Compared here are two distinct cases of dynastic guardianship, from Argead and Hellenistic Macedonia and from ancient and early medieval Armenia. The Armenian institution of dayekutʿiwn nurtured the foundling princes of extinguished clans, effectively reproducing an equilibrium of power between kings and nobles. The Macedonian practice of appointing a royal epitropos structured succession, taking on added significance after 200 B.C.E. Alternative Macedonian models of kingship also cast guardianship as a metaphor for non-charismatic monarchy.
