What are the archons? History of the Byzantine Empire

What are the archons? Where did this word come from? How is the history of Byzantium related to it ? Now this word is used in meaning, only remotely resembling the one that was given to it initially. Moreover, due to the spread in mass culture and consciousness, the concept of "archon" has completely lost some of its semantic significance. In the article, we will try to understand what is right to invest in the meaning of the word "archon" and whether it is appropriate to use it the way modern culture teaches us. The fact is that for most people the concept of "archon" is associated with the representative of the clergy, while the original meaning of this word was completely drawn to worldly life.

The game version: how close it is to reality

Perhaps many heard the word "archon", but did not think what it means and what archons really are. This word has many meanings related to religion and history. Thus, in religious texts it is sometimes said that these are evil spirits-world rulers. Even in the Star Craft series of the race of aliens, protos, there is a special warrior who is a combination of the souls of the two Templars and is called the archon. His appearance on the battlefield inspires awe and reverence. At the same time, the archon can be found in the XCOM series, where it is represented by the creation of extraterrestrials, a supervisor of people. Naturally, this option can only be conditionally considered a synonym for the original concept, which was designated by the word "archon". Here the synonymity is so conditional that a person who does not know the source can begin to misinterpret this concept.

What is the archons from the position of history

From Ancient Greek this word is translated as "chief", "ruler", "head". This is the name of the rulers of Athens. It is noteworthy that it was after the death of King Kodra that this Greek title was bestowed on the ancient Greek policy of its leaders. It was a kind of analogue of the word "king". That is, the laws of the archon Kodra had such importance for the prosperity of the state that the subjects decided to keep this title as a tribute of respect and memory to their ruler.

In the beginning, the title of archon was owned by three persons - the eponym (he held the executive power in his hands), the basileys (in charge of the cult of Greek gods and was more of a religious figure) and polemarch (commander of Athenian troops, which had all the military issues of the city-state).

However, in the future, the ancient Greek policy introduced six more archontic posts, which were called "Tesmotetes", or "fesmote." Their duties included an annual review of laws, the search for contradictions in legislation, some judicial and all other functions that did not fall under the jurisdiction of the first three archons.

The first archons of royal blood

Initially, only Codrids, relatives and descendants of Tsar Kodra could become archons, and later it was allowed to enter the office of the Attic aristocracy - the eupathies. Solon's reforms allowed him to become archons not only of the aristocracy, but also of all other layers of the population, except the poor.

The first archon was the son of King Codra - Medon. Beginning with him, the title was transferred from father to son and was life-long.

Over time, the freedom-loving and democratic Athenians curtailed the authority and the terms of the reign of the archons. So, after some time, the period of government was limited to ten years, and another hundred years the archon could rule only a year. After the conquest of Greece by the Romans, the archons were called provincial officials appointed by Rome.

Continuation of the history of the archons after Hellas

But what is the archons in the temporal and historical perspective? As already mentioned above, in ancient Athens, this post is the ruler and the highest official of the policy, at first hereditary, but later became elective. However, do not forget that the heiresses of Rome and Hellas also had archons, however, the meaning of this word was slightly different from the original.

Byzantine archons

In the history of Byzantium, this term was understood to mean the upper classes of society: both lay people, and in the late Byzantine period, the clergy. However, it is known that the emperor and the universal patriarch were not among them, which was a rather unusual phenomenon. Archons were sometimes opposed to the people and served as a synonym for the ruling class. It is interesting that their rights and duties, as well as the situation in the social hierarchy of society, were not completely unambiguous and settled by the state. As a consequence of such a fragile and ambiguous situation, the case of archonotes was based on case law.

Are they guilty or not?

According to some historians, the history of Byzantium shows that part of the fall of the empire was connected with the activities of the archons. According to their judgments, this elite, although it was distinguished by commonality and a single direction of action, but still was non-monolithic, scattered and had internal strife. Skloki and squabbles were most clearly manifested in those moments that concerned relations with the western neighbors. The source of the contradictions was a fundamentally different attitude towards the union. The apotheosis of such contradictions was a clash at the Ferrara-Florentine cathedral.

In the early history of Byzantium archons called governors of states (archon), which had varying degrees of dependence on the empire. It is noteworthy that their wives were called archontisses, that is, they also became representatives of a separate social class.

Introduction of new posts

Later, the emperors used the practice of Athens and created a system of posts. Among them stood out the following: the archon of allagia (the commander of the Byzantine army), the archon of vlatty (head of the master workshop that manufactured and processed the most valuable fabrics), the archon of salt (the head of the imperial saltworks, whose duties included monitoring the extraction and sale of salt). Also with respect to some rulers of neighboring states, the title "archon of archons" or "king of kings" was used, which was used to exalt them over the rest. It is known from the historical sources that have come down to us that this title was enjoyed by the three kings of Armenia, which showed their superiority among the powers of Transcaucasia.

After the destruction of the empire archons began to be called representatives of the Orthodox clergy, who led the Greek communities, not only in the spiritual, but also in a secular society under the rule of the Turks.

Conclusion

Let's consider what archons are, relying on the data that we already have and that were outlined in the article. In view of all of the above, we can say with certainty that this is the Greek post of a top official with specific functions in the Athenian state. Archons of Athens formed the government of the ancient Greek polis up to the Roman conquest. In the Byzantine Empire, at first this term served as a name for local rulers who recognized as their overlord emperor in one way or another. Subsequently, under the name of the archons, a higher layer of Byzantine subjects was formed. Among them there were many not only laymen, but also ministers of the clergy. At the same time, the post of archon was used directly at the imperial court, as well as in the foreign policy of Byzantium in relation to neighboring states. The post of archon was given to Ashot I, Smbat I and Ashot II as recognition of their states as dominant in the Transcaucasian region. Later, after the destruction of Byzantium, the title of archon began to denote the church nobility.