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{{About|a political ruler}} |
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{{Forms of government}}the hate good and they love food but people wound eat there baby and the mom so they left the palce and a te love and life |
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A '''tyrant''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|τύραννος}}, ''tyrannos''), in the modern English usage of the word, is an [[absolute ruler]] unrestrained by law or person, or one who has usurped legitimate sovereignty. Often described as a cruel character, a tyrant defends their position by [[oppressive]] means, tending to control almost everything in the state.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Tyrant |volume=27 |page=548}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=did;cc=did;rgn=main;view=text;idno=did2222.0001.238|title=Tyrant|website= The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Thomas Zemanek. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2009 (Trans. of "Tyran," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 16. Paris, 1765)|accessdate= 1 April 2015}}</ref> The original Greek term, however, merely meant an authoritarian sovereign without reference to character,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyrant |title=Tyrant (entry) |website=Merriam-Webster online dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> bearing no [[pejorative]] connotation during the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] and early [[Classical Greece|Classical]] periods. However, it was clearly a negative word to [[Plato]], a Greek philosopher, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, its negative connotations only increased, continuing into the [[Hellenistic period]]. |
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*[[Tyrannicide]] |
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*[[Despotism]] |
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[[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]] define a tyrant as a person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both their own people and others.<ref>Glad, B. (2002, March) .{{Better source|reason=citation is from modern article not from Plato or Aristotle|date=July 2015}} Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power. Political Psychology, 33. Retrieved May 15, 2010, from JSTOR database.</ref> It is defined further in the Encyclopédie as a usurper of sovereign power who makes his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes for laws.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Tyrant |journal= The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Thomas Zemanek. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2009 (Trans. Of "Tyran," Encyclopédie Ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, Vol. 16. Paris, 1765) |hdl= 2027/spo.did2222.0001.238 }}</ref> During the seventh and sixth centuries BC, tyranny was often looked upon as an intermediate stage between narrow [[oligarchy]] and more democratic forms of [[polity]]. However, in the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, a new kind of tyrant, the military dictator, arose, specifically in [[Sicily]]. |
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*[[Dictator]] |
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*[[Dictatorship]] |
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Accusations of tyranny can be applied to a variety of types of government – by an individual (in an autocracy), by a minority (in an oligarchy, [[tyranny of the minority]]) or by a majority (in a democracy, [[tyranny of the majority]]). The definition is extended to other oppressive leadership and to oppressive policies. For example, a teacher may find the school administration, the textbook or standardized tests to be oppressive, considering each to represent a tyranny. |
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==Etymology== |
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The English noun ''[[:wikt:tyrant|tyrant]]'' appears in [[Middle English]] use, via [[Old French]], from the 1290s. |
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The word derives from [[Latin]] ''tyrannus'', meaning "illegitimate ruler", and this in turn from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|τύραννος}} ''tyrannos'' "monarch, ruler of a [[polis]]"; ''tyrannos'' in its turn has a [[Pre-Greek]] origin, perhaps from [[Lydian language|Lydian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tyrant|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|publisher=}}</ref><ref>[[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]], ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, pp. 1519–20.</ref> The final ''-t'' arises in Old French by association with the present participles in ''-ant''.<ref>''tyrant'', ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition</ref> |
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== Definition == |
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"The word 'tyranny' is used with many meanings, not only by the Greeks, but throughout the tradition of the great books."<ref name=Adler/> The Oxford English Dictionary offers alternative definitions: a ruler, an illegitimate ruler (a usurper), an absolute ruler (despot) or an oppressive, unjust or cruel ruler. The term is usually applied to vicious dictators who achieve bad results for the governed. The definition of a tyrant is cursed by subjectivity. Oppression, injustice and cruelty do not have standardized measurements or thresholds. |
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The Greeks defined both usurpers '''and''' those inheriting rule from usurpers as tyrants. |
