Politarch on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Politarch ( el, πολιτάρχης, ''politarches''; plural πολιτάρχαι, ''politarchai'') was a
/ref> The title was also used for the local commissioners of the Greek provisional government during the
The Macedonian Politarchs
in jstor.org Ancient Greek titles Antigonid Macedonia Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Government of Roman Macedonia {{AncientRome-stub
Politarch ( el, πολιτάρχης, ''politarches''; plural πολιτάρχαι, ''politarchai'') was a Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
and Roman-era
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled ...
ian title for an elected governor (''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 a city (''polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
''). The term had been already attested in the Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
(17:6,8) concerning Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, as well in modern archaeology
Modern archaeology is the discipline of archaeology which contributes to excavations.
Johann Joachim Winckelmann was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the h ...
. The institution is called Politarchate and the variant ''ptoliarchos'' appears in a poetic epigram. The first evidence of the title is dated to the reign of Perseus
In Greek mythology, Perseus ( /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek: Περσεύς, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer ...
in Amphipolis
Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...
, where the king with two politarchs honoured Artemis Tauropolos after a Thracian campaign. One of the earliest extant inscriptions to use the term "Politarch" was located on the Vardar Gate in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. The Gate was unfortunately destroyed in 1876 but the inscription, which dates to the 2nd Century AD, can now been seen in the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London.British Museum Collectio/ref> The title was also used for the local commissioners of the Greek provisional government during the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
.
See also
*Macedoniarch Macedoniarch ( el, μακεδονιάρχης) was a Roman-era title for the president of the Koinon of Macedonians. The title was only given to 11 people.
Office
The Macedoniarch was the president of the Koinon of Macedonians, and sometimes but n ...
References
*The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting Pages 420-430 By David W. J. Gill, Conrad GempfThe Macedonian Politarchs
in jstor.org Ancient Greek titles Antigonid Macedonia Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Government of Roman Macedonia {{AncientRome-stub