The ideal king

What traits characterise the good ruler? A rich contemporary literature discussed this question, admonishing rulers and presenting to them the lives of past paragons of rulership. An extension of the power of the pater familias, dominion by a single male person, was usually seen as the natural and most desirable form of power. Kingship was supported wholeheartedly, though nagging doubts about the wrongdoings of individual figures on the throne form a persistent part of this conviction. Distinct ideals of legitimate rulership have been outlined for Christian Europe, for Muslim West Asia, for Indic kingship in various religious guises, and for China's imperial tradition. African kingship, itself at least as diverse as each of the other traditions, had its own partly overlapping models. No single description of the ideal ruler holds universal validity. However, one prime responsibility seems to recur in most traditions: safeguarding harmony among the populations as well as between heaven (ancestors, spirits, deities, god) and earth. Likewise, one hazard inherent in kingship can be encountered in most traditions: the cruel and pleasure-loving ruler who pursues the interests only of his inner circle.