Final answer:
Rulers use art and architecture to legitimize their rule by showcasing wealth, asserting cultural and religious values, and embodying their power in physical forms. Throughout history, from the Fatimid caliphates to the French monarchy, art has served as a political tool to convey legitimacy and authority.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rulers have historically used art and architecture as powerful tools to legitimize their rule and convey political messages. This practice can be seen across various cultures and periods in history. For example, the Fatimid rulers built magnificent palaces and commissioned mosques with detailed decorations to emphasize the power of the caliph and the importance of Islamic values. Similarly, during the Mughal period, the arts were a means of expression for the emperors, who imported Persian masters to enhance aesthetic and design qualities in their realm.
In Byzantium, rulers traced their legitimacy back to the founding of Constantinople, whilst elsewhere, like in the Ilkhanid and Mamluk realms, they asserted their right to rule through the sponsorship of architecture reflecting their adopted religious and cultural ideals. The Mamluks, for instance, produced renowned decorative objects and monumental architecture that showcased the wealth and power of the sultanate, benefiting both economically and culturally from the trade that their arts encouraged.
Asserting Legitimacy through art and architecture was also a strategy employed by French King Louis XIV, often referred to as the "Sun King," who established the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and mandated a classicizing style that would serve to glorify the monarchy and reinforce his absolute power and divine right to rule. Portraiture and depictions of royal figures across various cultures also played a crucial role in both celebrating and cementing the authority of rulers over their domains.