The history of kings

Democracy can’t compete with the history of kings

Hywel Williams

13 October 2007

An archaeological site reveals the resilience of monarchy

The fact that the 20th century was so secularising a period in industrialised Europe makes it difficult for most Westerners to appreciate the old order’s religious basis. Elizabeth II is probably the last European ruler who actually believes in ‘sacral kingship’ as a contract between god and ruler. But the Queen’s subjects by and large find the idea of the sacred either alien or preposterous. A very ancient link and source of royal authority has therefore been dissolved — a fact that lends additional instability to the prospect of her eldest son’s reign.

It is appropriate, though, that the Middle East should now produce the latest historical evidence of kingly rule. Saudi Arabia and Jordan slip easily enough into what now seems to be a 6,000-year history of regal tradition within the region. And even Middle Eastern countries without a formal monarch — such as Syria — conform to the ancient norms and protocols of palace societies with factions forming and rumours whirling around the ruler. The years since 1948 show the profound gap between this ancient version of power and the novelty of the Israeli alternative — a product of the European 19th-century world-view about what constitutes a well-run state: nationalist identity, democratic institutions and advanced technology. Modernity here meant jettisoning sacral kingship and breaking those flasks of holy oil. But if we want to know what our ancient and not-so-ancient rulers were really like, we should look to the rest of the Middle East today.

Hywel Williams is a contributing editor of The Spectator. His latest book, Sun Kings: A History of Magnificent Kingship, is published by Quercus.