The ''dēmarchos'' ( gr, δήμαρχος, 3=
archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
of the
deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th ...
; plural δήμαρχοι, ''dēmarchoi''), anglicized as Demarch, is a title historically given to officials related to civic administration. In
ancient Athens
Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achieve ...
the title was given to the elected chief magistrate of each of the
deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th ...
s of
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
. In later literature, the term was used as a translation of the
Roman office of . In the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
the ''dēmarchos'' was the leader of one of the racing factions (then known as "demes") of the
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...
. Largely concerned with ceremonial in the early centuries, from the 11th century the title was applied to various administrative positions in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, until the end of the empire. In modern usage, the term is used for the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
of a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality ...
.
Ancient Greece
Athens
In
Classical Athens
The city of Athens ( grc, Ἀθῆναι, ''Athênai'' .tʰɛ̂ː.nai̯ Modern Greek: Αθήναι, ''Athine'' or, more commonly and in singular, Αθήνα, ''Athina'' .'θi.na during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) wa ...
, the was the highest magistrate in each of the 139
deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th ...
s (, , sing. , ) that comprised
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
after the reforms of
Cleisthenes
Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...
.
The office lasted for one year, and was elected from the members of the deme (the δημώται, ), initially by direct vote, but by the end of the 4th century, he was usually elected by lot. The of
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Sar ...
was initially appointed by the (i.e., the Athenian
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
), as was that of
Oropus
Oropus or Oropos ( grc, ὁ Ὠρωπός, or rarely ἡ Ὠρωπός) was a town on the borders of ancient Attica and Boeotia, and the capital of a district, called after it Oropia (ἡ Ὠρωπία.) This district is a maritime plain, through ...
; these too eventually came to be elected by lot from among the entire Athenian citizen body. In some demes, the office was eponymous, i.e. it was used for dating, along with the names of the
eponymous archons
In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, ''epōnymos archōn''). "Archon" (ἄρχων, pl. ἄρχοντες, ''archontes'') means "ruler" or "lord", frequently ...
of the entire of Athens.
The responsibilities of the were to convene and chair the local assembly, and supervise the execution of its resolutions, as well as their engraving in public view. Along with the treasurers he supervised the deme's landed properties and their rent, as well as expenditure; along with the priests he was responsible for religious festivals, sacrifices, or theatre performances. As chief magistrate he also possessed considerable judicial powers, including holding his outgoing predecessor to account, and chairing the assembly when it was functioning as a public court. In the event that the deme as a whole was involved in a court case, he was responsible for representing it before the .
Occupying a crucial position at the interface between the deme and the Athenian , he was also charged with maintaining up to date the deme's register of citizens (, ), which he kept sealed at his own residence, as well as registers of those citizens eligible for
naval service as rowers in the
trireme
A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean ...
s. It is unclear whether he was also responsible for maintaining registers of those eligible for
hoplite service. He also had fiscal duties, supervising confiscations and maintaining the registers of confiscated property, as well as collecting (before 387/86 BC) the tax from property-owning citizens.
Other usage
The office is also attested in
Chios
Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is ...
in the 6th century BC, where the was appointed alongside the , possibly charged with judicial matters,
whereas in
Eretria
Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th cent ...
on
Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest ...
the was responsible for religious affairs.
In
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, originally a Greek colony in Italy, the was originally an important office, standing at the head of the . It is unclear whether it was held by a single person or a college of holders. The office survived into the Roman period, where it was reduced to a largely symbolic role supervising public religious acts and festivals. Its holders included the
Roman emperors Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
() and
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman '' municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispan ...
(). The office survived at least until the time of
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
().
Greek writers also commonly used the term to translate the
Roman magistrature of , probably influenced by the title's use in Naples and
other Greek cities of the area. The term was thus rendered ().
Byzantine usage
Background
In
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...
, the term "demes" () came to be used for the associations responsible for the organization of games and
chariot races
Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games f ...
. There were usually four, known by their colours as the Blues (Βένετοι, ), Greens (Πράσινοι, ), Whites (Λευκοὶ, ), and Reds (Ῥούσιοι, ). The Blues and Greens were the most important, with the Whites and Reds as their respective junior partners.
