Early history The earliest developed courts were probably in the
Akkadian Empire,
Ancient Egypt, and
Shang dynasty. However, there is evidence of courts as described in the
Neo-Assyrian Empire and
Zhou dynasty. Two of the earliest titles referring to the concept of a courtier were likely the
ša rēsi and
mazzāz pāni of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In Ancient Egypt, there is a title translated as
high steward or great overseer of the house. The royal courts influenced by the court of the Neo-Assyrian Empire such as those of the
Median Empire and the
Achaemenid Empire would also have identifiable developed courts with
court appointments and other features associated with later courts. stairs of
Persepolis, all with weapons, but in a casual air—a rare depiction of an ancient court ceremony. The imperial court of the Achaemenid Empire at
Persepolis and
Pasargadae is the earliest identifiable complex court with all of the definitive features of a royal court such as a household,
court appointments, courtiers, and court ceremony. Though
Alexander the Great had an entourage and the rudimentary elements of a court, it was not until after he conquered Persia that he took many of the more complex Achaemenid court customs back to the
Kingdom of Macedonia, developing a royal court that would later influence the courts of
Hellenistic Greece and the
Roman Empire. The
Sasanian Empire adopting and developing the earlier court culture and customs of the Achaemenid Empire would also influence again the development of the complex court and court customs of the Roman Empire and
Byzantine Empire. The
imperial court of the Byzantine Empire at
Constantinople would eventually contain at least a thousand courtiers. The court's systems became prevalent in other courts such as those in the
Balkan states, the
Ottoman Empire, and
Russia.
Byzantinism is a term that was coined for this spread of the Byzantine system in the 19th century.
East Asia The imperial courts of
Chinese emperors, known as (), were among the largest and most complex of all. The
Han dynasty,
Western Jin dynasty, and
Tang dynasty occupied the large palace complex at
Weiyang Palace located near
Chang'an, and the later
Ming dynasty and
Qing dynasty occupied the whole
Forbidden City and other parts of
Beijing, the present capital city of
China. By the
Sui dynasty, the functions of the imperial household and the imperial government were clearly divided. During the
Heian period,
Japanese emperors and
their families developed an exquisitely refined court that played an important role in their culture.
Medieval and modern Europe After the collapse of the
Roman Empire in the West, a true court culture can be recognised in the entourage of the
Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great and in the court of
Charlemagne. In the Roman East, a brilliant court continued to surround the
Byzantine emperors. In
Western Europe, consolidation of power of local magnates and of kings in fixed administrative centres from the mid-13th century led to the creation of a distinct court culture that was the centre of intellectual and artistic patronage rivaling the
abbots and
bishops, in addition to its role as the apex of a rudimentary political bureaucracy that rivaled the courts of counts and dukes. The dynamics of hierarchy welded the court cultures together. Many early courts in Western Europe were
itinerant courts that traveled from place to place. Local courts proliferated in the splintered polities of
medieval Europe and remained in
early modern times in Germany and in Italy. Such courts became known for intrigue and
power politics; some also gained prominence as centres and collective patrons of
art and
culture. In medieval Spain (
Castile), provincial courts were created. Minor noblemen and
burguesie allied to create a system to oppose the monarchy on many policy issues. They were called "las Cortes de Castilla". These courts are the root of the current Spanish
congress and
senate. The courts of
Valois Burgundy and the
Kingdom of Portugal were particularly influential over the development of court culture and pageantry in Europe. The court of
Philip the Good,
Duke of Burgundy was considered one of the most splendid in Europe and would influence the development of court life later on for all of France and Europe. Later,
Aliénor de Poitiers of the Burgundian court would write one of the seminal books on court etiquette,
Les honneurs de la cour (
Honours of the Court). Court life would reach its apogee of culture, complexity and etiquette at the courts of
Versailles under
Louis XIV of France and the
Hofburg under the
Habsburgs. As
political executive functions are assumed by
democratic or
republican institutions, the function of noble courts is reduced once more to that of noble households, concentrating on personal service to the household head,
ceremonial and perhaps some residual politico-advisory functions. If
republican zeal has banished an area's erstwhile ruling
nobility, courts may survive in
exile. Traces of royal court practices remain in present-day institutions like privy councils and governmental cabinets.
Africa , the palace of pharaoh
Amenhotep III at
Thebes A series of
Pharaohs ruled
Ancient Egypt over the course of three millennia ( to 31 BC), until it was conquered by the
Roman Empire. In the same time period several kingdoms with their own royal courts flourished in the nearby
Nubia region, with at least one of them, that of the so-called
A-Group culture, apparently influencing the customs of Egypt itself. From the 6th to 19th centuries, Egypt was variously part of the
Byzantine Empire, Islamic Empire,
Mamluk Sultanate,
Ottoman Empire and
British Empire with a distant monarch. The
Sultanate of Egypt was a short lived protectorate of the
United Kingdom from 1914 until 1922, when it became the
Kingdom of Egypt and Sultan
Fuad I changed his title to King. After the
Egyptian Revolution of 1952 the monarchy was dissolved and Egypt became a republic. In the
Horn of Africa, the
Kingdom of Aksum and later the
Zagwe dynasty,
Ethiopian Empire (1270–1974), and
Aussa Sultanate all had royal courts. Various
Somali Sultanates also existed, including the
Adal Sultanate (led by the
Walashma dynasty of the
Ifat Sultanate),
Sultanate of Mogadishu,
Ajuran Sultanate, Warsangali Sultanate,
Geledi Sultanate,
Majeerteen Sultanate and
Sultanate of Hobyo. The kingship system has been an integral part of the more centralised African societies for millennia. This is especially true in the
West African sahel, where royal courts have been in existence since at least the era of the 9th century
Takrur and
Ghana empires. The ruler of the 13th century
Mali empire,
Mansa Musa, brought a large number of his courtiers with him on the Islamic
Hajj pilgrimage to
Mecca. Today, the courts of the
Ashanti nanas in modern
Ghana, the
Mande members of the
Tunkalemmu caste in Mali, the
Bamum sultans of
Cameroon, the
Kanem shaykhs of
Chad, the
Hausa emirs of northern
Nigeria, the
inkosis of the
Southern African Zulus and
Xhosas, and the
obas and
baales of
Yorubaland, amongst others, continue the pageantry and court lifestyle traditions once common to the continent. ==Court structure and organization==