The essays in this book - all specially written for it - address the central problem in the understanding of royal rituals, namely the relation between power and ceremonial.

List of illustrations; Notes on contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction: divine rites of kings David Cannadine; 1. Usurpation, conquest and ceremonial: from Babylon to Persia Amélie Kuhrt; 2. From noble funerals to divine cult: the consecration of Roman emperors Simon Price; 3. The construction of court ritual: the Byzantine Book of Ceremonies Averil Cameron; 4. The Lord's anointed and the people's choice: Carolingian royal ritual Janet L. Nelson; 5. Bureaucrats and cosmology: the ritual code of T'ang China David McMullen; 6. Gifts to the gods: power, property and ceremonial in Nepal Richard Burghart; 7. The ritual of the royal bath in Madagascar: the dissolution of death, birth and fertility into authority Maurice Bloch; 8. The person of the king: ritual and power in a Ghanaian state Michelle Gilbert; Index.