View source for Ethnarch

{{Short description|Leader of a homogenous ethnic community}}
{{Monarchism}}
'''Ethnarch''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|θ|n|ɑr|k|}}, also '''ethnarches''', {{langx|el|{{lang|grc|ἐθνάρχης}}}}) is a term that refers generally to political leadership over a common [[ethnic group]] or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] words {{lang|grc|ἔθνος}} (''[[Ethnic group|ethnos]]'', "tribe/nation") and {{lang|grc|ἄρχων}} (''[[archon]]'', "leader/ruler"). ''[[Strong's Concordance]]'' gives the definition of 'ethnarch' as "the governor (not king) of a district".<ref>''[http://biblehub.com/greek/1481.htm STRONGS NT 1481: ἐθνάρχης].'' Strong's Concordance (Bible Hub). Retrieved: 18 August 2014.</ref>

==Antiquity==
The title first appeared in the [[Hellenistic]] [[Middle East]], possibly in [[Judea]].<ref name="ODB">Kazhdan (1991), p. 734</ref> In the [[1 Maccabees|First book of Maccabees]] the word is used three times (1 Maccabees 14:47 and 15:1-2), where [[Simon Thassi]] is referred to as the [[High Priest of Israel|high priest]] and ethnarch of the Judeans.<ref name=THE>{{in lang|el}} [[:el:Γεώργιος Γρατσέας|Γεώργιος Γρατσέας]]. ''"Έθνάρχης."'' '''Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια ([[:el:Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια|ΘΗΕ]]).''' Τόμος 5 (Διοκλητιανός-Ζώτος). Αθηναι – Αθαν. Μαρτινος, 1964. σελ. 351.</ref>{{#tag:ref|"And Simon accepted and was pleased to be high priest and to be commander and '''ethnarch''' of the Judeans and priests and to protect all of them." ([[1 Maccabees]] 14:47, [[New English Translation of the Septuagint|NETS]]).<ref>''[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/20-1makk-nets.pdf 1 Makkabees].'' Transl. George Themelis Zervos. In: [[Albert Pietersma]] and Benjamin G. Wright (Eds.). A NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE SEPTUAGINT. Oxford University Press, 2009. p.&nbsp;500.</ref>|group=note}}

It was used in the region even after it fell under the dominion of Rome, and into the early [[Roman Empire]], to refer to rulers of vassal kingdoms who did not rise to the level of [[king]]s. The Romans used the terms ''natio'' and ''gens'' for a people as a genetic and cultural entity, regardless of political statehood.

The best-known is probably [[Herod Archelaus]], son of [[Herod the Great]], who was ethnarch of [[Samaria]], [[Judea]] (Biblical [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]]), and Idumea (Biblical [[Edom]]), from the death of his father in 4 BC to AD 6. This region is known as the [[Tetrarchy (Judea)|Tetrarchy of Judea]]. His brother Philip received the north-east of the realm and was styled [[Tetrarchy (Judea)|Tetrarch]] (circa 'ruler of a quarter'); and [[Galilee]] was given to [[Herod Antipas]], who bore the same title. Consequently, Archelaus' title singled him out as the senior ruler, higher in rank than the tetrarchs and the chief of the Jewish nation; these three sovereignties were in a sense reunited under [[Herod Agrippa]] from AD 41 to 44.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Tetrarch |volume=26 |page=671}}</ref>

Previously, [[Hyrcanus II]], one of the later [[Hasmonean]] rulers of Judea, had also held the title of ethnarch, as well as that of [[High Priest of Israel|High Priest]].

In the [[New Testament]] the word is used only once by the [[Paul the Apostle|Apostle Paul]] in his [[Second Epistle to the Corinthians]] (2 Corinthians 11:32).<ref name=THE/>{{#tag:ref|"In Damascus the '''ethnarch''' under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me," (2 Corinthians 11:32, [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]]).|group=note}} However the definition of the word in terms of the actual jurisdiction and public office of the ethnarch may not be accurately determined.<ref name=THE/>

==Byzantine Empire==
The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] used the term generically to refer to the rulers of [[barbarian]] tribes or realms outside the boundaries of their empire.<ref name=Oxf>"ETHNARCH" in ''[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]'', [[Oxford University Press]], New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 734. {{ISBN|0195046528}}</ref> In a Christian context, where ''ethnikos'' meant "[[pagan]]," some [[Church Fathers]] used the term ''ethnarches'' to designate pagan national gods.<ref name="ODB"/> In the 10th century, the term acquired a more technical sense, when it was given to several high-ranking commanders. Although the specific nature of the title is not attested, it is generally accepted that in the 10th–11th centuries, it signified the commanders of the contingent of foreign mercenaries serving in the [[Byzantine army]].<ref name="ODB"/>

==Ottoman Empire==
Rather different was the case of minority community ethnarchs, especially within the Islamic [[Ottoman Empire]] that were recognized as legitimate entities (''[[millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]'') and thus allowed to be heard by the government through an officially acknowledged representative, though without political persona.

