Performing Emperorship

To be an emperor was a performance, which kept the emperor in power as long as it fulfilled a need in his subjects. The imperial court and its courtiers were the essential background for this performance. Coronation robes had to be invented and court dress designed and minutely regulated in order to mark gradations in rank among courtiers and officials. An extensive system of medals, honours, and decorations was used in all territories to reward those close to the crown and bind them to the emperor. In India, the viceregal court had to represent the might and magnificence of a distant empress and ensure the loyalty of the Indian princes who ruled a third of India.