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Old words are defined by their historical usage. It is difficult to determine which characteristics of tyrants were defining rather than descriptive. Biblical quotations do not use the word tyrant, but express opinions very similar to those of the Greek philosophers, citing the wickedness, cruelty and injustice of rulers. |
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* "Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life." Proverbs 28:15–16 |
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* "By justice a king gives stability to the land, but one who makes heavy extractions ruins it." Proverbs 29:4 |
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The Greek philosophers stressed the (subjective) quality of rule rather than legitimacy or absolutism. "Both Plato and Aristotle speak of the king as a good monarch and the tyrant as a bad one. Both say that monarchy, or rule by a single man, is royal when it is for the welfare of the ruled and tyrannical when it serves only the interest of the ruler. Both make lawlessness – either a violation of existing laws or government by personal fiat without settled laws – a mark of tyranny."<ref name=Adler/> |
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Enlightenment philosophers seemed to define tyranny by its associated characteristics. |
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* "The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice." Voltaire in a Philosophical Dictionary |
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* "Where Law ends Tyranny begins." Locke in Two Treatises of Government |
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The definition is dependent on perspective. A historical example is George III of England. From the British perspective he was a legitimate constitutional monarch. From the colonial perspective he was a tyrant based on a list of grievances enumerated in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. Colonists were not represented in parliament, so they lacked the rights of the English. Economic exploitation of the colonies was reasonable (perhaps even popular) from the British perspective, tyranny to the Yankees. |
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Bad results are also relative. Authoritarian rule might be beneficial (like with [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] of [[Turkey]]) or of limited lasting harm to the country ( like with [[Francisco Franco]] of [[Spain]]).<ref>{{cite book | last = Chirot | first = Daniel | title = Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age | publisher = Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International | location = New York Toronto New York | year = 1994 | isbn = 9780029054772 | pages=169, 418–19}}</ref> Those who list or rank tyrants can provide definitions and criteria for comparison or acknowledge subjectivity. Comparative criteria may include checklists or body counts. Accounting for deaths in war is problematic – war can build empires or defend the populace – it also keeps winning tyrants in power. "Ch'in Shih-huang is the first emperor of China. He united seven separate kingdoms into a single nation. He built the Great Wall and was buried with the terra-cotta soldiers. The Chinese have mixed feelings about him. They're proud of the nation he created, but he was a maniacal tyrant." [[Gene Luen Yang]] Oppressive dictators have held states together ([[Alexander the Great]], [[Josip Broz Tito]]). |
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A modern tyrant might be objectively defined by proven violation of international criminal law such as [[crimes against humanity]].<ref>{{cite journal |
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| last = Robertson | first = Geoffrey |
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| year = 2005 |
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| title = Ending Impunity: How International Criminal Law Can Put Tyrants on Trial |
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| url = http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj/vol38/iss3/1 |
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| journal = Cornell International Law Journal |
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| volume = 38 | issue = 3 | pages = 649–71 |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |
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| last = Liolos | first = John J. |
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| date = 2012-05-01 |
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| title = Justice for Tyrants: International Criminal Court Warrants for Gaddafi Regime Crimes |
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| url = http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol35/iss2/9 |
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| journal = Boston College International and Comparative Law Review |
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| volume = 35 | issue = 2 | pages = 589–602 |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |
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| last = Thorp | first = Jodi |
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| title = Welcome Ex-Dictators, Torturers and Tyrants: Comparative Approaches to Handling Ex-Dictators and Past Human Rights Abuses |
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| journal = Gonzaga Law Review |
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| volume = 37 | issue = 1 | pages = 167–99 |
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}}</ref> |
