Lykiarch
The Lykiarch ( ancient Greek λυκιάρχης, literally "ruler of Lycia ") exercised a prominent function in the Lycian League . As a senior civil servant, he is already occupied in the Hellenistic period . For the Roman Empire , the relationship between the Lyciarch and the Lycian federal priest in the imperial cult (ancient Greek ἀρχιερεύς [τῶν Σεβαστiereν], archiereus ton Sebaston ) was controversial in research for a long time.
In the Hellenistic Lycian League, the Lykiarch is documented in the constitution handed down by Strabo as an official who was elected first at the Federal Assembly before other officials of the League. Some Greek inscriptions from Lycia name strategists , nauarchs and hipparchs as further officials in the Hellenistic Lycian League . These military posts became obsolete at the latest with the establishment of the Roman province of Lycia, the Lykiarch was replaced by the federal priest in the imperial cult.
In the imperial era, the title of Lyciarch must be seen together with similar designations from other federal organizations ( Koinon ) such as Asiarch , Bithyniarch or Galatari . In Lycia during the imperial period, the title Lykiarch can only be found again in Greek inscriptions from the 2nd century AD, while the Archiereus, the official designation of the incumbent federal priest, is found from the 1st century AD. The later imperial inscriptions from Lycia show that former federal priests were often referred to as Lyciarches. Babett Edelmann-Singer concludes with a view to such "Koinarchen" titles that provincial societies have changed their self-image by making use of ideas from pre-imperial times. In contrast to other Koina, in imperial Lycia official documents were dated to the Lycian federal priest, whose office must have been annuity .
literature
- Ralf Behrwald : The Lycian League. Studies on history and constitution (= Antiquitas series 1: Treatises on ancient history. Volume 48). Habelt, Bonn 2000, ISBN 3-7749-3035-X (also: Chemnitz, Techn. Univ., Diss., 1997/98).
- Babett Edelmann-Singer: Koina and Concilia. Genesis, organization and socio-economic function of the provincial parishes in the Roman Empire. Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-515-11100-3 , pp. 101-105.
- Denise Reitzenstein: The Lycian federal priests. Representation of the imperial elite of Lycia. (= Klio. Contributions to ancient history . New series, 17th supplement). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-05-005061-4 .