Religious and Political Power in Ancient and Medieval States
Religion is a fundamental aspect to pre-industrial civilization throughout the world. It is a universal human trait to have religious views, and beliefs. Therefore, it is no surprise that religious authorities, such as priests, and rabbis exercised great power, both politically, and socially over the followers of their faith. Political authorities such as kings, feudal lords, and emperors likewise relied on religious authority much of the time in order to establish the legitimacy of their rule. In earliest of pre-industrial societies, political authority was sometimes synonymous with religious authority. The two are often fundamentally at odds, and in need of each other simultaneously …show more content…
Either by their position as a priest or by their self-declaration of divinity. This union of the two authorities under one body occurred quite often, specifically in ancient Mesopotamia. One primary example is Hammurabi. Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, and was seen by many as a god himself. He Conquered all of ancient Mesopotamia, and brought it under one Babylonian rule. He required all subjects to pay homage to Marduk, who according to ancient texts, was elected king of the gods, after defeating Tiamat, the watery god of chaos. Because of Hammurabi’s proclaimed divinity (2.1), his rule was secure. Hammurabi is most known for his creation of a legal code, known appropriately as Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi, who was appointed by Marduk (2.1), saw it as his divine responsibly to bring about order over his subjects. We know this from a passage in chapter 2.1; “When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to the land, I did right and righteousness in ..., and brought about the well-being of the oppressed.” (Early civilization, 2) Though Hammurabi was Babylonian royalty before his reign, he used his divine and religious authority to cement his rule, and to expand his …show more content…
This event was called the Investiture Controversy, and is considered the most prolific conflict between political, and religious authorities in medieval Europe. Pope Gregory even goes far enough to excommunicate Henry IV, and strip him of all titles. “On the strength of this belief therefore, for the honour and security of thy church, in the name of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I withdraw, through thy power and authority, from Henry the king, son of Henry the emperor, who has risen against thy church with unheard of insolence, the rule over the whole kingdom of the Germans and over Italy. And I absolve all Christians from the bonds of the oath which they have made or shall make to him; and I forbid any one to serve him as king.” (The Investiture Controversy, 3) This act by pope Gregory resulted in a civil war between the holy roman empire, and Rome backed rebel groups, led by Duke Rudolph of Swabia. After the Duke died, Henry IV was able to conquer Rome, and install a new Pope, Clement III. An event similar to the Investiture Controversy occurred in 1302 between Pope Boniface the VIII and Philip IV the Fair of France. Pope Boniface VIII responded to a challenge by Philip IV over the taxation of clergy, to fund wars between England and France. After the Pope excommunicated The French king, Phillip
Religion is a fundamental aspect to pre-industrial civilization throughout the world. It is a universal human trait to have religious views, and beliefs. Therefore, it is no surprise that religious authorities, such as priests, and rabbis exercised great power, both politically, and socially over the followers of their faith. Political authorities such as kings, feudal lords, and emperors likewise relied on religious authority much of the time in order to establish the legitimacy of their rule. In earliest of pre-industrial societies, political authority was sometimes synonymous with religious authority. The two are often fundamentally at odds, and in need of each other simultaneously …show more content…
Either by their position as a priest or by their self-declaration of divinity. This union of the two authorities under one body occurred quite often, specifically in ancient Mesopotamia. One primary example is Hammurabi. Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, and was seen by many as a god himself. He Conquered all of ancient Mesopotamia, and brought it under one Babylonian rule. He required all subjects to pay homage to Marduk, who according to ancient texts, was elected king of the gods, after defeating Tiamat, the watery god of chaos. Because of Hammurabi’s proclaimed divinity (2.1), his rule was secure. Hammurabi is most known for his creation of a legal code, known appropriately as Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi, who was appointed by Marduk (2.1), saw it as his divine responsibly to bring about order over his subjects. We know this from a passage in chapter 2.1; “When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to the land, I did right and righteousness in ..., and brought about the well-being of the oppressed.” (Early civilization, 2) Though Hammurabi was Babylonian royalty before his reign, he used his divine and religious authority to cement his rule, and to expand his …show more content…
This event was called the Investiture Controversy, and is considered the most prolific conflict between political, and religious authorities in medieval Europe. Pope Gregory even goes far enough to excommunicate Henry IV, and strip him of all titles. “On the strength of this belief therefore, for the honour and security of thy church, in the name of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I withdraw, through thy power and authority, from Henry the king, son of Henry the emperor, who has risen against thy church with unheard of insolence, the rule over the whole kingdom of the Germans and over Italy. And I absolve all Christians from the bonds of the oath which they have made or shall make to him; and I forbid any one to serve him as king.” (The Investiture Controversy, 3) This act by pope Gregory resulted in a civil war between the holy roman empire, and Rome backed rebel groups, led by Duke Rudolph of Swabia. After the Duke died, Henry IV was able to conquer Rome, and install a new Pope, Clement III. An event similar to the Investiture Controversy occurred in 1302 between Pope Boniface the VIII and Philip IV the Fair of France. Pope Boniface VIII responded to a challenge by Philip IV over the taxation of clergy, to fund wars between England and France. After the Pope excommunicated The French king, Phillip