Abstract
We have emphasized that the monarchies in the West Semitic city-states were weak in comparison with those of Mesopotamia. The monarchies were weak in both their aspects: they had much smaller armies, and they had a smaller state bureaucracy. Having said this, it still must be asserted that the West Semitic city-states did have real monarchies. There were palaces in ever city-state; there were queens and royal relatives with prerogatives; there was a staff of officials loyal to the king; the king did have “royal” status; the king acted as the chief judge in important court cases.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Glassman, R.M. (2017). The Political Structure of the Canaanite City-States: Monarchy and Merchant Oligarchy. In: The Origins of Democracy in Tribes, City-States and Nation-States. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51695-0_49
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51695-0_49
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51693-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51695-0
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)