DSMB06 States with the Sacral Kingdom - from China to Peru

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025

The course is not taught in Spring 2025

Extent and Intensity
2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Jarmila Bednaříková, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jarmila Bednaříková, CSc.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! DSMgrB06 States with the Sacral Kingdom
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is based on the method of comparison of the same developmental stages of social evolution in different types of civilizations, which belong to the concept of ancient civilization, as well as other types of civilizations. It deals with the phenomenon of sacral kings (or chieftains) and sacral kingdom as an institution, the types of states and societies connected to it and also with the ethics related to the aforementioned form of government.
Learning outcomes
The student
- will learn the constants of thinking of humanity with no regard to ethnicity, anthropological characteristics or geographical location of particular civilizations
- deepen his/her methodological thinking (the ability to compare historical development not only in a temporal, but also a development plane)
Syllabus
  • 1) The methodology of research of sacral rules (list of their characteristics)
  • 2) The sacral kingship of Mesopotamia until the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires (both included; iconography of the sacral rule here)
  • 3) Egypt as an ancient state with a typical sacral rule
  • 4) The sacral power in India and China
  • 5) The rule of the Achaemenid Persia, the Parthian and Sasanian Empires
  • 6) The sacral rule in Greece of the Mycenaean period and the Dark Ages; the residues of this kind of rule in ancient period of Greece
  • 7) The sacral power in Rome in the period of the kings and its residues during the Republic
  • 8) The view of the person of the emperor in the Principate and the Dominate
  • 9) The sacral power in a tribal society (of the Germans, the Celts, the Thracians and the Slavs)
  • 10) The sacral chieftainship of the Sythians, the Sarmatians, the Huns and other nomads
  • 11) The sacral kings and chieftains of the Pre-Columbian America; the sacral rule in Polynesia
  • 12) The issue of this type of rule in Christianized states
Literature
    required literature
  • Když království sestoupilo z nebes : mezopotamské kroniky od časů nejstarších až do doby perské vlády. Edited by Jiří Prosecký. Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2015, 359 stran. ISBN 9788020024718. info
  • BEDNAŘÍKOVÁ, Jarmila, Marek MEŠKO and Anna ŽÁKOVÁ. On Research Methodology in Ancient and Byzantine History. 1st edition. Brno: Masaryk University, 2015, 193 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-7946-5. Čítárna Munispace info
    recommended literature
  • Sorri Sturluson. Heimskringla. Ed. F. Niedner. Thule XIV-XVI
  • BEDNAŘÍKOVÁ, Jarmila. Bič boží-sakrální král (The Scourge of God - Sacral King). In Bořivoj, Marek. Visuque et auditu iuxta venerabilis adrogantiam effugerat. Vyd. 1. Praha: Jednota klasických filologů, 2013, p. 195-204. ISBN 978-80-904945-2-7. info
  • Uruk : 5000 Jahre Megacity : Begleitband zur Ausstellung "Uruk - 5000 Jahre Megacity" im Pergamonmuseum - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in den Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim. Edited by Nicole Crüsemann. 2. aktualisierte Aufl. Petersberg: Michael Imhof, 2013, 399 s. ISBN 9783865688446. info
  • BEDNAŘÍKOVÁ, Jarmila. Attila : Hunové, Řím a Evropa (Attila : Huns, Rome and Europe). Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2012, 340 pp. Historica. ISBN 978-80-7429-169-2. info
  • BEDNAŘÍKOVÁ, Jarmila. Attila : Hunové, Řím a Evropa (Attila : Huns, Rome and Europe). Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2012, 340 pp. Historica. ISBN 978-80-7429-169-2. info
  • ARMSTRONG, Karen. Velká transformace : svět v době Buddhy, Sokrata, Konfucia a Jeremjáše. Translated by Ondřej Novák. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2012, 483 s. ISBN 9788020020857. info
  • BAREŠ, Ladislav, Rudolf VESELÝ and Eduard GOMBÁR. Dějiny Egypta. Vyd. 1. Brno: NLN, Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2009, 821 s. ISBN 9788071069713. info
  • BEDNAŘÍKOVÁ, Jarmila. Stěhování národů. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2003, 413 s. ISBN 8070215062. info
  • VERNER, Miroslav, Ladislav BAREŠ and Břetislav VACHALA. Ilustrovaná encyklopedie starého Egypta. Photo by Milan Zemina. Vyd. 1. Praha: Karolinum, 1997, 487 s. ISBN 8071844462. info
  • BOUZEK, Jan. Thrákové. 1. vyd. Praha: Panorama, 1990, 230 s. info
  • BOUZEK, Jan. Thrákové. Vyd. 1. Praha: Panorama, 1990, 280 s., [3. ISBN 80-7038-015-2. info
  • BÖTTGER, Walter. Kultur im alten China. 2. Aufl. Leipzig: Urania-Verlag, 1979, 248 stran. info
  • KLÍMA, Otakar. Sláva a pád starého Iránu. 1. vyd. Praha: Orbis, 1977, 252 s., [1. info
  • STINGL, Miloslav. Indiáni bez tomahawků. 3., přeprac. vyd., (v Orbis. Praha: Orbis, 1976, 357 s. URL info
  • KLÍMA, Josef. Lidé Mezopotámie : cestami dávné civilizace a kultury při Eufratu a Tigridu. 1. vyd. Praha: Orbis, 1976, 333 s. URL info
  • HÉRODOTOS. Dějiny. Vyd. 2., v Odeonu 1. Praha: Odeon - nakladatelství krásné literatury a umění, 1972, 548 s. info
Teaching methods
Reading source texts, comparison - not of time, but evolutionary horizons.
Assessment methods
Seminar work
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/DSMB06