GoingToMeet

The period from Alexander to Machiavelli and the geographical compass of the Middle East and Europe lends itself in particular to such a study because of the many historical, political and intellectual connections and contrasts such a frame represents. European theorists in the medieval period looked back to Alexander and Greek political thought for their models of ideal kingship, just as the Middle Eastern monarchs built on and developed the models of kingship they inherited from Alexander and from the Alexander traditions. The relationship to the divine was similarly important across these periods and places, whether for king as priest, hand of god, or god himself. Likewise, itinerant kingship was found in both the ancient Middle East and medieval Europe.

This conference will examine different styles of kingship as a means of negotiating power and legitimating of authority. By looking at actual kings, theoretical kings and idealised kings in the Middle East, Iran and medieval Europe it will consider the relationships between kingship and the divine, law and justice; examine kingship as a mode of authority created and maintained through war, as well as through nomadism; and reflect on the kinds and importance of images of kingship as a means of expressing and asserting royal power.