Divine king
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A divine king is a monarch who is held in a special religious significance by his subjects, and serves as both head of state and a deity or head religious figure.
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[edit] Examples of divine kings in history
Some examples of historic leaders who are often considered divine kings are:
- Japanese Emperors before 1945
- Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
- Kings of the Mayan city-states of the Classical period[citation needed]
- Inca Emperors in Pre-Columbian Peru[citation needed]
- The Dalai Lamas of Tibet
- Many Roman emperors were declared gods by the Roman Senate (generally after their death). (See Imperial cult (ancient Rome))
- Chinese Christian leader Hong Xiuquan, leader of the Taiping Rebellion, claimed to be Christ's younger brother, and attempted to establish rule as a divine king.
- Javanese Kings during Hindu-Buddhist era (4th century - 15th century AD) such as Sailendra dynasty, Kediri, Singhasari, and Majapahit empire.
- Srivijaya emperors.
- Kings of Khmer Empire, Cambodia.
- Caligula.
[edit] Examples of divine kings in fiction
- Leto II in God Emperor of Dune: has near immortality and prescience, making him a divine king in a more literal fashion.
- The Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind in Warhammer 40,000: immortal with great physical strength and immense psychic powers, he denies his divinity during his life, but by the time of the game's setting, he has been in a coma indefinitely and relies on a giant life support machine, the Golden Throne, to sustain him. In the 10,000 years elapsed he has been officially declared the God-Emperor of all Mankind by his subjects.
- Xerxes I of Persia in 300: referred to as a god-king; in reallity, he was not.
- Lizard-like alien feudal battle lords in John Ringo's military sci-fi Alldenata series: are called "God-kings," because of the slavish loyalty their troops show in battle.
- Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
- Venix, Immortal Emperor of Aranock, his divine power is wielded to control the masses of warriors, mages and Seyan'Du which populate the mythical world of Aranock Online.
- Sauron from The Lord of the Rings is worshipped as a deity by his slaves as is the White Witch Jadis from the works of CS Lewis.
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] Further reading
- Dean Nelson. "Nepal humbles its god-king", The Sunday Times, 2006-06-23.
- Maria Baptist (Spring 1997). The Rastafari. Buried Cities and Lost Tribes.
- Rick Effland (Spring 1997). Definition of Divine kingship. Buried Cities and Lost Tribes.
- The World of God Kings. Buried Cities and Lost Tribes (Spring 1997).
- H.E. Ameresekere (July 1931). "The Kataragama God: Shrines and Legends". Ceylon Literary Register 1: 289–292.
- F. A. Marglin (1989). Wives of the God-King. The RituaLs of the Devadasis of Puri. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
