Glossary · Term · government

Theocracy

c. 515 BCE – present · 6th century BCE

Theocracy is government in the name of God, by priests, a sacred ruler or religious law. Named by Josephus for ancient Judea, it took forms as different as the Papal States, Tibet under the Dalai Lamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mentioned in 4 profiles

ChavínGovernanceSanxingdui cultureSociety, SummaryNorthern WeiGovernanceNuragic civilisationSociety

Full profile: Theocracy →

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Chan Santa CruzCaucasian ImamateTheocracy of Amun at Thebes

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Theocracy. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theocracy
MLA
“Theocracy.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theocracy. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Theocracy.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theocracy.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Theocracy’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theocracy (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