Editing Edict

{{short description|Announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

[[File:Edict of Tongzhi Emperor in 1874.jpg|thumb|250px|Edict of the [[Tongzhi Emperor]] in 1874]]
An '''edict''' is a decree or announcement of a [[law]], often associated with [[monarchies]], but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin [[wikt:edictum#Latin|edictum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/edict|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925172442/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/edict|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 25, 2016|title=edict – Definition of edict in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries – English|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref>

==Notable edicts==
* [[Telepinu Proclamation]], by [[Telipinu]], king of the [[Hittites]]. Written c. 1550 BC, it helped archeologists to construct a succession of Hittite Kings. It also recounts [[Mursili I]]'s conquest of [[Babylon]].
* [[Edicts of Ashoka]], by the [[Mauryan]] emperor, [[Ashoka]], during his reign from 272 BC to 231 BC.
* Reform of [[Roman calendar|Roman Calendar]], [[Julian calendar|Julian Calendar]], took effect on 1 January [[Ab urbe condita|AUC]] 709 (45 BC).
* [[Edictum perpetuum]] (129), an [[Roman Empire|Imperial]] revision of the long-standing [[Praetor's Edict]], a periodic document which first began under the late [[Roman Republic]] (c. 509–44 BC).
* [[Edict on Maximum Prices]] (301), by [[Roman Emperor]] [[Diocletian]]. It attempted to reform the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] system of taxation and to stabilize the coinage.
* [[Edict of Toleration by Galerius|Edict of Toleration]] (311), by [[Galerius]] before his death. This proclamation removed all previous restrictions on the [[Christianity|Christian]] religion, allowing it and all other religions to be practiced throughout the [[Roman Empire]].
* [[Edict of Milan]] (313), by [[Constantine the Great]], and [[Licinius]], the Eastern [[Tetrarchy|tetrarch]]. It declared that the [[Roman Empire]] would be neutral with regard to religious worship, officially ending all government-sanctioned religious persecution, especially of Christianity.
* [[Edict of Paris]] (614), by [[Clotaire II]] of [[Neustria]]. It tried to establish order by standardising the appointment process for public officials across the realm. It guaranteed the nobility their ancient rights, and in this respect has been seen as a French [[Magna Carta]].
* [[Edict of Pistres]] (864), by [[Charles the Bald]]. It reformed the [[West Franks|West Frankish]] army and laid the foundations for the famous French [[chivalry]] of the [[High Middle Ages]]. It also ordered the construction of fortified bridgeheads to deal with [[Viking]] raiders.
* [[Edict on the Transfer of the Capital]] (1010), by [[Lý Thái Tổ]], founder of the [[Lý dynasty]]. The capital of Đại Cồ Việt was shifted from [[Hoa Lư Ancient Capital|Hoa Lư]] to [[Đại La]] as a result.
* [[:zh:建国号诏|Edict on the Proclamation of the Dynastic Name]] (1271), by [[Kublai Khan]] (Emperor Shizu) of the [[Yuan dynasty]] of China. The edict promulgated the dynastic title of "Great Yuan", officially established the Yuan dynasty as a [[Dynasties in Chinese history|Chinese dynasty]], and explicitly claimed political succession from the [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors]] to the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref name="Yuan">{{cite book|last1=Xie|first1=Xuanjun|title=My Way of Looking at the Second Phase of Chinese Civilization|year=2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-SPDAAAQBAJ&dq=%E5%BB%BA%E5%9B%BD%E5%8F%B7%E8%AF%8F+%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E7%8E%8B%E6%9C%9D&pg=PA81|page=81|publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781329995345}}</ref>
* [[Edict of Expulsion]] (1290), by King [[Edward I of England]]. It ordered the expulsion of all [[Jews]] from England and the [[confiscation]] of their real property.
* [[Diet of Worms|Edict of Worms]] (1521), by the [[Diet of Worms]], with [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] presiding. It declared [[Martin Luther]] to be an outlaw and banned the reading or possession of his writings. The edict permitted anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence.
* [[Edict of Saint-Germain]] (1562), by [[Catherine de' Medici]], Queen of [[France]], in January 1562. It was an [[edict of toleration]] that recognized the existence of the [[Protestants]] and guaranteed [[freedom of conscience]] and private worship. It forbade [[Huguenot]] worship within towns (where conflicts flared up too easily), but permitted Protestant [[synod]]s and [[session (Presbyterianism)|consistories]].
* [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), by King [[Henry IV of France]]. It granted all of the above listings the French Protestants (also known as [[Huguenots]]) substantial rights in [[France]], a [[Catholic]] nation.
