The coronation or ascent to the throne by a king is an official act that most clearly shows the sacral character of the kingdom. Until the 20th century two characteristics in the coronations of kings and emperors remained: through ascent to the throne, the king is placed higher than other men, and the act of accession is connected with supernatural powers. With this action a new era begins. In Egypt and Mesopotamia two acts marked the beginning of the government of the new ruler. First, upon the old ruler’s death, the crown prince took control of the government, and soon thereafter he established his accession in a festive celebration. The coronation, which was viewed as a cosmic new beginning, generally had to coincide with a new beginning in nature, such as the New Year’s festival. The most important initial actions of sacred kingship—the ascent to the throne and coronation with proper insignia and king’s robes—have remained the same in many modern cultures. The throne, crown, headdress, garment (as sign of dignity), and sceptre (the staff through which the rule is carried out) were originally believed to contain the power through which the king ruled. The star garment of the Persian king symbolized his world rulership, as did the feather mantle of the kings of Hawaii. In many cultures the throne, the crown, and the sceptre are viewed as divine and identified with gods and goddesses. This view was especially expressed in the Egyptian royal theology: in the hymnal prayer during coronations, the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt were addressed as goddesses of the red and white crown by the king. In India the throne personified the kingdom. Sometimes the throne that a new king ascends is viewed as the throne of the god. The Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, for example, was announced by Horus: “You have appeared on the throne of Horus.” On many Egyptian images the king sits on the throne, and the god is at his side holding a hand over the king.

In becoming someone else (a god), the king receives a new name, a throne name. Throne names are known in Africa, Mesopotamia, and Egypt (where the five throne names comprise the whole king theology: birth name, royal name, hawk name, serpent name, and a name that designates the king as heir of the power of the gods of the stars). In Iran, for example, the king is proclaimed by his royal name as world ruler. Immediately upon the proclamation of the new status of the king and his royal name, the subject people generally evoke a jubilant shout, such as “Long live the king.” An African variety of a response to the proclamation is “He is our corn and our shield,” which shows the importance of the king for his people. Another response to the proclamation is a prayer for the king: African and Polynesian prayers; Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Israelite psalms; and hymns, such as the British hymn “God Save the King.”

The act of adoration of a king is based on the throne rite, which is known only in areas having national kings. Though ascent to the throne and coronation with investiture are worldwide, there are many other rituals connected with sacred kingship. Among these are the anointment of the kings in Israel, India, and Iran, which originated as a ritual that gave strength to the recipient; pseudo-fights (sham battles), from which the king emerges as victor; ritual cleansing; and ritual meals. The survival of elements of the sacred kingship in the Christian West is especially depicted in coronation rites. In early Christian art Christ is shown as kingly ruler on his throne with a royal court; he is emperor and universal ruler. Sacred kingship also survived in the papacy, as well as in the Holy Roman Empire (until the words Holy Roman were dropped in 1806). In the papacy, for example, the court ceremonies employ forms of address that go back to the imperial language of ancient sacred kingdoms: “Holy Father” or “Holiness.”

Ritual roles prescribed for kings in public or state functions

Many and various rituals express the concept that in the chief or king is concentrated the well-being of the country. At the order of a god, a Mesopotamian king might become involved in war; thus, his loot was placed before the god in the temple. If the king made a decision as judge, it was because of his unique wisdom as king. If he mediated a quarrel, the parties recognized his supreme power. The king acted to protect his land against the enemy; after his accession, in some areas, the king shot four arrows to the cardinal directions of the compass. In Africa and Egypt, for example, he then said: “I am shooting down the nations, to overcome them.” He acted to ensure fertility and to distribute growth power when he started sowing corn, the seed of the tribe. He also was regarded as the guardian of the hearth fire (e.g., in Africa and Rome).

The king exercised an important function through his participation in the great festivals, which were of utmost importance to the life of his people. In such festivals, various functions were differentiated: (1) priestly, as when the king presided over the sacrifices, said prayers, and gave the benediction, and (2) cultic participation, as when the king took part in the cult drama. The origin of the cult drama as a spontaneous event is still evident—for example, among the Asante in Africa—but it had its fullest expression in Mesopotamia and Egypt. In the Sed festival in Egypt the king, as ruler, renewed his rulership over the whole world. In the New Year’s festival his ascent to the throne was renewed; and at the festival of Min, the god of life force and reproduction, the king played a significant role.

In Mesopotamia, festivals originating in cultic drama had great importance, especially the Babylonian New Year’s festival. The events of the epic Enuma elish, which describes the sun god Marduk’s victory over the powers of chaos and the resulting creation of the universe, were re-created in the cultic drama of the New Year’s festival, in which the king represented Marduk, the victor and creator. Another cult drama represented the death and resurrection of the god of vegetation, in which the participants in mourning processions searched for the vanished god (represented by the king) and rejoiced at his triumphant return. Yet another Mesopotamian cult drama was the sacred marriage that the god Dumuzi celebrated with the goddess Innana. In the “holy wedding” the king and a priestess represented the god and the goddess, and through their sexual union the forces of growth and fertility in nature were renewed. These cult dramas originated in early prehistory, when gods were identified with the forces of nature and the cultic actions were understood as exerting direct influences on nature. At the Persian New Year’s festival the king appeared as a killer of the dragon, whose rule was identified with the dry season.

The theory of the kingship in which the king occupied the position of mediator between people and gods also implies that the king may have to atone and suffer for the people of the cult. Under such a theory the absolution and reinstatement of the king meant the renewal of land and people. Perhaps behind this theory was a ritual similar to that found among African coronations of prehistory (as, for example, among the Asante) in which the king was beaten by priests before his installation.