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== Early history == |
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The state is the product of civilization. Agriculture allowed greater concentrations of people which lead to more conflict. Political and military leaders arose to manage conflicts. All leaders were once dictators.<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006 2">{{cite book | last = Wallechinsky | first = David | title = Tyrants : the world's 20 worst living dictators | publisher = Regan | location = New York | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0060590048 | page=2 }}</ref> "[T]he very essence of politics in [agrarian civilizations] was, by our contemporary democratic standards, tyrannical".<ref>{{cite book | last = Chirot | first = Daniel | title = Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age | publisher = Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International | location = New York Toronto New York | year = 1994 | isbn = 9780029054772 | page=6}}</ref> Eventually alternative forms and methods of government arose which allowed belated definitions and criticism. |
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== Historical forms == |
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[[File:Tiranicidas 04.JPG|thumb|A [[Harmodius and Aristogeiton (sculpture)|sculptural pairing]] of [[Harmodius and Aristogeiton]]. They became known as the [[tyrannicides]] after they killed [[Hipparchus (son of Peisistratos)|Hipparchus]], and were the preeminent symbol of [[Athenian democracy]]]] |
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History has labeled a set of ancient [[List of ancient Greek tyrants|Greek]] and [[List of tyrants of Syracuse|Sicilian]] leaders as tyrants. History remembers the rulers, their rises, methods, and ends and the environment in which they ruled. Ancient political commentators Plato and Aristotle lived late in the period of many tyrants. They had monarchies and democracies for comparison. The historical definition is best understood from their historical perspective. |
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In [[ancient Greece]], tyrants were influential opportunists that came to power by securing the support of different factions of a [[deme]]. The word ''tyrannos'', possibly pre-Greek, [[Pelasgian]] or eastern in origin,<ref>Forrest, George "Greece, the history of the Archaic period" in [[John Boardman (art historian)|Boardman, John]] ''et al.'' (1986), ''The Oxford History of the Classical World'' (OUP)</ref> then carried no ethical censure; it simply referred to anyone, good or bad, who obtained executive power in a [[polis]] by unconventional means. Support for the tyrants came from the growing middle class and from the peasants who had no land or were in debt to the wealthy landowners. It is true that they had no legal right to rule, but the people preferred them over kings or the [[aristocracy]]. |
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The Greek tyrants stayed in power by using mercenary soldiers from outside of their respective city-state. To mock tyranny, [[Thales]] wrote that the strangest thing to see is ''"an aged tyrant"'' meaning that tyrants do not have the public support to survive for long. |
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===Aesymnetes=== |
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An [[aesymnetes]] (pl. aesymnetai) had similar scope of power to the tyrant, such as [[Pittacus|Pittacus of Mytilene]] (c. 640–568 BC), and was elected for life or for a specified period by a city-state in a time of crisis – the only difference being that the aesymnetes was a constitutional office and were comparable to the [[Roman dictator]]. Magistrates in some city-states were also called aesymnetai. |
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===Populism=== |
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Greek tyranny grew out of the struggle of the under classes against the [[aristocracy]], or against priest-kings where archaic traditions and mythology sanctioned hereditary and/or traditional rights to rule. Popular [[coup]]s generally installed tyrants, who often became or remained popular rulers, at least in the early part of their reigns. For instance, the popular imagination remembered [[Peisistratos (Athens)|Peisistratus]] for an episode – related by (pseudonymous) [[Aristotle]], but possibly fictional – in which he exempted a farmer from taxation because of the particular barrenness of his plot. |
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Peisistratus' sons [[Hippias (son of Peisistratus)|Hippias]] and [[Hipparchus (son of Pisistratus)|Hipparchus]], on the other hand, were not such able rulers, and when the disaffected aristocrats [[Harmodius and Aristogeiton|Harmodios and Aristogeiton]] slew Hipparchus, Hippias' rule quickly became oppressive, resulting in the expulsion of the Peisistratids in 510 BC, who resided henceforth in Persepolis as clients of the Persian Shahanshah (King of kings). |
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===Archaic tyrants=== |
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One of the earliest known uses of the word tyrant (in Greek) was by the poet [[Archilochus]], who lived three centuries before Plato, in reference to king [[Gyges of Lydia]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | editor-last = Roberts | editor-first = J. W. |title= tyranny | encyclopedia = The Oxford dictionary of the classical world | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-19-280146-3 }} Based on Herodotus, The History 1.7-14</ref> The king's assumption of power was unconventional. |
