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Do not fill this in! ==Rulers and imperial titles== {{Main|Divi filius|Imperial cult|Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Son of Heaven|Sacred king}} Throughout history, emperors and rulers ranging from the [[Western Zhou dynasty]] (c. 1000 BC) in China to [[Alexander the Great]] (c. 360 BC) to the [[Emperor of Japan]] (c. 600 AD) have assumed titles that reflect a filial relationship with [[deity|deities]].<ref name=Muller136 >''Introduction to the Science of Religion'' by Friedrich Muller 2004 {{ISBN|1-4179-7401-X}} page 136</ref><ref name=Dillon/><ref name=Palais/><ref name=Saito>''A History of Japan'' by Hisho Saito 2010 {{ISBN|0-415-58538-4}} page</ref> The title "[[Son of Heaven]]" i.e. [[Emperor of China|天子]] (from [[Tian|天]] meaning sky/heaven/god and [[子]] meaning child) was first used in the [[Western Zhou dynasty]] (c. 1000 BC). It is mentioned in the [[Shijing]] book of songs, and reflected the [[Zhou Dynasty|Zhou]] belief that as Son of Heaven (and as its delegate) the [[Emperor of China]] was responsible for the well-being of the whole world by the [[Mandate of Heaven]].<ref name=Dillon>''China : a cultural and historical dictionary'' by Michael Dillon 1998 {{ISBN|0-7007-0439-6}} page 293</ref><ref name=Palais>''East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History'' by [[Patricia Buckley Ebrey|Patricia Ebrey]], Anne Walthall, James Palais 2008 {{ISBN|0-547-00534-2}} page 16</ref> This title may also be translated as "son of God" given that the word ''[[Tiān]]'' in Chinese may either mean sky or god.<ref>''The Problem of China'' by Bertrand Russell 2007 {{ISBN|1-60520-020-4}} page 23</ref> The [[Emperor of Japan]] was also called the Son of Heaven (天子 ''tenshi'') starting in the early 7th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kO0tUpCViA8C&pg=PA300|title=Rethinking Japan: Social Sciences, Ideology and Thought|editor-first=Adriana|editor-last=Boscaro|editor2-first=Franco| editor2-last=Gatti|editor3-first=Massimo|editor3-last=Raveri|publisher=Japan Library Limited|year=2003|isbn=0-904404-79-X|page=300|volume=II}}</ref> Among the [[Eurasian nomads]], there was also a widespread use of "Son of God/Son of Heaven" for instance, in the third century BC, the ruler was called Chanyü<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Britannica|first=Encyclopaedia|title=Xiongnu|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/273960/Xiongnu#ref129823|encyclopedia=Xiongnu (people) article|access-date=2014-04-25}}</ref> and similar titles were used as late as the 13th century by Genghis Khan.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Humanities 360 | url=http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/the-life-and-conquests-of-genghis-khan-39261/ | title=The Life and Conquests of Genghis Khan | author=Darian Peters | date=July 3, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426214709/http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/the-life-and-conquests-of-genghis-khan-39261/ | archive-date=April 26, 2014 }}</ref> Examples of kings being considered the son of god are found throughout the [[Ancient Near East]]. Egypt in particular developed a long lasting tradition. Egyptian [[pharaoh]]s are known to have been referred to as the son of a particular god and their begetting in some cases is even given in sexually explicit detail. Egyptian pharaohs did not have full parity with their divine fathers but rather were subordinate.<ref name="MessianicFigures">{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3hRQFzbHroMC&q=Pharaoh |title = King and Messiah as Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related Literature |author=Adela Yarbro Collins |author2=John Joseph Collins |publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-0-8028-0772-4 |access-date = 3 February 2014}}</ref>{{rp|36}} Nevertheless, in the first four dynasties, the pharaoh was considered to be the embodiment of a god. Thus, Egypt was ruled by direct theocracy,<ref name="Assmann">{{cite book |title = The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XEMadfTi_U4C&pg=PA300 |author = Jan Assmann |publisher = Harvard University Press |pages = 300–301 |year = 2003 |isbn = 978-0-674-01211-0|access-date = 16 March 2014}}</ref> wherein "God himself is recognized as the head" of the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14568a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia|access-date=7 October 2014}}</ref> During the later [[Amarna Period]], King Amenhotep IV/[[Akhenaten]] redefined the pharaoh's godship. He taught "there was only one god and only one person who now knew the god: Akhenaten himself" and assumed position of the ḥm ntr tpy (first servant of god).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stevens |first1=Anna |title=Akhenaten, Nefertiti & Aten: From Many Gods to One |url=https://arce.org/resource/akhenaten-nefertiti-aten-many-gods-one/ |website=American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> He eventually eliminated all representation on his behalf by the priests of Amun as he also eliminated the god Amun, to solely lead worship identifying as the Son of the God he called Father, the latter which he recognized through the aten (sun), the vehicle through which the power of the God manifested to him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoffmeier |first1=James |title=Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-979208-5 |pages=198-206 }}</ref> Within a few years of his first epiphany and becoming king, King Akhenaten had dropped the priestly title of ḥm ntr tpy, but remained serving as the sole cleric and son of the Father in his rule of the Two Lands.