When the Ottoman Sultan [[Mehmet&nbsp;II]] decided to give such dialogue a more formal nature, the logical choice for the major Orthodox Christian communities was the Greek Orthodox [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]]. The [[Oriental Orthodoxy|non-Chalcedonian Christians]] (Armenians, Syriacs, and Copts) were represented by the [[Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople]]. For the far smaller, but also influential [[Jewish diaspora]], a similar position was granted to the ''[[Hakham Bashi]]'', i.e., chief rabbi.

==Modern Greece and Cyprus==
In modern Greek usage, the term has the connotation of "[[father of the nation]]", and has been widely used as an epithet applied to perhaps the most influential political leader in modern Greek history: [[Eleftherios Venizelos]].<ref name=":0">{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGwJ5jTfKPMC&pg=PA82 |title=Perceptions of Islam in Europe: Culture, Identity and the Muslim 'Other' |first1=Hakan |last1=Yilmaz |first2=Çagla E |last2=Aykaç |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2012 |isbn=9781848851641 |page=82}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{in lang|el}} ΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΗ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΤΑΓΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ 1940–1986 ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΑΔΗΣ ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ p.&nbsp;149.</ref> In more recent times, it has also been attributed to [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής - 20 χρόνια χωρίς τον Εθνάρχη |url=http://www.news247.gr/kwnstantinos-karamanlis/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=www.news247.gr |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Epochi |first=rizospastis gr {{!}} Synchroni |date=1998-04-29 |title=rizospastis.gr - ΠΟΙΟΥ "ΕΘΝΟΥΣ" ΕΘΝΑΡΧΗΣ Ο ΚΑΡΑΜΑΝΛΗΣ; |url=https://www.rizospastis.gr/story.do?id=3723700 |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΗΣ |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Κοντέας |first=Στέλιος |title=Γιατί ο Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής είναι εθνάρχης |url=https://www.reporter.gr/Apopseis/Apo-thesews/Stelios-Konteas/324787-Giati-o-Kwnstantinos-Karamanlhs-einai-ethnarchhs?m |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=www.reporter.gr |language=el-gr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=tanea.gr |title=Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής : Η γέννηση του εθνάρχη στις 8/3/1907 |url=https://www.tanea.gr/2021/03/08/people/konstantinos-karamanlis-i-gennisi-tou-ethnarxi-stis-8-3-1907/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=tanea.gr |date=8 March 2021 |language=el}}</ref>

In the context of modern [[Cyprus]], the term nearly always refers to [[Archbishop Makarios]]. Makarios was the last [[Church of Cyprus|Archbishop]] to hold a double religious (Archebishop) and political (Leader of the [[Greek Cypriots]]) role under foreign rule, similar to the [[Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch]] under the [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet]] system.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Βίττης |first=Ανδρέας |date=June 2008 |title=Οι Αρχιεπίσκοποι της Κύπρου επί Οθωμανοκρατίας: από το αυτοκέφαλο στην πολιτική - θρησκευτική (εθναρχική) δράση των Αρχιεπισκόπων της Κύπρου και τα προνόμιά τους |url=https://gnosis.library.ucy.ac.cy/handle/7/39337?locale-attribute=el}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Polignosi |title=Εθναρχία |url=https://www.polignosi.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=12706&-V=limmata |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=www.polignosi.com}}</ref> This regime, called the Ethnarchy, was retained during the [[British rule in Cyprus]] and survived in practice until independence in 1960. Additionally, Makarios became the first [[President of Cyprus]] after independence.

Unlike Venizelos and Karamanlis, who are rarely ever called ethnarches in such uses, streets of major Greek cities are named after Makarios: {{Langx|el|Εθνάρχου Μακαρίου|lit=Ethnarch Makarios(' str.)}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References and sources==
;References
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
*[[Flavius Josephus]]
* {{citation | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan | editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan | title = [[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6}}
* ''[http://biblehub.com/greek/1481.htm STRONGS NT 1481: ἐθνάρχης].'' Strong's Concordance (Bible Hub). Retrieved: 18 August 2014.
* {{in lang|el}} [[:el:Γεώργιος Γρατσέας|Γεώργιος Γρατσέας]]. ''"Έθνάρχης."'' Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια ([[:el:Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια|ΘΗΕ]]). Τόμος 5 (Διοκλητιανός-Ζώτος). Αθηναι – Αθαν. Μαρτινος, 1964. σελ. 351.

==Further reading ==
*{{cite journal |last=Sharon |first=Nadav |title=The Title "Ethnarch" in Second Temple Period Judea |journal=Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period |volume=41 |issue=4|pages=472–493 |date=2010 |doi=10.1163/157006310X529254 |jstor=24670935}}

{{Ethnicity}}

[[Category:Government of the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Religious leadership roles]]
[[Category:Byzantine military offices]]
[[Category:Constitutional state types]]
[[Category:Monarchy]]
[[Category:Oligarchy]]
[[Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership]]
[[Category:Herodian dynasty]]
[[Category:Hasmonean dynasty]]
[[Category:Herod Archelaus]]
[[Category:Eleftherios Venizelos]]
[[Category:Konstantinos Karamanlis]]
[[Category:Makarios III]]
[[Category:Archons]]