Editing Divine right of kings (section)

== Religious traditions ==

=== Hinduism ===

The [[Hindu]] text [[Mahabharata]] contains several concepts of kingship, especially underscoring its divine origins. The king is considered an embodiment of [[Indra]], and fealty to him is considered as submitting to divine authority. In the Rajadharmanusasana Parva, [[Bhishma]] talks of the period before men had kings, and there was chaos all around -

{{Blockquote|It has been heard by [[Bhishma|us]] that men, in days of old, in consequence of anarchy, met with destruction, devouring one another like stronger fishes devouring the weaker ones in the water. It has been heard by us that a few amongst them then, assembling together, made certain compacts, saying, 'He who becomes harsh in speech, or violent in temper, he who seduces or abducts other people’s wives or robs the wealth that belongs to others, should be cast off by us.' For inspiring confidence among all classes of the people, they made such a compact and lived for some time. Assembling after some time they proceeded in affliction to the [[Brahma|Grandsire]], saying, 'Without a king, O divine lord, we are going to destruction. Appoint some one as our king. All of us shall worship him and he shall protect us.'.<ref name="The Mahabharata">{{cite web | url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-mahabharata-mohan/d/doc826023.html | title=Section LXVII &#91;Mahabharata, English&#93; | date=17 August 2021 }}</ref>}}

The Mahabharata also mentions that in a land without king or royal authority, [[Vedas|Vedic]] rituals are ineffectual and [[Agni]] does not convey sacrificial libations to the gods.

=== Zoroastrianism (Iranian world) ===
{{Main|Khvarenah}}
[[File:IranNIRInvestiturArdechirI.jpg|thumb|[[Ahura Mazda]] gives divine kingship to Ardashir.|left]]

Khvarenah (also spelled ''khwarenah'' or ''xwarra(h)'': {{langx|ae|𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵}} ''{{Transliteration|ae|xᵛarənah}}''; {{Langx|fa|فرّ|translit=far}}) is an Iranian and [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] concept, which literally means ''glory'', about divine right of the kings. This may stem from early Mesopotamian culture, where kings were often regarded as deities after their death. [[Shulgi]] of [[Ur]] was among the first Mesopotamian rulers to declare himself to be divine. In the Iranian view, kings would never rule, unless Khvarenah is with them, and they will never fall unless Khvarenah leaves them. For example, according to the ''[[Karnamag-i Artaxshir-i Papakan|Kar-namag of Ardashir]],'' when [[Ardashir I of Persia]] and [[Artabanus V of Parthia]] fought for the throne of Iran, on the road Artabanus and his contingent are overtaken by an enormous ram, which is also following Ardashir. Artabanus's religious advisors explain to him that the ram is the manifestation of the ''khwarrah'' of the ancient Iranian kings, which is leaving Artabanus to join Ardashir.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kar namag i Ardashir 4.11.16 and 4.11.22-23}}</ref>

=== Judaism ===
While the earliest references to kingship among [[Israelites|Israel]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]] proclaim that  <blockquote>14.When you come [[Canaan|to the land]] that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me'.

15. You may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.([[Book of Deuteronomy|Deut]] 17:14-15). </blockquote>Significant debate on the legitimacy of kingship has persisted in Rabbinical Judaism until [[Maimonides]], though many mainstream currents continue to reject the notion.

The controversy is highlighted by the instructions to the Israelites in the above-quoted passage, as well as the passages in 1 Samuel 8 and 12, concerning the dispute over kingship; and ''[[Shofetim (parashah)|Perashat Shoftim]].''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Polish |first=David |date=1991 |title=RABBINIC VIEWS ON KINGSHIP — A STUDY IN JEWISH SOVEREIGNTY |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25834198 |journal=Jewish Political Studies Review |volume=3 |issue=1/2 |pages=67–90 |jstor=25834198 |issn=0792-335X}}</ref>  It is from 1 Samuel 8 that the [[Israelites|people of Israel]] receive ''mishpat ha-melech,'' the ''ius regium'', or the law of kingship, and from this passage that Maimonides finally concludes that Judaism supports the institution of monarchy, stating that the Israelites had been given three commandments upon entering the [[Promised Land]] - to designate a king for themselves, to wipe out the memory of [[Amalek]], and to build the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Polish |first=David |date=Spring 1991 |title=RABBINIC VIEWS ON KINGSHIP — A STUDY IN JEWISH SOVEREIGNTY |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25834198 |journal=Jewish Political Studies Review |publisher=[[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]] |location=Jerusalem |volume=3 |issue=1/2 |pages=67–90 |jstor=25834198 |issn=0792-335X}}</ref>

The debate has primarily centered around the problem of being told to "designate" a king, which some rabbinical sources have argued is an invocation ''against'' a divine right of kings, and a call to elect a leader, in opposition to a notion of a divine right.  Other rabbinical arguments have put forward an idea that it is through the collective decision of the people that God's will is made manifest, and that the king does therefore have a divine right - once appointed by the nation, he is God's emissary.

[[Halakha|Jewish law]] requires one to recite a special blessing upon seeing a monarch: "Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, Who has given from His glory to flesh and blood".<ref>{{Cite web |first=Yehuda|last=Shurpin |title=Rabbi, Is There a Blessing for the Czar? How about the president? |website=Chabad |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5205488/jewish/Rabbi-Is-There-a-Blessing-for-the-Czar.htm}}</ref>

===Christianity ===
The Christian notion of a divine right of kings is traced to a story found in [[1 Samuel]], where the prophet [[Samuel]] anoints [[Saul]] and then [[King David|David]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=1 Samuel 16 |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel+16&version=KJ21 |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=Biblegateway}}</ref> as ''[[Messiah]]'' ("anointed one")—king over [[Israelites|Israel]]. In Jewish traditions, the lack of a divine leadership represented by an [[Anointing|anointed]] king, beginning shortly after the death of [[Joshua]], left the people of Israel vulnerable, and the promise of the "promised land" was not fully fulfilled until a king was anointed by a prophet on behalf of God.

The effect of anointing was seen to be that the monarch became inviolable, so that even when Saul sought to kill David, David would not raise his hand against him because "he was the Lord's anointed". Raising a hand to a king was therefore considered to be as sacrilegious as raising a hand against God and stood on equal footing as blasphemy. In essence, the king stood in place of God and was never to be challenged "without the challenger being accused of blasphemy" &ndash; except by a prophet, which under Christianity was replaced by the church.