Sacred Space and the Royal Seat: Islamic Imagery of Kingship

This paper discusses the visual image of kingship through the design of enthronement scenes, how they originated in earlier civilizations and how they developed in the Islamic world up until the late 16th century. Thrones-their shape, size, and sheer luxury -no less than crowns-express the status and image of kingship. It is unsurprising, therefore, that the objection of early Islam to monarchy is reflected in the simultaneous use of various terms and forms for a royal seat. Nevertheless, members of the first Islamic Caliphal dynasty (651-750 CE) already imitated the regalia of their imperial neighbors. Although the shape of royal seats remained humble until the Mongol occupation (1258 CE), other symbolic elements in the composite space around the throne assumed ever greater importance. A description of these elements, in their historical contexts, reveals how the growing image of Islamic rulers as heavenly-chosen leaders returned to pre-Islamic models of visual propaganda.