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The heyday of the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic period]] tyrants came in the early 6th century BC, when [[Cleisthenes of Sicyon|Cleisthenes]] ruled [[Sicyon]] in the [[Peloponnesus]] and [[Polycrates]] ruled [[Samos Island|Samos]]. During this time, revolts overthrew many governments<ref>{{cite book | editor-last = Langer | editor-first = William L. | title = An Encyclopedia of World History | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | location = Boston | year = 1948 |p=48 }}</ref> in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] world. [[Chilon]], the ambitious and capable [[ephor]] of [[Sparta]], built a strong alliance amongst neighbouring states by making common cause with these groups seeking to oppose unpopular tyrannical rule. By intervening against the tyrants of Sicyon, Corinth and Athens, Sparta thus came to assume Hellenic leadership prior to the Persian invasions. Simultaneously [[Persian Empire|Persia]] first started making inroads into Greece, and many tyrants sought Persian help against popular forces seeking to remove them. |
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==== Corinth ==== |
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Corinth hosted one of the earliest of Greek tyrants.<ref>{{cite book | last = Freeman | first = Charles | title = The Greek achievement : the foundation of the Western world | publisher = Viking | location = New York | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-0670-885152 |pp=72–73, 99–100}}</ref> In [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]], growing wealth from colonial enterprises, and the wider horizons brought about by the export of wine and oil, together with the new experiences of the Eastern Mediterranean brought back by returning [[mercenaries|mercenary]] [[hoplites]] employed overseas created a new environment. Conditions were right for [[Cypselus]] to overthrow the [[aristocracy|aristocratic]] power of the dominant but unpopular clan of [[Bacchiadae]]. Clan members were killed, executed, driven out or exiled in 657 BC. Corinth prospered economically under his rule, and Cypselus managed to rule without a [[bodyguard]]. When he then bequeathed his position to his son, [[Periander]], the tyranny proved less secure, and Periander required a retinue of mercenary soldiers personally loyal to him. |
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Nevertheless, under Cypselus and Periander, Corinth extended and tightened her control over her colonial enterprises, and exports of Corinthian pottery flourished. However, tyrants seldom succeeded in establishing an untroubled line of succession. Periander threw his pregnant wife downstairs (killing her), burnt his concubines alive, exiled his son, warred with his father-in-law and attempted to castrate 300 sons of his perceived enemies.<ref>{{cite book | last = Durant | first = Will | title = The Life of Greece | publisher = Simon & Schuster | location = New York | year = 1939 | pages= 90–91}}</ref> He retained his position. Periander's successor was less fortunate and was expelled. Afterward, Corinth was ruled by a lackluster oligarchy, and was eventually eclipsed by the rising fortunes of Athens and Sparta. |
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==== Athens ==== |
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Athens hosted its tyrants late in the Archaic period.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last = Langer | editor-first = William L. | title = An Encyclopedia of World History | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | location = Boston | year = 1948 | pp=50–52}}</ref> In [[Athens]], the inhabitants first gave the title of tyrant to [[Peisistratos]] (a relative of [[Solon]], the Athenian lawgiver) who succeeded in 546 BC, after two failed attempts, to install himself as tyrant. Supported by the prosperity of the peasantry and landowning interests of the plain, which was prospering from the rise of olive oil exports, as well as his clients from [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]], he managed to achieve authoritarian power. Through an ambitious program of public works, which included fostering the state cult of [[Athena]]; encouraging the creation of festivals; supporting the [[Panathenaic Games]] in which prizes were jars of olive oil; and supporting the [[Dionysia]] (ultimately leading to the development of Athenian drama), Peisistratus managed to maintain his personal popularity. |
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He was followed by his sons, and with the subsequent growth of Athenian [[democracy]], the title "tyrant" took on its familiar negative connotations. The murder of Peisistratus' son, the tyrant [[Hipparchus (son of Peisistratos)|Hipparchus]] by [[Harmodius and Aristogeiton|Aristogeiton and Harmodios]] in Athens in 514 BC marked the beginning of the so-called "cult of the [[tyrannicide]]s" (i.e., of killers of tyrants). Contempt for tyranny characterised this [[Greek hero cult|cult movement]]. Despite financial help from Persia, in 510 the Peisistratids were expelled by a combination of intrigue, exile and Spartan arms. The anti-tyrannical attitude became especially prevalent in Athens after 508 BC, when [[Cleisthenes]] reformed the political system so that it resembled ''[[demokratia]]'' (ancient participant democracy as opposed to the modern representative democracy). Hippias (Peisistratus' other son) offered to rule the Greeks on behalf of the Persians and provided military advice to the Persians against the Greeks.<ref>{{cite book | last = Durant | first = Will | title = The Life of Greece | publisher = Simon & Schuster | location = New York | year = 1939 | page= 235}}</ref> |
