Converting Rulers Global Patterns 14501850 1st Edition Alan Strathern by Alan Strathern 9781108702102, 9781108477161, 9781108569729, 1108702104, 110847716X, 1108569722 instant download after payment.

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. 

ALAN STRATHERN is Professor of Global History at the University of Oxford, and Fellow and Tutor in History at Brasenose College, Oxford.