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Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. The word ''despotism'' means to "rule in the fashion of a despot" and does not necessarily require a singular "despot", an individual. Despot comes from the Greek ''despotes'', which roughly means "master" or "one with power", and it has been used to translate a wide variety of titles and positions. It was used to describe the unlimited power and authority of the Pharaohs of Egypt, employed in the Byzantine court as a title of nobility, used by the rulers of Byzantine vassal states, and adopted as a title of the Byzantine Emperors. Thus, ''despot'' is found to have different meanings and interpretations at various times in history and cannot be described by a single definition. This is similar to the other Greek titles ''basileus'' and ''autokrator'', which, along with ''despot'', have been used at various times to describe everything from a local chieftain to a simple ruler, king or emperor. Colloquially, ''despot'' has been applied pejoratively to a person, particularly a head of state or government, who abuses their power and authority to oppress their people, subjects or subordinates. In this sense, it is similar to the pejorative connotations that have likewise arisen with the term ''tyrant''. ''Dictator'' has also developed nearly similar pejorative connotations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Are dictators ever good? )〕 == Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome== Of all the ancient Greeks, Aristotle was perhaps the most influential promoter of the concept of ''oriental despotism''; his student, Alexander the Great who conquered Persia, ruled by the ''despotic'' Darius III last king of the Achaemenid dynasty. Aristotle asserted that oriental despotism is based not on force, but on consent. Hence, fear cannot be said to be its motive force, instead the power of the despot master feeds upon the servile nature of those enslaved. Among Greek society, a man is free, capable of holding office and ruling and being ruled; among the barbarians, all are slaves by nature. Another difference Aristotle espoused was based on climates. He observed that the peoples of cold countries, especially those of Europe, are full of spirit, but deficient in skill and intelligence; and that the peoples of Asia, although endowed with skill and intelligence, are deficient in spirit, and hence are subjected to slavery. Possessing both spirit and intelligence the Greeks are free to govern all other peoples (Politics 7.1327b ()). For the historian Herodotus, it is the way of the Orient to be ruled by autocrats and, even though ''Oriental'', the character faults of despots are no more pronounced than the ordinary man's - but they are given much greater opportunity for indulgence. The story of ''Croesus of Lydia'' is a case in point. Leading up to Alexander's expansion into Asia, most Greeks were repelled by the Oriental notion of a sun-king, and the divine law that Oriental societies accepted. Herodotus's version of history advocated a society where men became free when they consented lawfully to the social contract of their respective city-state. Edward Gibbon suggested that the increasing use of Oriental-style despotism by the Roman emperors was a major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire, particularly from the reign of Elagabalus: As the attention of the new emperor was diverted by the most trifling amusements, he wasted many months in his luxurious progress from Syria to Italy, passed at Nicomedia his first winter after his victory, and deferred till the ensuing summer his triumphal entry into the capital. A faithful picture, however, which preceded his arrival, and was placed by his immediate order over the altar of Victory in the senate-house, conveyed to the Romans the just but unworthy resemblance of his person and manners. He was drawn in his sacerdotal robes of silk and gold, after the loose flowing fashion of the Medes and Phoenicians; his head was covered with a lofty tiara, his numerous collars and bracelets were adorned with gems of an inestimable value. His eyebrows were tinged with black, and his cheeks painted with an artificial red and white. The grave senators confessed with a sigh, that, after having long experienced the stern tyranny of their own countrymen, Rome was at length humbled beneath the effeminate luxury of Oriental despotism. (''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', Book One, Chapter Six) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「despotism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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