An Analysis of the Manner of Kingship in Ancient Iran

The present article tries to analyse the manner of kingship in ancient Iran. The article in addition to considering the issue in the pre-historic era has dealt with the analysis of the type of the political system, the structure and form of government, as well as the place and role of religion in ancient Iran. The term ancient era refers to the period which starts from the Mad era in 708 B.C and ends with the decline of the Sassanid dynasty in 651 A.D. In this era, the prevalent political systems were in the form of a limited monarchy and the feudal system was dominant. King was not the absolute power rather; he was bound to follow a special framework. In this period, religion and politics possessed a horizontal role and place. Furthermore, religion is known as one of the two main bases in ancient era. In principle, politics and any other issue was defined in relation to religion. In other words, religion and politics were inseparable. The third section of the article analyses different issues related to Mad, Achamenian, Ashkanian and Sassanid dynasties.