Atriumvirate(Latin:triumvirātus) or atriarchyis a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known astriumvirs(Latin:triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distribution of power may vary.

The term can also be used to describe a state with three different military leaders who all claim to be the sole leader.[citation needed]

Informally, the term "triumvirate" may be used for any association of three.[1]

Under the influence of theSoviet Union[failed verification],the termtroika(Russian: for "group of three" ) may be used for "triumvirate".[2]

Pre-modern triumvirates

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Biblical

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In theBible,triumvirates occurred at some notable events in both theHebrew Bible(Old Testament) andNew Testament.In theBook of Exodus,Moses,his brotherAaronand their nephew or brother-in-law,Hur,[3]acted this way during theBattle of Refidimagainst theAmalekites.[4][5]Later inExodus 24,when Moses was away onMount Sinai,Aaron and Hur were left in charge of all theIsraelites.[6]

In theGospels,Peter,James,and his brotherJohnwere a leading trio among theTwelve Apostleson three specific occasions during the public ministry of Jesus: at theresurrection of the daughter of Jairus,[7]thetransfiguration of Jesus,[8]and hisagony in the GardeninGethsemane.[9]Later, in the time of theearly Church,the triumvirate of the leading apostles changed slightly after the former James's death: it became composed of Peter, John, andJames, brother of Jesus,known collectively also as the threePillars of the Church.[10][11]

Ancient China

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During theHan dynasty(202 BCE – 220 CE), statesmenHuo Guang(d. 68 BCE),Jin Midi(d. 86 BCE), andShangguan JieThượng quan kiệt (d. 80 BCE) formed a triumvirate following the death ofEmperor Wu of Han(r. 141–87 BCE) and the installation of thechild emperor Zhao.

Despite theThree Excellencies—including theGrand chancellor,Grand Secretariat,and irregularly, theGrand Commandant—representing the most senior ministerial positions of state, this triumvirate was supported by the economictechnocratand imperial secretarySang Hongyang(d. 80 BCE), their political lackey. The acting chancellor,Tian Qianqiu,was also easily swayed by the decisions of the triumvirate.[12]

The Three Excellencies existed inWestern Han(202 BCE – 9 CE) as the Grand Chancellor, Grand Secretariat, and Grand Commandant, but the Grand Chancellor was viewed as senior to the Grand Secretariat while the post of Grand Commandant was vacant for most of the dynasty. AfterEmperor Guangwuestablished theEastern Han(25–220 CE), the Grand Commandant was made a permanent official while theMinister over the Massesreplaced the Grand Chancellor and theMinister of Worksreplaced the Grand Secretariat. Unlike the three high officials in Western Han when the Grand Chancellor was senior to all, these new three senior officials had equal censorial and advisory powers. When a young or weak-mindedemperorascended to the throne, these Three Excellencies could dominate state affairs. There were also other types of triumvirates during the Eastern Han; for example, at the onset of the reign ofEmperor Ling of Han(r. 168–189), theGeneral-in-chiefDou Wu(d. 168), theGrand TutorChen Fan(d. 168), and another prominent statesman Hu Guang (91–172) formed a triumvirate nominally in charge of thePrivy Secretariat,when in fact it was a regent triumvirate that was overseeing the affairs of state and Emperor Ling.[13]

Hinduism

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InHinduism,thegodsBrahma,Vishnu,andShivaform the theological triumvirate of theTrimurti,representing the balanced forces of creation, preservation, and destruction, respectively.[14]Their female counterparts and consorts, the goddessesSaraswati,LakshmiandParvati,make up the parallelTridevi.

Pagaruyuang

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Triumvirates during thePagaruyungera in theMinangkabau Highlandswere known asRajo Tigo Selo,or "the three reigning kings." TheRajo Tigo Selowas descended from the same line in the same dynasty and ruled at the same reigning time. It consisted of three kings, theRajo Alamwho ruled the government and diplomatic affairs, theRajo Adaikwho ruled the customs and theRajo Ibadaikwho acted as aGrand Mufti.[15]

Ancient Rome

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During theRoman Republic,triumviri(ortresviri) were special commissions of three men appointed for specific administrative tasks apart from the regular duties ofRoman magistrates.