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The [[Thirty Tyrants]] whom the Spartans imposed on a defeated Attica in 404 BC would not be classified as tyrants in the usual sense and were in effect an [[oligarchy]]. |
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===Sicilian tyrants=== |
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The best known Sicilian tyrants appeared long after the Archaic period.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last = Langer | editor-first = William L. | title = An Encyclopedia of World History | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | location = Boston | year = 1948 | pp=57, 66}}</ref> The tyrannies of Sicily came about due to similar causes, but here the threat of [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginian]] attack prolonged tyranny, facilitating the rise of military leaders with the people united behind them. Such Sicilian tyrants as [[Gelo]], [[Hiero I]], [[Hiero II]], [[Dionysius the Elder]], [[Dionysius the Younger]], and [[Agathocles]] maintained lavish courts and became patrons of culture. The dangers threatening the lives of the Sicilian tyrants are highlighted in the morale tale of the "[[Sword of Damocles]]". |
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===Later tyrants=== |
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Under the [[Macedon]]ian [[hegemony]] in the 4th and 3rd century BC a new generation of tyrants rose in Greece, especially under the rule of king [[Antigonus II Gonatas]], who installed his puppets in many cities of the Peloponnese. Examples were [[Cleon of Sicyon]], [[Aristodemus the Good|Aristodemus of Megalopolis]], [[Aristomachos the Elder|Aristomachus I of Argos]], [[Abantidas|Abantidas of Sicyon]], [[Aristippus of Argos]], [[Lydiadas of Megalopolis]], [[Aristomachos of Argos|Aristomachus II of Argos]], and [[Xenon (tyrant)|Xenon of Hermione]]. |
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Against these rulers, in 280 BC the democratic cities started to join forces in the [[Achaean League]] which was able to expand its influence even into [[Corinthia]], [[Megaris]], [[Argolis]] and [[Arcadia]]. From 251 BC under the leadership of [[Aratus of Sicyon]], the Achaeans liberated many cities, in several cases by convincing the tyrants to step down, and when Aratus died in 213 BC, Hellas had been free of tyrants for more than 15 years. The last tyrant on the Greek mainland, [[Nabis|Nabis of Sparta]], was assassinated in 192 BC and after his death the Peloponnese was united as a confederation of stable democracies in the Achaean League. |
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{{See also|List of ancient Greek tyrants}} |
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===Roman tyrants=== |
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Roman historians like [[Suetonius]], [[Tacitus]], [[Plutarch]], and [[Josephus]] often spoke of "tyranny" in opposition to "liberty".<ref>{{cite book | last = Beard | first = Mary | title = SPQR - A History of Ancient Rome | publisher = Liveright | location = New York | year = 2015 | pages= 393, 421–428 | isbn = 978-0-87140-423-7}}Beard says that most accounts of the period were written from the senatorial perspective (described at length). Tacitus was mentioned by Beard in this context, perhaps because he was a senator (the others were aristocrats of a lower rank). The senate discussed a return to the liberty of the republic almost 70 years into the empire (based on Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIX, Chapter II). Adler cites Tacitus and Plutarch on liberty.</ref> Tyranny was associated with imperial rule and those rulers who usurped too much authority from the [[Roman Senate]]. Those who were advocates of "liberty" tended to be pro-Republic and pro-Senate. For instance, regarding [[Julius Caesar]] and his assassins, Suetonius wrote: |
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{{quote|Therefore the plots which had previously been formed separately, often by groups of two or three, were united in a general conspiracy, since even the populace no longer were pleased with present conditions, but both secretly and openly rebelled at his tyranny and cried out for defenders of their liberty.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Julius Caesar 80</ref>}} |
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Citizens of the empire were circumspect in identifying tyrants. "...[[Cicero]]'s head and hands [were] cut off and nailed to the rostrum of the Senate to remind everyone of the perils of speaking out against tyranny."<ref>{{cite book | last = Ryan | first = Alan | title = On politics : a history of political thought from Herodotus to the present | publisher = Liveright Pub. Corp | location = New York | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0-87140-465-7 |page=116}}</ref> There has since been a tendency to discuss tyranny in the abstract while limiting examples of tyrants to ancient Greek rulers. Philosophers have been more expressive than historians. |
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Josephus identified tyrants in Biblical history (in Antiquities of the Jews) including [[Nimrod]], [[Moses]], the [[Maccabees]] and [[Herod the Great]]. He also identified some later tyrants. |
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== In the classics == |
