Daily tasks of royalty

[elmenora]

Hey, fellow detailers

Comments

books on the Roman example

[vaznetti]

Although it is very long, you might find Fergus Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World useful -- it is basically "how Roman emperors ruled." There are also a huge number of biographies of Roman emperors -- e.g Julia Bennett on Trajan, Barbara Levick on Tiberius, Claudius, Vespasian and Augustus (who, as the founder of the whole system, may be less useful to you as an example). There are also sourcebooks, e.g. B. Levick, The Government of the Roman Empire.

Although presumably, if there is a civil war going on, your ruler's first priority is winning that war. Military activity is traditionally a high priority for ancient rulers.

Re: books on the Roman example

[elmenora]

Cool, I'll see what the local library has in stock.

[jayb111]

A lot depends on the character of the emperor himself - how hands-on he is, how competent he is, how lazy or hardworking he is. Also, is there any kind of representative assembly or parliament or council which he has to defer to

[orthent]

If he's really into detail (and if it's a literate society) read over all the paperwork, accounts etc generated by his government and household...

And if he's really, really into detail, correct the spelling and grammar on said paperwork, like Philip II of Spain, who reviewed every document personally, no matter how trivial. This is why official business was transacted at a snail's pace, and why his viceroy in the New World said that "if only death came from Spain, we should all be immortal."

[herongale]

A fictional series you might find very useful would be the Twelve Kingdoms light novels/anime, which is set in a fantasy alternate-universe version of ancient China. The details of day-to-day governance are actually pretty well laid out, especially in the novels. This would be my recommendation for you.

[voidmancer]

I second this. It's a real good anime to watch. :D

[elmenora]

Ooooh, that sounds like a fun read. I'll track them down :)

[sollersuk]

In many Eastern country the key figure was the vizier or whatever the local title was, who was responsible for most of the day-to-day work, and he in turn would delegate to what was often quite a complex bureaucracy. The ruler would make the decisions, but he would see to it that they were carried out.

[stormwreath]

Something to bear in mind is that in ancient times monarchs were often expected to travel around a great deal. This let them oversee their local officials and governors, and impress them with the awe and majesty of the King's Army so they weren't tempted to revolt. :-) This custom also had the practical benefit of spreading the financial burden of supporting the royal household around the countryside - though that would be more important in a mostly rural nation (like mediaeval Europe) than a more urbanised one

[elmenora]

Excellent, that actually makes the story go a little smoother. I won't have to find excuses for him to be in the right places... he'll just be passing through on regular business.

[marycatelli]

This was known as going on progress -- the modern meaning in fact stems from it.

[thelilyqueen]

It spread the burden of the mess of so many people at court as well... while the monarch and rest of the court were away, a royal residence would sometimes get a more in-depth cleaning, waste like food scraps (wherever it got shoved off to) would get a chance to decay down a bit, etc.