Taxiarch, the anglicised form of ''taxiarchos'' or ''taxiarchēs'' ( el, ταξίαρχος or ταξιάρχης) is used in the

Greek language Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), southe ...

to mean "

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

". The term derives from ''táxis'', "order", in military context "an ordered formation". In turn, the rank has given rise to the Greek term for

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

, ''taxiarchia''. In

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

usage, the term is also applied to the

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

s Michael and

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

, as leaders of the

heavenly host Heavenly host ( he, צבאות ''sabaoth'' or ''tzva'ot'', "armies") refers to the army () of angels mentioned both in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, as well as other Jewish and Christian texts. The Bible gives several descriptions of angels ...

, and several locations in Greece are named after them.

Ancient use

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

, the title/rank was held by a number of officers in the armies of several but not all

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 ...

s, with

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

being a notable exception. In Classical Athens, there were ten taxiarchs, one for each of the city's tribes (''

phylai ''Phyle'' ( gr, φυλή, phulē, "tribe, clan"; pl. ''phylai'', φυλαί; derived from ancient Greek φύεσθαι "to descend, to originate") is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphylet ...

''), a subordinate to the respective '' strategos''. The perhaps most famous taxiarchs however were those of the ancient

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

ian ''

Pezhetairoi The pezhetairoi (Greek: , singular: ''pezhetairos)'' were the backbone of the Macedonian army and Diadochi kingdoms. They were literally "foot companions" (in Greek, ''pezos'' means "pedestrian" and ''hetairos'' means "companion" or "friend"). ...

'' infantry.

Byzantine use

The term first appears in use in the Byzantine army in the late 6th-century ''Strategikon'' of emperor

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

, where it is reserved for the commander of the elite ''

Optimatoi The ''Optimatoi'' ( gr, Ὀπτιμάτοι, from la, Optimates, "the Best Men") were initially formed as an elite Byzantine military unit. In the mid-8th century, however, they were downgraded to a supply and logistics corps and assigned a provi ...

'' mercenary corps. In the 10th-century, the term was revived and refers to the commander of one of the new type of infantry brigade (''taxiarchia''), composed of 500 heavy infantry, 300 archers and 200 light infantry. On account of their numerical size, these units were also known as ''chiliarchia'', and their commander correspondingly as ''

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who functioned ...

os'', and are also equated to the thematic ''droungos'' under a ''

droungarios A ''droungarios'', also spelled ''drungarios'' ( el, δρουγγάριος, la, drungarius) and sometimes anglicized as Drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine empires, signifying the commander of a formation known as '' dr ...

''. During the 11th century, with the demise of the thematic armies, the rank rose in importance, and eventually surpassed and replaced that of ''

tourmarches A ''turma'' (Latin for "swarm, squadron", plural ''turmae''), (Greek: τούρμα) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative di ...

'', so that in the Komnenian-era army, the ''taxiarchia'' was the largest-scale permanent infantry formation.

Modern use

In the modern

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

the rank of ''Taxiarchos'' (abbreviated Ταξχος) is equivalent to

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

with a NATO Code OF-6. The rank was introduced in the Greek military by Royal Decree on 5 June 1946, and the insignia instituted later in the same year. It is superior to a '' Syntagmatarchis'' (

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

) and inferior to an '' Ypostratigos'' (

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

). The rank's insignia consists of a flaming grenade (replacing the crown borne under the

Greek monarchy The monarchy of Greece ( el, Μοναρχία της Ελλάδας, Monarchía tis Elládas) or Greek monarchy ( el, Ελληνική Μοναρχία, Ellinikí Monarchía) was the government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of ...

), a crossed sword and baton device and a six-pointed star. A ''Taxiarchos'' typically serves as the commanding officer of a brigade or as the executive officer of a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

. In the

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

, which otherwise uses

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

-style ranks different from those of the Army, the equivalent rank ( Air Commodore) is denoted as ''Taxiarchos tis Aeroporias'' ("Air Force Brigadier") or simply ''Taxiarchos''.STANAG 2116: "NATO codes for grades of military personnel", 6th edition, 2010, page C-2 The rank is also used by the

Hellenic Police The Hellenic Police ( el, Ελληνική Αστυνομία, ''Ellinikí Astynomía'', abbreviated ) is the national police service and one of the three security forces of the Hellenic Republic. It is a large agency with responsibilities ra ...

(and the

Greek Gendarmerie The Hellenic Gendarmerie (, ''Elliniki Chorofylaki'') was the national gendarmerie and military police (until 1951) force of Greece. History 19th century The Greek Gendarmerie was established after the enthronement of King Otto in 1833 as the ...

before) and the

Cypriot National Guard , name2 = National Guard General Staff , image = Emblem of the Cypriot National Guard.svg , image_size = 100px , caption = Emblem of the National Guard of Cyprus , image2 = Flag of the ...

Gallery

File:GR-Army-OF6-1946.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1946–1959 File:GR-Army-OF6-1959.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1959–1968 File:Army-GRE-OF-06.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1975–today File:Hellenic Air Force OF-6.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos tis Aeroporias'', 1946–today File:GR-Police-OF6.svg, Rank insignia of a Police ''Taxiarchos'', 1986–today

References

{{Greece officer ranks Military ranks of Greece Ancient Greek military terminology Military ranks of ancient Greece Military ranks of ancient Macedon Byzantine military offices Christian terminology