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Tyranny is considered an important subject, one of the "Great Ideas" of Western thought. The classics contain many references to tyranny and its causes, effects, methods, practitioners, alternatives... They consider tyranny from historical, religious, ethical, political and fictional perspectives. "If any point in political theory is indisputable, it would seem to be that tyranny is the worst corruption of government - a vicious misuse of power and a violent abuse of human beings who are subject to it."<ref name=Adler>{{cite book | editor-last = Adler | editor-first = Mortimer J. | title = Great Books of the Western World | publisher = Encyclopedia Britannica | location = Chicago | volume = 3: The Great Ideas: II | chapter = 95: Tyranny | year = 1952}}</ref> While this may represent a consensus position among the classics, it is not unanimous - Hobbes (for example) dissented, claiming no objective distinction (vicious vs virtuous) existed among dictators. "They that are discontented under monarchy, call it tyranny; and they that are displeased with aristocracy, call it oligarchy: so also, they which find themselves grieved under a democracy, call it anarchy..." (in Leviathan) |
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Dante mentioned tyrants ("who laid hold on blood and plunder") in the seventh level of Hell (Divine Comedy) where they are submerged in boiling blood. These included [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Attila]] the Hun who shared the region with highway robbers. |
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[[Niccolò Machiavelli]] conflates all rule by a single person (whom he generally refers to as a "prince") with "tyranny," regardless of the legitimacy of that rule, in his ''[[Discourses on Livy]]''. He also identifies liberty with [[republic]]an regimes; whether he would include so-called "[[crowned republic]]s" (such as modern [[constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchies]]) is somewhat unclear from the text. |
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[[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]], as well as the [[Roman Republic]]ans, became generally quite wary of many people seeking to implement a popular coup. [[Shakespeare]] portrays the struggle of one such anti-tyrannical Roman, [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], in his play ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]''. |
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In Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Chapter III, Augustus was shown to assume the power of a tyrant while sharing power with the reformed senate. "After a decent resistance, the crafty tyrant submitted to the orders of the senate; and consented to receive the government of the provinces, and the general command of the Roman armies..." Emperors "humbly professed themselves the accountable ministers of the senate, whose supreme decrees they dictated and obeyed." The Roman Empire "may be defined as an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth." Roman emperors were deified. Gibbons called emperors tyrants and their rule tyranny. His definitions in the chapter were related to the absolutism of power alone - not oppression, injustice or cruelty. He ignored the appearance of shared rule. |
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== Enlightenment == |
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[[File:Le peuple français demandant la destitution du tyran 10 août 1792-François Gérard-IMG 2351.JPG|thumb|[[François Gérard]], ''The French people demanding destitution of the Tyran on [[10 August (French Revolution)|10 August 1792]]'']] |
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In the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], thinkers applied the word tyranny to the system of governance that had developed around [[aristocracy]] and [[monarchy]]. Specifically, [[John Locke]] as part of his argument against the "[[Divine Right of Kings]]" in his book ''[[Two Treatises of Government]]'' defines it this way: "Tyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which nobody can have a right to; and this is making use of the power any one has in his hands, not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private, separate advantage."<ref>[[Two Treatises of Government]] (199)</ref> Locke's concept of tyranny influenced the writers of subsequent generations who developed the concept of tyranny as counterpoint to ideas of [[human rights]] and [[democracy]]. [[Thomas Jefferson]] referred to the tyranny of [[King George III of Great Britain]] in the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], and the concept was refined in turn to refer to the [[Kings of France]], the tyrants of [[Reign of Terror|the Terror]], and to [[Napoleon I]] in turn during the [[French Revolution]] and subsequent regimes.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} |
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== Lists of tyrants == |
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Lists include: |
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* [[List of ancient Greek tyrants]] numbering several hundred plus those of Syracuse. |
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* [[List of tyrants of Syracuse]] numbering about 20. |
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* 100 throughout history, including 40 from the 20th century<ref>{{cite book | last = Cawthorne | first = Nigel | title = Tyrants : history's 100 most evil despots & dictators | publisher = Arcturus | location = London | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0572030254 }}</ref> |