The termtriumvirateis most commonly used by historians of ancient Rome to refer to two political alliances during thecrisis of the Roman Republic:

Tamil

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Tamil Triumviraterefers to the triumvirate ofChola,Chera,andPandyawho dominated the politics of the ancient Tamil country.Sivaperuman,Murugan,andAgatiyarare considered the triumvirate of the Tamil language andSangam literature.

Rum Seljuks

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Seljukdirhamstruck on behalf of three sultans, citing their names

In 1246,Rum SeljuksultanKaykaus IIwas invited toGüyük Khan's coronation. Instead, he sentKilij Arslan IV,who went toKarakorumwith a delegation. Two years later, he was accompanied by a Mongolian military unit of 2000 soldiers and returned toAnatoliawith ajarliggiven by Guyuk declaring him sultan. He was recognized as sultan inSivas,Erzincan,Diyarbakır,Malatya,Harput.Later, a meeting was held, resulting in an accord where the three brothers (Kaykaus, Kilij, and Kayqubad) would share the throne. Akhutbahwas read on their behalf, and coins were struck in their names. However, influenced by some emirs, Kilij Arslan did not accept this and went into conflict with Kaykaus but suffered an unexpected defeat. On 14 June 1249, he was caught and brought to his brother. However, he was well received and returned together toKonya.Both were enthroned alongsideKayqubad II.Thus a period of joint rule began from 1249 until 1254.[16]Kaykaus controlled the capital, Konya, and everything further west, and the coast atAntalya,up toAnkara.Kilij Arslan was allocated everything to the east of Konya up toErzurum.Kayqubad was granted minor estates on a scale sufficient for his personal expenses.[17][page needed]

Modern triumvirates

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The title was revived a few times for (short-lived) three-headed political 'magistratures' in post-feudal times.

Ottoman Empire

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The Three Pashas

Talaat Pasha(left),Enver Pasha(middle),Djemal Pasha(right)

TheThree Pashasalso known asOttoman Triumvirateeffectively ruled theOttoman EmpireduringWorld War I:Mehmed Talaat Pasha(1874–1921), theGrand Vizier(prime minister) andMinister of the Interior;Ismail Enver Pasha(1881–1922), the Minister of War; andAhmed Djemal Pasha(1872–1922), the Minister of theNavy.

Modern Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Post-warBosnia and Herzegovinais ruled by a three-memberPresidency.

Early modern and modern France

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Triumvirate of (L-R) Saint-Just, Robespierre, and Couthon

While FrenchHuguenotshad derisively bestowed the name Triumvirate on the alliance formed in 1561 between CatholicFrancis, Duke of Guise,Anne de Montmorency,andJacques d'Albonduring theFrench Wars of Religion,in later years the term would be used to describe other arrangements within France.

At the end of the 1700s, when theFrench revolutionariesturned to severalRoman magistrature namesfor their newly created institutions, the three-headedcollective head of statewas named theConsulat(1799–1804), a term in use for two-headed magistratures since Antiquity; furthermore it included an office ofFirst Consulwho was not an equal, but the de facto solo head of state and government – a positionNapoleon Bonapartechose to convert openly into theFirst French Empirein 1804.

Prior to Napoleon and duringthe Terrorfrom 1793 to 1794Maximilien Robespierre,Louis Antoine de Saint-Just,andGeorges Couthon,as members of the governingCommittee of Public Safety,were accused by their political opponents of forming an unofficial triumvirate, pointing out thefirst triumvirateofJulius Caesar,Pompey,andCrassuswhich led to the end of theRoman Republic.Although officially all members of the committee shared equal power the three men's friendship and close ideological base led their detractors to declaim them astriumvirswhich was used against them in the coup of9 Thermidor(27 July 1794).[18]

Pre-Independent India

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In the early days of the national struggle and before Gandhi, the Indian National Congress was known to be under Lal-Bal-Pal i.e.Lala Lajpat Rai,Bipin Chandra PalandBal Gangadhar Tilak,often dubbed Lokmanya Tilak.

