<P> The role of the Roman emperor as the protector of Christianity was conflated with the sacral aspects held by the Germanic kings to create the notion of "Divine right of kings" in the Christian Middle Ages . The Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period . </P> <P> Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where executive power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens . In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome (Roman Republic, 509 BC), and Athens (Athenian democracy, 500 BC). </P> <P> In Germanic antiquity, kingship was primarily a sacral function, and the king was either directly hereditary for some tribes, while for others he was elected from among eligible members of royal families by the thing . </P> <P> Such ancient "parliamentarism" declined during the European Middle Ages, but it survived in forms of regional assemblies, such as the Icelandic Commonwealth, the Swiss Landsgemeinde and later Tagsatzung, and the High Medieval communal movement linked to the rise of medieval town privileges . </P>

Where did the right to rule usually come from in a monarchy