Gilgamesh: An Absolute Monarchy

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In an absolute monarchy the king or queen has full control and can do as they please. The most popular form of government in Europe in the past was a monarchy. A monarchy can become an absolute monarchy if given to wrong hands. When a monarch rules absolutely they do not have anything holding them back. That means they can either do things to help the country or do everything for themselves and be a terrible ruler. Most absolute monarchs used their power for bad intentions because people with that much power usually only think of themselves and not of their people. For instance, in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was the King of an absolute monarchy, and he used his powers for himself and treated his people poorly. A monarchy is a bad form…show more content…
Including, in an absolute monarchy, the King or Queen is able to create any law they please. The ruler has a sovereign power which consists of “the authority to make laws, tax, administrative justice, control the state’s administrative system, and determine foreign policy”(Spielvogel). An example of an absolute monarch creating laws to suit their needs only is King Henry VIII. When Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was not able to have a son, Henry was able to create laws in order for him to be able to divorce and marry another woman(McEntegart). In addition to creating laws, a monarch can also choose to go to war or not. For instance, King Charles I of England disagreed with Parliament many times. As stated by Suzanne B. Michele,“[Charles I] entered the House of Commons on Jan. 4, 1642, in order to arrest five of their leading members for treason”(Charles, I). This was the start of the English Civil War. Additionally, in The Epic of Gilgamesh it is said,“He has begun taking advantage of his subjects rather than taking care of them”(Sanders 35). Also, Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought Humbaba, the guardian of a sacred grove(Sanders 35). Since Gilgamesh was an absolute monarch, he was able to go to war and fight whoever he felt necessary without consulting with anyone else. A third example of how one person makes political decisions in a monarchy is that…show more content…
Because of this, it is impossible to separate the church from the state. The King or Queen is the Head of both the church and the state. Therefore, the King or Queen greatly influences the religion of their country. Henry VIII, King of England from 1509-1547, is an example of a king that had an affect on the religion of a monarchy. Hence, Henry VIII separated England from the Catholic Church and formed his own church: The Church of England. The reason he did this was because he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn(McEntegart). Another way religion is tied to a monarchy is that it favors one religion. In a monarchy there is one official religion and one official language. For example, the country Morocco“is a democratic monarchy, with Islam as the state religion and Arabic as the official language”(Economist Intelligence Unit). It is not good for a government to have an official religion because people should have the right to practice any religion they want. One more example of how having religion tied to a monarchy is bad is that it is not good for a multicultural society. Tony Wright argues,“Nor can we have a monarchy that institutionalises discrimination against certain religious faiths or privileges one faith-or discriminates against women in the succession”. Having religion tied to a monarchy can lead to discrimination to people that believe in a religion other than that of the official religion. Further, when there is an official
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