Czechoslovakia

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(L-R) Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and Edvard Beneš

TheCzechoslovak National Council,an organization founded in Paris in 1916 byCzechandSlovakémigrés duringWorld War Ito liberate their homeland fromAustria-Hungary,consisted of the triumvirate[19]ofTomáš Garrigue Masarykas a chairman,Edvard Beneš,who joined Masaryk in exile in 1915, as the organization's general secretary, andMilan Rastislav Štefánik,a Slovak who was an aviator in the French Army, designating to represent Slovak interests in the national council. During the closing weeks of the war, the Czechoslovak National Council was formally upgraded to a provisional government and its members were designated to hold top offices in theFirst Czechoslovak Republic.

Indonesia

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According to the Article 8 paragraph (3) from theConstitution of Indonesia,there are three head of government institutions that can act as a "temporary" triumvirate only if there are vacancies in the position of president and vice president at the same time (e.g. both president and vice president were assassinated, sick, not doing their duties, died, or resigned). They areMinister of Foreign Affairs,Minister of Home Affairs,andMinister of Defense.Those three ministers can act for president and vice president together for maximum 30 days.

After that, during the term of the triumvirate, thePeople's Consultative Assemblymust elect a new president and vice president from the two pairs of candidates nominated by the political party or coalition of political parties whose candidates were the winner and the runner-up in the previous presidential election. The newly elected president and vice president will continue the remaining term of former president and vice president that were elected from previous general election, not five years.

Modern Israel

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  • 2008–2009: Then Prime MinisterEhud Olmert,Defense MinisterEhud Barak,and Minister of Foreign AffairsTzipi Livniwere sometimes referred to as a triumvirate.[20][21][22]
  • 2012: The leadership ofShas,the ultra-orthodox Sepharadi political party of Israel, was given by its spiritual leader, RabbiOvadia Yosefand the Council of Torah Sages, to a triumvirate formed by the convictedAryeh Deri,who decided to return to politics after a thirteen-year hiatus, the former party leaderEli YishaiandAriel Atias.

Benin

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Soviet Union

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See alsoList of Troikas in the Soviet Union

In the context of theSoviet Union,the termtroika(Russian:for "group of three" ) is used for "triumvirate".[2]

Triumvirate of: (L-R) Nikolai Podgorny, Leonid Brezhnev, and Alexei Kosygin duringOctober Revolutionanniversary celebrations in 1973

Modern Italy

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In theRoman Republic(1849), the title of two sets of three joint chiefs of state in the year 1849:

Almost immediately following the Roman Republic, theRed Triumvirategoverned the restoredPapal Statesfrom 1849 to 1850:[25][26]

Modern Greece

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  • After the downfall of the first King of Greece, the BavarianOtto,on 23 October 1862, andDimitrios Voulgaris' unsuccessful term (23 October 1862 – 30 January 1863) as president of the Provisional Government, a Triumvirate (30 January – 30 October 1863) was established consisting of the sameDimitrios Voulgaris,the renowned AdmiralKonstantinos KanarisandBenizelos Roufos,which acted as a regency until the arrival of the new monarch, the first "King of the Hellenes",George I.
  • A triumvirate was established to head theTheriso revoltof 1905 inautonomous Crete,consisting ofEleftherios Venizelos(later Prime Minister of Greece) in charge of organisational matters, Konstantinos Foumis in charge of finances and Konstantinos Manos, the former mayor ofChania,in charge of military affairs.
The "Triumvirate of National Defence": (L-R) Admiral Kountouriotis, Venizelos, and General Danglis

The Netherlands

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Argentina

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Brazil

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The oath of the provisional triumviral regents of theEmpire of Brazilin theImperial Chapel,1831
The members of the Brazilian military juntas of 1930 and 1969, respectively

