Courts and elites in the Hellenistic empires : the Near East after the Achaemenids, c. 330 to 30 BCE / [electronic resource]
Strootman, Rolf,author.
Rolf Strootman brings together various aspects of court culture in the Macedonian empires of the post-Achaemenid Near East. During the Hellenistic Period (c. 330-30 BCE), Alexander the Great and his successors reshaped their Persian and Greco-Macedonian legacies to create a new kind of rulership that was neither 'western' nor 'eastern' and would profoundly influence the later development of court culture and monarchy in both the Roman West and Iranian East. Drawing on the socio-political models of Norbert Elias and Charles Tilly, After the Achaemenids shows how the Hellenistic dynastic courts were instrumental in the integration of local elites in the empires, and the (re)distribution of power, wealth, and status. It analyses the competition among courtiers for royal favour and the, not always successful, attempts of the Hellenistic rulers to use these struggles to their own advantage.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015).
Machine generated contents note: pt. I SETTING THE SCENE -- 1. The Court as an Instrument of Power -- 2. The Theatre of Royalty -- 3. The Royal Palace: A Stage for Royal Rituals -- pt. II THE COURT AS A SOCIO-POLITICAL SYSTEM -- 4. The Royal Household -- 5. Court Society -- 6. Royal Pages -- 7. Social Dynamics -- 8. Hierarchy and Conflict -- pt. III CEREMONIAL AND RITUAL -- 9. Ceremonial and Protocol -- 10. Death and Resurrection: Inauguration Ritual -- 11. The Royal Entry -- 12. Royal Processions: Enacting the Myth of Empire.
Rolf Strootman brings together various aspects of court culture in the Macedonian empires of the post-Achaemenid Near East. During the Hellenistic Period (c. 330-30 BCE), Alexander the Great and his successors reshaped their Persian and Greco-Macedonian legacies to create a new kind of rulership that was neither 'western' nor 'eastern' and would profoundly influence the later development of court culture and monarchy in both the Roman West and Iranian East. Drawing on the socio-political models of Norbert Elias and Charles Tilly, After the Achaemenids shows how the Hellenistic dynastic courts were instrumental in the integration of local elites in the empires, and the (re)distribution of power, wealth, and status. It analyses the competition among courtiers for royal favour and the, not always successful, attempts of the Hellenistic rulers to use these struggles to their own advantage.
Elite (Social sciences)
Elite (Social sciences)