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→Early Thrones and Cultures
What is telling about thrones is that they were common as soon as regions began to develop the idea of kings and royal authority. Few other pieces of furniture became so common throughout much of the ancient world. In ancient China, chairs were classified and associated with classes of people who could sit on certain chairs. Thrones in China, like many other regions, began to be named, with the latest name used was the Dragon Throne, where the name lasted until the last Qing Dynasty emperor rules in the early 20th century. In India, the ancient name for the throne was the seat of the lion. Similar to China, it was intricately decorated and was only associated with royal authority.<ref>For more on thrones around Asia, see: Stunkel, K.R. (2011)<i> Ideas and art in Asian civilizations: India, China, and Japan.</i> Armonk, N.Y, M.E. Sharpe, Inc.</ref>
Europe's oldest throne room is found at the palace of Knossos, a city in Crete that existed in the 2nd millennium BCE. Similar to the ancient Near East, the idea of a throne room was also meant to not only have the raised chair and platform where the king would receive people but wall decorations of griffins, which also became symbols of royal power in the Mediterranean and stretching to Central Asia. At Knossos, the throne also was surrounded by benches, which were possibly used by the king's council. Thus, thrones also became to symbolize a type of court where council would be given to the king. Later, the idea of a parliament retained this idea, where a king would receive council sitting on a raised throne.<ref>For more on Knossos, see: Castleden, R. (1990) <i>The Knossos labyrinth: a new view of the ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knosos.</i> London ; New York, Routledge.</ref>
Thrones were also independently used in the New World. Aztec gods, such as Ehecatl, were shown as seated on thrones. An elaborate throne in Tenochtitlan was found, called the throne of Montezuma, which was used for religious and royal ceremony. The Aztec king likely sat on it to perform his religious duties where he made contact with the earth and sun, acting as the sacred guardian of both these important symbols of religious authority.<ref>For more on Mayan thrones, see: McKillop, H. (2004) <i>The ancient Maya: new perspectives.</i> ABC-Clio’s understanding ancient civilizations. Santa Barbara,Calif., ABC-CLIO, pg. 220</ref><ref>For more on the Aztec thrones, see: Mundy, B.E. (2015) <i>The death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the life of Mexico City.</i> Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture. Austin, University of Texas Press, pg. 216</ref>
==Later Authority==