Absolutism

Absolutism is a political practice in which total power over the government and people of a state rests with one individual, namely a monarch such as a king or queen. Nations governed by absolute monarchies may feature legislative bodies called parliaments or written constitutions of laws, but these are subject to be altered, overruled, or eliminated at any time by the monarch.

Absolutist monarchies have existed throughout human history. Some ancient Middle Eastern kingdoms were ruled by kings with total power, and the ancient Roman Empire was governed by absolutist emperors. Most European kingdoms throughout the medieval period were monarchies, but their kings and queens were prevented from becoming absolutist rulers by almost equally influential noble classes.

Absolute monarchies gradually declined in the 1600s and 1700s as people began calling for them to be replaced with democracies, governments in which people freely elect representatives to legislate for them. Only a few absolutist monarchies still existed in the twenty-first century. They included Middle Eastern kingdoms such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, Brunei, as well as Vatican City, the Catholic Church's independent city-state ruled by the pope.

Background

Monarchies are among the oldest forms of government in the world. Their beginnings can be traced to at least 9000 BCE when people stopped roaming the land as hunters and started farming in communities. The larger cities and towns that subsequently appeared in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and other regions of the world became prime targets for subjugation by singular rulers, usually men, as most societies had become male-dominated by this point. Many of these ancient monarchs may have been absolutist; the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100-1000 BCE), an ancient Mesopotamian narrative poem, describes the ruler Gilgamesh as being so unfair and cruel to his people that they beseeched their gods to aid them.

The ancient Roman Republic initially modeled its system of government on that of Greece, which had developed a democratic system of elections for political leaders. The Romans, in fact, detested the concept of monarchy so much that members of the Roman Senate assassinated the dictator and military general Julius Caesar in 44 BCE for becoming too tyrannical.

Caesar's death ultimately led to the founding of the Roman Empire, which was ruled for hundreds of years by successive emperors who bore absolute power over Rome. Some of these emperors used their positions to accomplish personal goals, which sometimes generated chaos. The emperor Caligula, for instance, widely thought to be insane, declared himself to be a god and randomly arrested citizens suspected of betraying Rome. He later ordered the Roman military to take spoils of war from the ocean by stealing its seashells. Roman guards assassinated Caligula in 41 CE.

The Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, leaving the people of Europe, almost all of whom had been ruled by Rome, to begin forming new political systems for themselves. Most European lands quickly became monarchies and remained so for the entirety of the Middle Ages. However, few European monarchies in this era exercised absolute power, for most monarchs were forced to consider the political ambitions of their noble classes when making decisions.

In the early 1200s, King John of England angered his barons by grossly misusing his power as king. He launched an ill-conceived war on France that ultimately cost England its French possession of Normandy. He then demanded that the barons pay him financial tribute. To rein in John's abuse of power, the barons forced the king to sign the Magna Carta, a landmark document that limited the English monarchy's range of powers and compelled the ruler to abide by established law.

Impact

Most world monarchies into the early modern period of the 1500s and 1600s were composed of kings or queens, their noble courts, and sometimes their kingdoms' more diplomatic legislative bodies. Some absolutist monarchs—in Western Europe, Russia, China, and elsewhere—inspired unrest in their kingdoms with their whimsical commands or insanity, but these kinds of problematic reigns were becoming rarer with the changing social and political views of the modernizing world.

However, absolutism enjoyed an extended revival in France beginning in 1643, the year King Louis XIV ascended the throne. Also known as the Sun King, Louis considered himself the highest power in all of France. He equated himself literally to the state and to justice, and as such, he based government policies on his own personal inclinations. For instance, as he saw himself as the actual owner of the kingdom of France, Louis felt he was justified in taxing the people any amount he saw fit since they lived on his land at his allowance. In all areas of governance, Louis minimized the roles of subordinates so that no actions could be taken without his input. The reign of Louis XIV ended with his death in 1715.

Absolutist rule in the Western world became even less common after the American Revolution and the French Revolution in the late 1700s. These movements saw the United States and France overthrow their respective monarchical rulers in favor of democracy and individual rights. Democracy flourished over the next few centuries, though some absolutist monarchies remained even into the twenty-first century.

One of these was Vatican City, the independent city-state that serves as the headquarters of the Catholic Church. The pope, the head of the church, is elected by church authorities but then wields unchecked power over the Vatican and the laws of the church. The pope himself holds all the power that democratic societies generally divide among different government branches. This has been true of the papacy for centuries and is a continual source of church criticism in the twenty-first century.

Other absolute monarchies in the early twenty-first century included Saudi Arabia and Oman in the Middle East; Brunei in Southeast Asia; and Swaziland in southern Africa. The rulers of these nations may govern with the aid of ministers and other officials, but they alone make their countries' major decisions. These monarchs are generally succeeded by their offspring in what are known as hereditary monarchies. These countries' citizens do not elect the individuals who govern them.

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