page 161
Palatium......Page 167
Autocracy and the court......Page 171
The imperial court in the late Roman state: ‘absolutism’, imperial ‘decline’ and the notion of ‘the court society’......Page 173
‘The court’: late Roman terms of description and sources of information......Page 183
Elite reconfiguration and the ‘sociogenesis’ of late Roman ‘court society’......Page 188
Descriptive particulars: the late Roman court and its workings......Page 203
The court as a human collectivity: the emperor’s comitatus......Page 212
The ‘sacred’ emperor’s self-display: court ceremonial and protocol......Page 225
Concluding remarks......Page 241
Introduction......Page 249
The Han court in a historical perspective......Page 250
The palaces and the establishment of the court......Page 253
The reign of Emperor Wu as a watershed in the development of the Han court......Page 258
Role and function of the emperor at court......Page 261
The emperor at leisure......Page 266
The role of the harem......Page 269
The eunuchs......Page 275
Conclusion......Page 278
Appendix: the sources......Page 280
7 Court and palace in ancient Egypt: the Amarna
period and later Eighteenth Dynasty......Page 283
The sources......Page 284
The historical context......Page 288
The origins of the Egyptian court......Page 291
King and court......Page 294
The structure of the Egyptian court......Page 296
The courtier......Page 300
Court politics......Page 307
Power, influence and intrigue......Page 311
The residence city and the architectural settings of court life......Page 318
Court ceremonial......Page 327
Major festivals......Page 328
The ‘Window of Appearance’ reward scenes......Page 329
Daily activity within the palace......Page 334
The life of the Amarna courtier beyond the palace......Page 338
Conclusions......Page 342
Bibliography......Page 345
Index......Page 370