Chiliarch

Chiliarchis amilitary rankdating back toantiquity.Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (achiliarchy) in theMacedonian army,it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of aPersian officerwho functioned as a kind ofvizierand of theRoman army'smilitary tribunes.It has subsequently been used for other similar ranks and positions in otherarmed forces.

Name

TheEnglishtermchiliarchwasborrowedfromLatinchiliarchus,atranscriptionofGreekkhilíarkhos(χιλίαρχος) andkhiliárkhēs(χιλιάρχης), both meaning "commander of a thousand". The name has also occasionally been written aschiliarcha,chiliarchus,orchiliarchosorcalquedasthousandman.

The chiliad or chiliarchy controlled by a chiliarch derives from Latinchiliarchia,from Greekkhiliarkhía(χιλιαρχία).

Ancient Macedon and Persia

In theAncient Macedonian army,a chiliarch was the commander of a 1024-strong chiliarchy ortaxis"order" of thepezhetairoiand thehypaspistsheavy infantry, subdivided into 64 files (lochoi) of 16 men each. At the same time, officers known aspentakosiarchs( "commanders of 500" ) are also mentioned alongside the chiliarchs under bothAlexander the Greatand in thePtolemaicarmies, apparently as subordinate officers.

In addition, the title of chiliarch was used as the Greek equivalent of theAchaemenidtitlehazahrapatish(also transliteratedazarapateis). The Achaemenid army was organized on a decimal basis, and thehazahrapatishwas the commander of themelophoroi(μηλοφόροι,"apple-bearers" ), the 1,000-strong personal bodyguard of the Achaemenid kings. The latter often played a role analogous to that of amajordomoorvizierin later times.The Persian office was in turn adopted by Alexander the Great, and first awarded toHephaestionand after Hephaestion's death toPerdiccas.Likewise,Antipatershortly before his death namedPolyperchonasstrategos autokrator,but then named his own sonCassanderas chiliarch, and thereby "second in authority" according toDiodorus Siculus(XVIII.48.4–5). This Persian-inspired office did not survive into subsequentHellenisticpractice.However, it was revived by later Iranian dynasties: while its existence in theParthian Empireis unclear, it was certainly in existence in the 3rdcenturyunder theSasanian Empire(Middle Persian:hazārbedorhazāruft). According to the 5th-century Armenian historianElishe,it was equivalent towuzurg framadārorprime minister.From Persian, the term also passed into Armenian ashazarapetandhazarwuxt.

Roman and Byzantine Empires

Later Greek authors employed the term chiliarch for theRomanmilitary tribunes,with thetribunus laticlaviusin particular renderedχ[ε]ιλίαρχος πλατύσημος(ch[e]iliarchos platysemos).In theByzantine Empire,the title was used as a more scholarly alternative to the rank ofdroungarios,chiefly in literary works, while in the later 10th century it became once more a technical term whenNikephoros II Phokasinstituted 1,000-strong units termedchiliarchiaortaxiarchiaand commanded by achiliarchosortaxiarches.

Ancient Rus

Main article:Tysiatskii

A chiliarch, in Russiantysiatskii(Russian:тысяцкий), was a military leader inKievan Rus'who commanded a people's volunteer army called aтысяча(tysyacha,or a thousand). In the Novgorod Republic, the chiliarch evolved into a judicial or commercial official and was elected fromboyarsat avechefor a period of one year. Like theposadniksin Novgorod, the office was often held by one man for several years in a row and he was often succeeded by his son or another close relative, indicating that the office was held within clans and was not fully elective.[1] In cities with no veche, chiliarchies were appointed by theknyazor prince from among the noble boyars and could hand down their post to their sons. In the Novgorod Republic, chiliarchs were considered representatives of ordinary ( "black" ) people. Along with the role as military leaders, they were also supposed to supervise the city fortifications, convene veches, act as ambassadors and as judges in the commercial courts. Like the posadniks, in the 14th century the former chiliarchs maintained considerable political influence and privileges and were known as "Old Chiliarchs". The earliest documented chiliarch of Novgorod was Putyata.

Grand PrinceDmitry Donskoy,after the death of Vassily Vassilyevich Velyaminov in 1374, abolished the post, replacing it withvoyevodasandnamestniks.The chiliarch in Novgorod was abolished when Grand PrinceIvan III of Moscowconquered the city in 1478. It was abolished in Pskov in 1510 whenVasily III of Russiatook that city.

Modern Greece

The title was once again revived during theGreek War of Independence.In January 1822, theFirst National Assembly at Epidaurusdecided to create an organizational framework for theirregular troopsof the various independent war leaders, and instituted a number of chiliarchies (χιλιαρχίες), each composed of ten centuries (εκατονταρχίες) of a hundred men under ahecatontarch(εκατόνταρχος,ekatontarchos). Each chiliarchy was commanded by a chiliarch, with a small staff comprising a deputy chiliarch (υποχιλίαρχος,ypochiliarchos), a subaltern known astaxiarchos,a physician, a surgeon, a quartermaster and a priest.

In 1828, the chiliarchies were reorganized and reduced to three, each now comprising two pentakosiarchies (πεντακοσιαρχίες) of five centuries each, comprising 1120 men in total. Each chiliarch had a small staff comprising an adjutant, a secretary, a priest, a doctor, a paymaster and a quartermaster, while a flag bearer and a trumpeter were allocated to each pentakosiarchy. The 1828-model chiliarchies were abolished after theBattle of Petrain July 1829, and thirteen light infantry battalions (tagmata) formed instead.

Hungary

The Hungarian rank ofezredes,literally "of a thousand", is the modern, commonly used abbreviation of the obsolete term ofezereskapitány,literally "captain of a thousand". (The termezereskapitánywas used in theWar of the Spanish Succession(1701–1714), theezredeshas been used since theRevolutions of 1848.)

Anezredesis the leader of aregiment(about 1000–1500 men inHungary) and this rank is equivalent to the rank ofcolonelormajor.The termezredesis used by the Hungarian army (officially theHungarian Defence Force) and police force too.

Turkey

The Turkish rank ofbinbaşı,literally "head of a thousand", is equivalent to the Commonwealth and US rank ofMajor.

Israel

Analuf(Hebrew:אלוף,romanized:allūp̄"chilliarch" ) is the term used in theIsrael Defense Forces(IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank ofgeneral,air marshal,oradmiral.There are five chiliarch ranks, constituting the fivehighest ranksin the IDF. The termalufcomes from aSemitic rootmeaning "thousand", making analufthe one who commands a thousand people. TheIsrael Defense Forces(IDF) is an integrated force,ranksare the same in all services.

• Chief chiliarch,Rav aluf(רב-אלוף): the highest rank inIDF
• Chiliarch,Aluf
• Sub-chiliairch, 'Tat aluf(תת-אלוף)
• Secondary chiliarch,Aluf mishne(אלוף-משנה)
• Deputy chilairch,Sgan aluf(סגן-אלוף)

See also

• chiliad,a group of 1000 things
• millennium,a group of 1000 years
• Chiliast,an alternative name for Millenarians

Further reading

• Charles, Michael (2015). "The Chiliarchs of Achaemenid Persia: Towards a Revised Understanding of the Office".Phoenix.69(3/4): 279–303.doi:10.7834/phoenix.69.3-4.0279.