In theory the king may do what he pleases; his word is law.
The saying that ‘The law of the Medes and Persians altereth not’ was merely an
ancient periphrasis for the absolutism of the sovereign. He appoints and he may
dismiss all ministers, officers, officials, and judges. Over his own family and
household, and over the civil or military functionaries in his employ, he has
power of life and death without reference to any tribunal. The property of any
such individual, if disgraced or executed, reverts to him. The right to take
life in any case is vested in him alone, but can be delegated to governors or
deputies. All property, not previously granted by the crown or purchased—all
property, in fact, to which a legal title cannot be established—belongs to him,
and can be disposed of at his pleasure. All rights or privileges, such as the
making of public works, the working of mines, the institution of telegraphs,
roads, railroads, tramways, etc., the exploitation, in fact, of any of the
resources of the country, are vested in him, and must be purchased from him
before they can be assumed by others. In his person are fused the threefold
functions of government, legislative, executive, and judicial. No obligation is
imposed upon him beyond the outward observance of the forms of the national
religion. He is the pivot upon which turns the entire machinery of public life.
- Lord Curzon (Extract from “Persia and the Persian Question”, quoted by Shoghi
Effendi in the Introduction to the Dawn-Breakers)