* [[Edict of Restitution]] (1629), by [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]]. It attempted to restore the religious and territorial settlement after the [[Peace of Augsburg]] (1555). It forbade the [[secularization]] of land and property belonging to the [[Catholic Church]].
* [[Sakoku Edict of 1635|Sakoku Edict]] (1635), the third of a series issued by [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]], ''[[shōgun]]'' of [[Japan]] from 1623 to 1651. The Edict of 1635 is considered a prime example of the Japanese desire for [[isolationism]] ({{Transliteration|ja|[[sakoku]]}}). This decree is one of the many acts that were written by Iemitsu to eliminate Catholic influence, and enforced strict government rules and regulations to impose these ideas. The Edict of 1635 was written to the two commissioners of [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]], a port city located in southwestern Japan.
* [[Edict of Fontainebleau]] (1685), by [[Louis XIV of France]]. It revoked the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598) and ordered the destruction of [[Huguenot]] churches.
* [[Sacred Edict of the Kangxi Emperor|Sacred Edict]] (1670), by the [[Kangxi Emperor]] of the [[Qing dynasty]] of China. Made up of 16 maxims, it served to instruct the average Chinese people of the basic principles of [[Confucianism]]. The Sacred Edict was subsequently expanded upon in a separate edict issued by the [[Yongzheng Emperor]] in 1724.
* A [[France|French]] edict by [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert|Finance Minister Colbert]] (17th century) was intended to improve the quality of [[cloth]]. This law declared that if a [[merchant]]'s cloth was not found to be satisfactory on three occasions, then he was to be tied to a post with the cloth attached to him.
* [[Edict of Gülhane]] (1839), Ottoman edict that ushered in the Tanzimât period
* [[Edict of Toleration (Hawaii)|Edict of Toleration]] (1839), by King [[Kamehameha III]] of [[Kingdom of Hawaii|Hawaii]]. It allowed for the establishment of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu|Catholic Church in Hawaii]].
* [[Hatt-ı Hümayun of 1856]] (Reform Edict of 1856) by [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Sultan [[Abdülmecid I]], promised equality in education, government appointments, and administration of justice to all regardless of creed.
* [[Imperial decree of declaration of war against foreign powers|Imperial Decree of the Declaration of War Against Foreign Powers]] (1900), issued in the name of the [[Guangxu Emperor]] of the [[Qing dynasty]] of China, declared war against the [[Russian Empire]], the [[United States|United States of America]], the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]], the [[Empire of Japan]], the [[French Third Republic|French Republic]], the [[German Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Italy]], the [[Restoration (Spain)|Kingdom of Spain]], the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Monarchy]], the [[Belgium|Kingdom of Belgium]], and the [[Netherlands]] simultaneously, which culminated in the [[Eight-Nation Alliance|Eight-Nation Alliance Invasion]].
* [[Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor]] (1912), issued in the name of the [[Puyi|Xuantong Emperor]] of the [[Qing dynasty]] of China, marked the end of the dynasty and 2133 years of imperial rule in China, whilst simultaneously transferred the sovereignty of China (including [[Manchuria under Qing rule|Manchuria]], [[Mongolia under Qing rule|Mongolia]], [[Xinjiang under Qing rule|Xinjiang]], and [[Tibet under Qing rule|Tibet]]) to the nascent [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]].<ref name="Puyi1">{{cite book|last1=Esherick|first1=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reKxAAAAQBAJ&q=complete+territories+of+manchu,+han,+mongol,+hui,+tibetan&pg=PA245|title=Empire to Nation: Historical Perspectives on the Making of the Modern World|last2=Kayali|first2=Hasan|last3=Van Young|first3=Eric|year=2006|isbn=9780742578159|page=245|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers }}</ref><ref name="Puyi2">{{cite book|last1=Zhai|first1=Zhiyong|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziEwDwAAQBAJ&q=仍合滿、漢、蒙、回、藏五族完全領土為一大中華民國&pg=PA190|title=憲法何以中國|year=2017|isbn=9789629373214|page=190|publisher=City University of HK Press }}</ref><ref name="Puyi3">{{cite book|last1=Gao|first1=Quanxi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P46rDAAAQBAJ&q=仍合滿、漢、蒙、回、藏五族完全領土為一大中華民國&pg=PA273|title=政治憲法與未來憲制|year=2016|isbn=9789629372910|page=273|publisher=City University of HK Press }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Edicts}}
{{Wiktionary|edict}}
* [[Edict of government]], a category of uncopyrightable works according to the US Copyright Office
* [[Decree]]
* [[Fatwa]]
* [[Proclamation]]
* [[Rescript]]
* [[Official communications of the Chinese Empire]]
* [[Special:PrefixIndex/Edict|All articles on English Wikipedia starting with "Edict"]]
* [[Jarlig]]
* [[Firman]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Edicts| ]]
[[Category:Sources of law]]