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* 13 20th century tyrants<ref>{{cite book | last = Chirot | first = Daniel | title = Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age | publisher = Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International | location = New York Toronto New York | year = 1994 | isbn = 9780029054772}}</ref> |
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* 30 tyrants of the late 20th century<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006">{{cite book | last = Wallechinsky | first = David | title = Tyrants : the world's 20 worst living dictators | publisher = Regan | location = New York | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0060590048 }}</ref> |
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* 20 tyrants of the early 21st century<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006"/> |
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There are also numerous book titles which identify tyrants by name or circumstances.<ref>{{cite book | last = Harden | first = Blaine | title = The great leader and the fighter pilot : the true story of the tyrant who created North Korea and the young lieutenant who stole his way to freedom | publisher = Viking | location = New York, New York | year = 2015 | isbn = 9780670016570 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Fuegner | first = Richard | title = Beneath the tyrant's yoke : Norwegian resistance to the German occupation of Norway, 1940-1945 | publisher = Beaver's Pond Press | location = Edina, Minn | year = 2003 | isbn = 9781931646864 }}</ref> |
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Among English rulers, several have been identified as tyrants by book title: [[John, King of England]]<ref>{{cite book | last = Church | first = Stephen | title = King John : England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant | publisher = Pan Macmillan | location = London, UK | year = 2015 | isbn = 9780230772458 }}</ref> (who signed the Magna Carta), [[Henry VIII of England]]<ref>{{cite book | last = Rex | first = Richard | title = Henry VIII : The Tudor Tyrant | publisher = Amberley Pub | location = Stroud, Gloucestershire | year = 2009 | isbn = 9781848680982 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Hutchinson | first = Robert | title = The last days of Henry VIII : conspiracies, treason, and heresy at the court of the dying tyrant | publisher = William Morrow | location = New York | year = 2005 | isbn = 9780060837334 }}</ref> and [[Oliver Cromwell]].<ref>"Killing No Murder, Originally Applied to Oliver Cromwell - A Discourse Proving it Lawful to Kill a Tyrant According to the Opinion of the Most Celebrated Ancient Authors." by Col. Titus, Alias William Allen</ref> |
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== Methods of obtaining and retaining power == |
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The path of a tyrant can appear easy and pleasant (for all but the aristocracy). A twentieth-century historian said, |
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<blockquote> |
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"Hence the road to power in Greece commercial cities was simple: to attack the aristocracy, defend the poor, and come to an understanding with the middle classes. Arrived at power, the dictator abolished debts, or confiscated large estates, taxed the rich to finance public works, or otherwise redistributed the overconcentrated wealth; and while attaching the masses to himself through such measures, he secured the support of the business community by promoting trade with state coinage and commercial treaties, and by raising the social prestige of the bourgeoisie. Forced to depend upon popularity instead of hereditary power, the dictatorships for the most part kept out of war, supported religion, maintained order, promoted morality, favored the higher status of women, encouraged the arts, and lavished revenues upon the beautification of their cities. And they did all these things, in many cases, while preserving the forms of popular government, so that even under despotism the people learned the ways of liberty. When the dictatorship [of the tyrant] had served to destroy the aristocracy the people destroyed the dictatorship; and only a few changes were needed to make democracy of freemen a reality as well as a form."<ref>{{cite book | last = Durant | first = Will | title = The Life of Greece | publisher = Simon & Schuster | location = New York | year = 1939 | pages= 122–123}}</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
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Ancient Greek philosophers (who were aristocrats) were far more critical in reporting the methods of tyrants. The justification for ousting a tyrant was absent from the historian's description but was central to the philosophers. |
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=== Obtaining === |
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"The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness.... This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector." Plato in The Republic |
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Dictators inherit the position, rise as company men in the military/party or seize power as entrepreneurs.<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006 7">{{cite book | last = Wallechinsky | first = David | title = Tyrants : the world's 20 worst living dictators | publisher = Regan | location = New York | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0060590048 | page=7 }}</ref> Early texts called only the entrepreneurs tyrants, distinguishing them from "bad kings". Such tyrants may act as renters, rather than owners, of the state. |
