Narratives of Kingship in Eurasian Empires, 1300–1800
This volume examines how kingship was constructed and legitimized through narratives in Eurasian empires (1300–1800), exploring themes of divine authority, genealogy, and political symbolism across different cultural and political contexts.
Background
- This is an academic Open Access book (published by Brill, 2017) examining how kingship was conceptualized and narrated across early modern Eurasian empires — including the Ottomans, Mughals, Safavids, Russians, and Habsburgs.
- The "narratives of kingship" approach treats royal texts, chronicles, and court culture not just as propaganda but as efforts to reconcile local traditions (e.g., steppe nomadic heritage, Islamic caliphate ideas, Byzantine caesaropapism) with the practical challenges of ruling diverse, multi-ethnic empires.
- Key context: the post-Mongol period (1300–1800) saw the rise of "gunpowder empires" that blended Persianate court culture, Turco-Mongol legitimacy, and religious authority. The book analyzes how rulers presented themselves simultaneously as warrior-kings, pious patrons, lawgivers, and universal sovereigns.
- Relevant for understanding pre-modern state formation, comparative imperial ideology, and the deep roots of political legitimacy narratives that still resonate in post-imperial nation-states across Eurasia.