Archon (office)
Archon ( Greek ἄρχων Archon , German , Ruling ' ; of ἄρχω archo , German , be the first' , in a figurative sense, rule '), pl. Archons, was originally the term for a leading official in ancient Greece . The use of the title is for a period of approximately 1000 BC. BC up to the Middle Ages for the Greek populated areas of antiquity , later also for Greek-influenced cities in the Middle East and Asia Minor as well as for the Byzantine Empire and areas influenced by Byzantine.
The meaning of the office or title changed significantly during this period and from region to region.
Ancient Greece
At least originally, the archonate was probably the highest state office in a polis . In later times there were also alliance archons.
The development and function of the Archonate is only known in detail for Athens , see main article Archon (Athens) .
Administrative, cultic-religious (in Athens: Archon basileus ), military (in Athens: Archon polemarchos ) and judicial (in Athens: Archon eponymos ) are evidenced as various possible areas of responsibility of an archon . In later parlance, Archon could only simply mean “official”.
Archons can be identified for many cities and areas of Central Greece and for states dependent on or influenced by Athens. In detail:
- Megara (during the period of membership of the Boeotian League )
- Boeotia (initially in individual cities such as Chaironeia and Thebes , later as federal official of the Boeotian Federation)
- Lokris (initially in individual cities, later in the entire state of the Lokrians)
- Phocis (initially in individual cities, later in the Phocian League)
- Doris
- Thessaly
- Aetolia
- several Aegean islands like Delos , Ios or Thasos
- several cities of Asia Minor such as Ephesus or Lampsakos
- isolated colonies on the Black Sea like Tomoi and in the western Mediterranean like Rhegion
Later use
In the epoch of Hellenism , the title moved further east, so archons are also documented for Greek administered (and at least partially populated) cities in Greco-Roman Egypt and the Parthian Empire . A copy of a letter in which the Parthian King Artabanos II addresses the archons of the city of Susa , Antiochus and Phraates, comes from the year 21 AD . An archon named Pollios Soter is attested for the Egyptian Thebes from the time of Trajan .
Also in the Byzantine Empire and in Byzantine influenced areas the term lived on with different meanings, see main article Archon (Byzantium) .
literature
- Valerian von Schoeffer : Archontes . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 565-599.
- Peter Rhodes: Archontes [I, Office]. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 1, Metzler, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-476-01471-1 , Sp. 1026-1028.
- Jadran Ferluga : Archon. A contribution to the investigation of the South Slavic rulers in the 9th and 10th centuries in the light of Byzantine sources . In: Norbert Kamp , Joachim Wollasch : Tradition as a historical force. Interdisciplinary research on the history of the early Middle Ages (Festschrift for Karl Hauck ). De Gruyter, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-11-008237-3 , pp. 254-266.
Individual evidence
- ^ Daniel T. Potts: The Archeology of Elam. Formation and Transformation of an ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1999, ISBN 0-521-56496-4 , p. 363 (translation of the letter).
- ^ Roger Lichtenberg: Pratiques et croyances funéraires en Égypte romaine. In: Hildegard Temporini , Wolfgang Haase (Hrsg.): Rise and decline of the Roman world . Department 2: Principat. Volume 18: Wolfgang Haase (Ed.): Religion - Heidentum. The religious conditions in the provinces. Volume 5. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1995, ISBN 3-11-014238-4 , pp. 3216-3315, here p. 3271.