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoffmeier |first1=James |title=Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-979208-5 |pages=72-73 }}</ref> Later still, the closest Egypt came to the Jewish variant of theocracy was during the reign of [[Herihor]]. He took on the role of ruler not as a god but rather as a high-priest and king.<ref name="Assmann"/> According to the Bible, several kings of Damascus took the title [[Benhadad|son of Hadad]]. From the archaeological record [[Panamuwa II inscription|a stela erected by Bar-Rakib for his father Panammuwa II]] contains similar language. The son of Panammuwa II a king of [[Sam'al]] referred to himself as a son of Rakib.<ref name="MessianicFigures"/>{{rp|26–27}} Rakib-El is a god who appears in Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible DDD |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA686 |editor1=K. van der Toorn |editor2=Bob Becking |editor3=Pieter Willem van der Horst |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |page=686 |year=1999 |isbn = 978-0-8028-2491-2|access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref> Panammuwa II died unexpectedly while in Damascus.<ref>{{cite web |title=Panammuwa and Bar-Rakib: two structural analyses |url=http://www.jtsa.edu/Documents/pagedocs/JANES/1986%2018/Younger18.pdf |author=K. Lawson Younger Jr. |publisher=University of Sheffield |access-date=16 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002734/http://www.jtsa.edu/Documents/pagedocs/JANES/1986%2018/Younger18.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> However, his son the king Bar-Rakib was not a native of Damascus but rather the ruler of [[Sam'al]] it is unknown if other rules of Sam'al used similar language. In [[Greek mythology]], [[Heracles]] (son of [[Zeus]]) and many other figures were considered to be sons of gods through union with mortal women. From around 360 BC onwards [[Alexander the Great]] may have implied he was a [[demigod]] by using the title "Son of [[Amun|Ammon]]–[[Zeus]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cartledge |first=Paul |year=2004 |title=Alexander the Great |journal=History Today |volume=54 |page=1 }}</ref> [[File:S0484.4.jpg|thumb|left|A [[denarius]] minted circa 18 BC. Obverse: CAESAR AVGVSTVS; reverse: DIVVS IVLIV(S)]] In 42 BC, [[Julius Caesar]] was formally deified as "the divine Julius" (''divus Iulius'') after his [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassination]]. His adopted son, Octavian (better known as [[Augustus]], a title given to him 15 years later, in 27 BC) thus became known as ''divi Iuli filius'' (son of the divine Julius) or simply ''[[divi filius]]'' (son of the god).<ref name=Rhee >''Early Christian literature'' by Helen Rhee 2005 {{ISBN|0-415-35488-9}} pages 159–161</ref> As a daring and unprecedented move, Augustus used this title to advance his political position in the [[Second Triumvirate]], finally overcoming all rivals for power within the Roman state.<ref name=Rhee/><ref name=Southern60>''Augustus'' by Pat Southern 1998 {{ISBN|0-415-16631-4}} page 60</ref> The word which was applied to Julius Caesar when he was deified was ''divus'', not the distinct word ''deus''. Thus, Augustus called himself ''Divi filius'', not ''Dei filius''.<ref name=Roetzel/> The line between been god and god-like was at times less than clear to the population at large, and Augustus seems to have been aware of the necessity of keeping the ambiguity.<ref name=Roetzel>''The world that shaped the New Testament'' by Calvin J. Roetzel 2002 {{ISBN|0-664-22415-6}} page 73</ref> As a purely semantic mechanism, and to maintain ambiguity, the court of Augustus sustained the concept that any worship given to an emperor was paid to the "position of emperor" rather than the person of the emperor.<ref>''Experiencing Rome: culture, identity and power in the Roman Empire'' by Janet Huskinson 1999 {{ISBN|978-0-415-21284-7}} page 81</ref> However, the subtle semantic distinction was lost outside Rome, where Augustus began to be worshiped as a deity.<ref name=Rupke>''A companion to Roman religion'' edited by [[Jörg Rüpke]] 2007 {{ISBN|1-4051-2943-3}} page 80</ref> The inscription DF thus came to be used for Augustus, at times unclear which meaning was intended.<ref name=Roetzel/><ref name=Rupke/> The assumption of the title ''Divi filius'' by Augustus meshed with a larger campaign by him to exercise the power of his image. Official portraits of Augustus made even towards the end of his life continued to portray him as a handsome youth, implying that miraculously, he never aged. Given that few people had ever seen the emperor, these images sent a distinct message.<ref>''Gardner's art through the ages: the western perspective'' by Fred S. Kleiner 2008 {{ISBN|0-495-57355-8}} page 175</ref> Later, [[Tiberius]] (emperor from 14 to 37 AD) came to be accepted as the son of ''divus Augustus'' and [[Hadrian]] as the son of ''divus [[Trajan]]''.<ref name=Rhee/> By the end of the 1st century, the emperor [[Domitian]] was being called ''dominus et deus'' (i.e. ''master and god'').<ref>''The Emperor Domitian'' by Brian W. Jones 1992 {{ISBN|0-415-04229-1}} page 108</ref> Outside the [[Roman Empire]], the 2nd-century [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] King [[Kanishka|Kanishka I]] used the title ''devaputra'' meaning "son of God".<ref>''Encyclopedia of ancient Asian civilizations'' by Charles Higham 2004 {{ISBN|978-0-8160-4640-9}} page 352</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page