Kwestia porfirogenitury w Persji Achemenidów
Porphyrogeniture in the Achaemenid Persia
Author(s): Bartłomiej ProcSubject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II - Instytut Filologii Klasycznej
Keywords: Achaemenid Persia; royal succession; Spartan royal succession; Assyrian royal succession; royal succession in Israel; Demaratos of Sparta; Plutarchus; Plutarch's Artaxerxes; Herodotus; Persica
Summary/Abstract: The article analyses two passages (Hdt. 7,2-3 i Plu. Art. 2,2-3) which suggest that that there was a purported law in Achaemenid Persia that overrode royal primogeniture in specific circumstances. The available pieces of literary, linguistic and historic data do not support the hypothesis that such a law was obeyed in Persia. Moreover, the analysis of the records of neighbouring countries proves that younger sons occasionally inherited the royal power despite having older brothers, but there was no law that enforced such an inheritance pattern. In Persia, the ruler could pass on his power to any person he deemed worthy, without any legal limitations. As such, the discussed law appears to be a figment of literary imagination.
Journal: Littera Antiqua
- Issue Year: 2014
- Issue No: 8
- Page Range: 95-123
- Page Count: 29
- Language: Polish