The Americas

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Other triumvirates

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The word has been used as a term of convenience, though not an official title, for other groups of three in a similar position:

Zhou Enlai,Mao Zedong,andZhu Deduring theLong March.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^"Definition of" triumvirate "".www.merriam-webster.com.Retrieved17 July2022.
  2. ^ab"Definition of TROIKA".www.merriam-webster.com.Retrieved17 July2022.
  3. ^"Antiquities of the Jews - Book III".sacred-texts.com.
  4. ^Exodus 17:10
  5. ^Magill, Frank Northen (2003).Dictionary of World Biography.Taylor & Francis.ISBN978-1579580407.Retrieved18 August2015.
  6. ^Exodus 24:14
  7. ^Mark 5:37
  8. ^Matthew 17:1
  9. ^Matthew 26:37
  10. ^Galatians 2:9
  11. ^"Galatians 2:9 And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John – those reputed to be pillars – gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews".biblehub.com.
  12. ^Loewe (1986), 178.
  13. ^Beck (1986), 319.
  14. ^For a definition of the Trimurti, see Matchett, Freda. "ThePurāṇas",in: Flood (2003), p. 139.
  15. ^"BAB III. Rajo Tigo Selo".11 March 2008.
  16. ^"Kilicarslan IV (ö. 664/1266) Anadolu Selçuklu sultanı (1249–1254, 1257–1266).".TDV Encyclopedia of Islam(44+2 vols.)(in Turkish). Istanbul:Turkiye Diyanet Foundation,Centre for Islamic Studies. 1988–2016.
  17. ^Thomas Sinclair (2019).Eastern Trade and the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages.Routledge.ISBN978-1000752670.
  18. ^Colin Jones (2021).The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris.Oxford University Press. p. 223.ISBN978-0-19-871595-5.
  19. ^Rob Humphreys, Susie Lunt (2002).Czech and Slovak Republics.Rough Guides. p. 453.ISBN1-85828-904-1.
  20. ^Ladies and gentlemen, your next government,By Amir Oren, Published: 13 January 2009,HaaretzDaily Newspaper. Archived fromthe original25 January 2009
  21. ^Diplomacy: Endgame politics,By Herb Keinon, 8 January 2009,Jerusalem Post
  22. ^Israel launches PR blitz ahead of Gaza operation,Roni Sofer, Published: 21 December 2008, Ynetnews
  23. ^Decalo, Samuel (1973). "Regionalism, Politics, and the Military in Dahomey".The Journal of Developing Areas.7(3):449–478.
  24. ^Rappaport, Helen(1999).Joseph Stalin: A Biographical Companion.ABC-CLIO.pp.141,326.ISBN978-1576070840.
  25. ^Coppa, Frank J. (1990).Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli and Papal Politics in European Affairs.Albany: State University of New York. p. 71.ISBN978-0-791-40185-9.
  26. ^Glueckert, Leopold G. (1989).Between Two Amnesties: Former Political Prisoners and Exiles in the Roman Revolution of 1848(PhD). Loyola University Chicago. p. 128.
  27. ^Lachman, Seymour & Polner, Robert (2006). Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse. New York: New Press.
  28. ^Jinghan Zeng (22 October 2015).The_Chinese Communist Party´s Capacity To Rule.Springer.ISBN978-1-137-53368-5.Retrieved26 October2024.
  29. ^Angela P. Cheater, Department of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe (29 June 1989)."Managing Culture en Route to Socialism: The Problem of Culture 'Answering Back'"(PDF).msu.edu.Michigan State University.Retrieved4 December2016.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^Tim Weber (4 September 2008),A decade on: Google's internet economy,BBC News,retrieved10 February2013

References

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  • Beck, Mansvelt. (1986). "The Fall of Han," inThe Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220.Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-24327-0.
  • Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003).The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism.Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.ISBN1-4051-3251-5.
  • Loewe, Michael. (1986). "The Former Han Dynasty," inThe Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220,103–222. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-24327-0.
  • Etymology on line
  • World Statesmenhere Greece – see under each present country
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