[.] In Late Antiquity, they were widespread across the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
, and even played an important political role, both as leading ceremonial acclamations to the emperor in the
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...
, and as organizing factors in urban riots in the empire's great cities, notably the
Nika revolt
The Nika riots ( el, Στάσις τοῦ Νίκα, translit=Stásis toû Níka), Nika revolt or Nika sedition took place against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople over the course of a week in 532 AD. They are often regarded as ...
in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
.
However, after the
Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
and the crisis of the 7th century, the were restricted to Constantinople and were reduced to a purely ceremonial role as integral parts of the administration: their personnel had court ranks, and were paid salaries by the .
According to the of 899, only the Blues and Greens survived, separated further into those "of the city" (πολιτικοὶ, ), under a ''dēmarchos'', and the "suburban" (περατικοὶ, ), under a , a role which was entrusted to senior military officials: the
Domestic of the Schools
The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally ...
for the Blues, and the
Domestic of the Excubitors
The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike moun ...
for the Greens. All of these were grouped under the generic label of .
History and functions
The title of is first securely attested in 602. The 10th-century ''
Patria of Constantinople The ''Patria'' of Constantinople ( el, Πάτρια Κωνσταντινουπόλεως), also regularly referred to by the Latin name ''Scriptores originum Constantinopolitarum'' ("writers on the origins of Constantinople"), are a Byzantine collec ...
'' refer to two under
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...
(), but this is most likely an anachronism.
[.] In popular usage, they are sometimes called (διοικηταὶ).
Their exact role is unclear: in view of their ceremonial role in later centuries,
Alan Cameron suggested that they were
claque
A claque is an organized body of professional applauders in French theatres and opera houses. Members of a claque are called claqueurs.
History
Hiring people to applaud dramatic performances was common in classical times. For example, when th ...
conductors, whereas G. Manojlovic considered them as military commanders of a militia recruited by the .
By the mid-9th century, the was a government official, as attested in the ''
Taktikon Uspensky
The ''Taktikon Uspensky'' or ''Uspenskij'' is the conventional name of a mid-9th century Greek list of the civil, military and ecclesiastical offices of the Byzantine Empire and their precedence at the imperial court. Nicolas Oikonomides has dated ...
'' and seals of office, holding the dignities such as or in the court hierarchy.
The records their staff of subaltern officials:
* a deputy (, , )
* a secretary (, ) and a notary (, )
* a poet (, ) and a composer (, ) for the acclamations during ceremonies
* a master (, ) and the 'first ones' (, ), whose role is obscure
* a 'neighbourhood supervisor' (, ), whose exact duties are unclear
* the charioteers (, ), specifically the officials known as the () of the Blues and Greens and the () of the Whites and Reds
* the ordinary members (, )
The actual personnel of the Hippodrome were not part of their staff.
In the ''
De ceremoniis
The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...
'' of Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe K ...
, the ceremonies of promotion for the are recorded, as well as for their subalterns.
In the 11th century, the that appear in seals also hold offices in the administration, such as and . The continuity with their 9th–10th century forebears is unclear.
The title survived into the
Palaiologan period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founde ...
, charged with various administrative duties in Constantinople: according to a letter of
Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople
Athanasius I (1230 – 28 October 1310) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two terms, from 1289 to 1293 and 1303 to 1309. He was born in Adrianople and died in Constantinople. Chosen by the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus
, ...
(1289–1293 and 1303–1309), two were responsible for supervising the
grain trade
The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike othe ...
and bread production, while later in the 14th century the administered the quarters () of the city.
In the mid-14th century book of ceremonies of
pseudo-Kodinos
George Kodinos or Codinus ( el, Γεώργιος Κωδινός), also Pseudo-Kodinos, '' kouropalates'' in the Byzantine court, is the reputed 14th-century author of three extant works in late Byzantine literature.
Their attribution to him is me ...
, the banners (, ) of the are mentioned as following behind those of all the other officials in processions.
During the
final siege of Constantinople in 1453, the assumed the role of military commanders.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , editor-first=Jean , editor-last=Verpeaux , title=Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des Offices , publisher=Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , year=1966 , language=fr
Administration of Constantinople
Ancient Attica
Ancient Athenian titles