Converting Rulers: Global Patterns, 1450–1850 - Softcover

Strathern, Alan

 
9781108702102: Converting Rulers: Global Patterns, 1450–1850
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1108702104 ISBN 13: 9781108702102
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2024

Synopsis

Why did so many rulers throughout history risk converting to a new religion brought by outsiders? In his award-winning Unearthly Powers (2019), Alan Strathern set out a theoretical framework for understanding the relation between religion and political authority based on a distinction between two kinds of religion - immanentism and transcendentalism - and the different ways they made monarchy sacred. This ambitious and innovative companion volume tests and substantiates this approach using case studies from Kongo (1480–1530), Japan (1560–1614), Ayutthaya (Thailand, 1660–1690) and Hawaii (1800–1830). Through in-depth analysis of key turning points in the careers of warlords, chiefs and kings, a tapestry of unique characters and stories is brought to light. However, these examples ultimately demonstrate that global patterns of conversion can be established to illuminate the religious geography of the world today.

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About the Author

Alan Strathern is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Oxford.

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Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication date
2024
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1108702104
ISBN 13 
9781108702102
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
498

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781108477161: Converting Rulers: Global Patterns, 1450–1850

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ISBN 10:  110847716X ISBN 13:  9781108477161
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2024
Hardcover