There is hardly a grander or more widespread image found in Achaemenid sources than that of the king. He was the dispenser of protection, justice, and authority and his presence was woven into every strand of ancient Persian culture.
Yet the king was not a law unto himself. He was subject to the will of Ahuramazda and ‘the other gods who are’ and his major function was to be an example of a humble (if honoured) servant of the gods. Concerning the security of Persia and its people, it was Ahuramazda himself who was a ‘divine warrior’ and he empowered the king with the strength and skill to fight in battles and bring about the ‘truth’ which he had created at the dawn of time. This Persian concept, shared with other Near Eastern monarchic ideologies, was so deep-set that Hebrew prophets were able to transfer the intimate relationship between the Persian king and Ahuramazda to the Isrelite god Yahweh and the Persian king. Thus, Cyrus the Great was addressed by Yahweh as ‘my shepherd’ and ‘my anointed one’ (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1).
In circuit around the king were his many courtiers, the hereditary nobles of the realm as well as the administrators, civil servants, guards, doctors, and body servants who made up the royal household. The study of these nobles and servants provides rich insights into discourses of power. The Great King needed courtiers for both practical and symbolic reasons, because these individuals performed important and menial tasks, kept the large and complex imperial household smoothly functioning, and influenced imperial law and policy. Achaemenid rulership required that the king maintain a lavish lifestyle and his court had to be bigger, grander, and more complex than anything lesser mortals could devise. In many respects the Achaemenid court is analogous to the divine courts of the gods we read of in Mesopotamian, Levantine, and Egyptian mythological texts (Brettler 1989) and the hierarchical structure of the Achaemenid secular court placed the Persian ruler in the role of the god in a parallel heavenly court.
World History
