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Ethnarch
Ethnarch, pronounced /ˈɛθnɑːrk/, the anglicized form of ethnarches (Greek: ἐθνάρχης),
refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous
kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words ἔθνος (ethnos, "tribe/nation") and
ἄρχων (archon, "leader/ruler"). Strong's Concordance gives the definition of 'ethnarch' as
"the governor (not king) of a district."[1]

Contents
Antiquity
Byzantine Empire
Ottoman Empire
Modern Greece and Cyprus
Notes
References and sources

Antiquity
The title first appeared in the Hellenistic Middle East, possibly in Judea.[2] In the First book
of Maccabees the word is used three times (1 Maccabees 14:47 and 15:1-2), where Simon
Thassi is referred to as the high priest and ethnarch of the Judeans.[3][note 1]

It was used in the region even after it fell under the dominion of Rome, and into the early
Roman Empire, to refer to rulers of vassal kingdoms who did not rise to the level of kings.
The Romans used the terms natio and gens for a people as a genetic and cultural entity,
regardless of political statehood.

The best-known is probably Herod Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, who was ethnarch of
Samaria, Judea (Biblical Judah), and Idumea (Biblical Edom), from the death of his father
in 4 BC to AD 6. This region is known as the Tetrarchy of Judea. His brother Philip received
the north-east of the realm and was styled Tetrarch (circa 'ruler of a quarter'); and Galilee
was given to Herod Antipas, who bore the same title. Consequently, Archelaus' title singled
him out as the senior ruler, higher in rank than the tetrarchs and the chief of the Jewish
nation; these three sovereignties were in a sense reunited under Herod Agrippa from AD 41
to 44.[5]

Previously, Hyrcanus II, one of the later Hasmonean rulers of Judea, had also held the title
of ethnarch, as well as that of High Priest.

In the New Testament the word is used only once by the Apostle Paul in his Second Epistle
to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:32).[3][note 2] However the definition of the word in
terms of the actual jurisdiction and public office of the ethnarch may not be accurately
determined.[3]

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Byzantine Empire
The Byzantines used the term generically to refer to the rulers of barbarian tribes or realms
outside the boundaries of their empire.[6] In a Christian context, where ethnikos meant
"pagan," some Church Fathers used the term ethnarches to designate pagan national
gods.[2] In the 10th century, the term acquired a more technical sense, when it was given to
several high-ranking commanders. Although the specific nature of the title is not attested, it
is generally accepted that in the 10th–11th centuries, it signified the commanders of the
contingent of foreign mercenaries serving in the Byzantine army.[2]

Ottoman Empire
Rather different was the case of minority community ethnarchs, especially within the
Islamic Ottoman Empire that were recognized as legitimate entities (millet) and thus
allowed to be heard by the government through an officially acknowledged representative,
though without political persona.

When the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II decided to give such dialogue a more formal nature,
the logical choice for the major Orthodox Christian communities was the Greek Orthodox
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The non-Chalcedonian Christians (Armenians,
Syriacs, and Copts) were represented by the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. For
the far smaller, but also influential Jewish diaspora, a similar position was granted to the
Hakham Bashi, i.e., chief rabbi.

Modern Greece and Cyprus

In modern Greek usage, the term has the connotation of "father of the nation", and is widely
used as an epithet applied to some of the most influential political leaders of modern
Hellenism: Eleftherios Venizelos, and Konstantinos Karamanlis.[7][8] In the context of
modern Cyprus, the term nearly always refers to the nation's first president, Archbishop
Makarios.

Notes
1. "And Simon accepted and was pleased to be high priest and to be commander and
ethnarch of the Judeans and priests and to protect all of them." (1 Maccabees 14:47,
NETS).[4]
2. "In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the
Damascenes in order to seize me," (2 Corinthians 11:32, NASB).

References and sources

References

1. STRONGS NT 1481: ἐθνάρχης (http://biblehub.com/greek/1481.htm). Strong's

Concordance (Bible Hub). Retrieved: 18 August 2014.
2. Kazhdan (1991), p. 734
3. (in Greek) Γεώργιος Γρατσέας. "Έθνάρχης." Θρησκευτική και Ηθική

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Ethnarch - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnarch

Εγκυκλοπαίδεια (ΘΗΕ). Τόμος 5 (Διοκλητιανός-Ζώτος). Αθηναι – Αθαν. Μαρτινος,

1964. σελ. 351.
4. 1 Makkabees (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/20-1makk-nets.pdf). Transl.
George Themelis Zervos. In: Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright (Eds.). A NEW
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE SEPTUAGINT. Oxford University Press, 2009.
p. 500.
5. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tetrarch"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%
C3%A6dia_Britannica/Tetrarch). Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge
University Press. p. 671.
6. "ETHNARCH" in The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, New
York & Oxford, 1991, p. 734. ISBN 0195046528
7. Yilmaz, Hakan; Aykaç, Çagla E (2012), Perceptions of Islam in Europe: Culture, Identity
and the Muslim 'Other' (https://books.google.com/books?id=VGwJ5jTfKPMC&pg=PA82),
I.B.Tauris, p. 82, ISBN 9781848851641
8. (in Greek) ΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΗ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΤΑΓΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
1940–1986 ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΑΔΗΣ ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ p. 149.

Sources

Flavius Josephus
Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University
Press, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
STRONGS NT 1481: ἐθνάρχης (http://biblehub.com/greek/1481.htm). Strong's
Concordance (Bible Hub). Retrieved: 18 August 2014.
(in Greek) Γεώργιος Γρατσέας. "Έθνάρχης." Θρησκευτική και Ηθική
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια (ΘΗΕ). Τόμος 5 (Διοκλητιανός-Ζώτος). Αθηναι – Αθαν. Μαρτινος,
1964. σελ. 351.

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