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The political methods of obtaining power were occasionally supplemented by theater or force. Peisistratus of Athens blamed self-inflicted wounds on enemies to justify a bodyguard which he used to seize power. He later appeared with a woman dressed as a goddess to suggest divine sanction of his rule.<ref>{{cite book | last = Lane | first = Melissa S. | title = The birth of politics : eight Greek and Roman political ideas and why they matter | publisher = Princeton University Press | location = Princeton, New Jersey | year = 2014 | isbn = 978-0-691-16647-6 |pages= 77–78 }} Based on Herodotus, The History 1.59-60</ref> The third time he used mercenaries to seize and retain power.<ref>Herodotus, The History 1.61-64</ref> |
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=== Retaining === |
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Lengthy recommendations of methods were made to tyrants by Aristotle (in Politics for example) and [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] (in The Prince).<ref name=Adler/> These are, in general, force and fraud. They include hiring bodyguards, stirring up wars to smother dissent, purges, assassinations, unwarranted searches and seizures... Aristotle suggested an alternative means of retaining power - ruling justly. |
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The methods of tyrants to retain power have changed little in over two thousand years. |
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They placate world opinion by staging rigged elections.<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006 2"/> |
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They use or threaten violence.<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006 7"/> |
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They seek popular support by appeals to patriotism and claims that conditions have improved.<ref name="Wallechinsky 2006 7"/> |
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"The tyrant binds his followers to him by making them accomplices to his crimes." Anonymous<ref name="Frank 1999 889">{{cite book | last = Frank | first = Leonard | title = Random House Webster's quotationary | publisher = Random House | location = New York | year = 1999 | isbn = 9780679448501 | page = 889}}</ref> |
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"The tyrant confuses those he can't convince, corrupts those he can't confuse, and crushes those he can't corrupt." Anonymous<ref name="Frank 1999 889"/> |
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== Psychology of tyrants == |
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The classics note that tyrants are often unhappy.<ref name=Adler/> "In every tyrant's heart there springs in the end this poison, that he cannot trust a friend." (Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound). Tyrants appear to suffer psychological pathologies that result in self-destructive behavior. "His grandiosity and his skills in deception, manipulation, and intimidation are an advantage to him in securing power. But as he moves toward absolute power, he is also apt to cross moral and geographic boundaries in ways that place him in a vulnerable position. Thus, he may engage in cruelties that serve no political purpose, challenge the conventional morality in ways that undermine his base, engage in faulty reality testing, and overreach himself in foreign engagements in ways that invite new challenges to his rule."<ref>{{cite journal |
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| last = Glad | first = Betty |
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| date = March 2002 |
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| title = Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power |
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| jstor = 3792241 |
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| journal = Political Psychology |
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| volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–37 |
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| doi=10.1111/0162-895x.00268 |
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}}</ref> These pathologies are not evident earlier in life although those without a certain level of brutal self-assurance do not become dictators. The ruled also exhibit pathologies. An attempt on Hitler's life outraged Germans. "When Stalin died many wept, even in the concentration camps!"<ref>{{cite book | last = Chirot | first = Daniel | title = Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age | publisher = Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International | location = New York Toronto New York | year = 1994 | isbn = 9780029054772 | page=162}}</ref> There is no simple relationship between popularity and tyranny. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Outposts of tyranny]] |
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* [[Tyranny of the majority]] |
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* [[Tyrannicide]] |
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* [[Despotism]] |
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* [[Dictator]] |
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* [[Dictatorship]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 14:58, 7 December 2018
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the hate good and they love food but people wound eat there baby and the mom so they left the palce and a te love and life
References
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to Tyranny.
- Tyrant by Jona Lendering at livius.org.
- Bryn Mawr Classical Review
- Victor Parker, A History of Greece, 1300 to 30 BC (chapter 7)