Dux

For other uses, seeDux (disambiguation).

Dux(/dʌks,dʊks/,pl.:ducēs) isLatinfor "leader" (from the noundux, ducis,"leader, general" ) and later fordukeand its variant forms (doge,duce,etc.). During theRoman Republicand for the first centuries of theRoman Empire,duxcould refer to anyone who commanded troops, both Roman generals and foreign leaders, but was not a formal military rank.

Roman Empire

Original usage

Until the 3rd century,duxwas not a formal expression of rank within the Roman military or administrative hierarchy.

In theRoman army,aduxwould be a general in charge of two or more legions. While the title ofduxcould refer to aconsulorimperator,it usually refers to theRoman governorof theprovinces.

In writing hiscommentarieson theGallic Wars,Julius Caesaruses the term only forCelticgenerals, with one exception for a Roman commander who held no official rank.

Change in usage

By the mid-3rd century AD, it had acquired a more precise connotation defining the commander of an expeditionary force, usually made up of detachments (i.e.,vexillationes) from one or more of the regular military formations. Such appointments were made to deal with specific military situations when the threat to be countered seemed beyond the capabilities of the province-based military command structure that had characterised the Roman army of the High Empire.

From the time ofGallienusonwards for more than a century they were invariablyViri Perfectissimi,i.e., members of the second class of theequestrian order.Thus, they would have out-ranked the commanders of provincial legions, who were usuallyViri Egregii– equestrians of the third class.

Ducesdiffered frompraesideswho were the supreme civil as well as military authority within their provinces in that the function of the former was purely military. However, the military authority of aduxwas not necessarily confined to a single province and they do not seem to have been subject to the authority of the governor of the province in which they happened to be operating. It was not until the end of the 3rd century that the termduxemerged as a regular military rank held by a senior officer oflimitanei– i.e. frontier troops as opposed those attached to an Imperial field-army (comitatenses) – with a defined geographic area of responsibility.

Diocletian's reforms

Under Diocletion, during theTetrarchy,a new office calledduxwas created with powers split from the role of the governor of a province. The dux was the highest military office within the province and commanded the legions, but the governor had to authorise the use of his powers after which theduxcould act independently and handle all military matters.TheDux Belgicae secundae( "commander of the second Belgic province" ) is an example.

Also the provinces were reorganised intodioceseswith each diocese administered by avicarius.As with the governors, the vicarius was assisted by adux.Thisduxwas superior to all otherduceswithin the dioceses; when the vicarius called the legions of the dioceses into action, all of the legions were at the command of thedux.The office ofduxwas, in turn, made subject to themagister militumof his respectivepraetorian prefecture,and above him to theemperor.TheDux per Galliasof the diocese ofGaulis an example of this office.

Later developments

In theByzantineera of the Roman Empire, the position of dux survived (Byzantine Greek:"δούξ",doux,plural "δούκες",doukes) as a rank equivalent to a general (strategos). In the late 10th and early 11th centuries, adouxorkatepanowas in charge of large circumscriptions consisting of several smallerthemataand of the professional regiments (tagmata) of theByzantine army(as opposed to the largely militia-like forces of mostthemata). In theKomnenian period,the title ofdouxreplaced altogether thestrategosin designating the military official in charge of athema.In theByzantine navy,doukesof the fleet appear in the 1070s, and the office ofmegas doux( "grand duke" ) was created in the 1090s as the commander-in-chief of the entirenavy.

The title also gave rise to a family name, the aristocraticDoukasclan, which in the 9th–11th centuries provided several Byzantine emperors and generals, while later bearers of the name (maternally descended from the original family) founded theDespotate of Epirusin northwestern Greece.

Post-Roman uses

See also:Duke (Lombard)

King Arthur,in one of his earliest literary appearances, is described asdux bellorum( "duxof battles ") among the kings of theRomano-Britonsin their wars against theAnglo-Saxons.A chronicle from St Martin's monastery inColognestates that the monastery had been pillaged by theSaxonsin 778, but that it was rebuilt by an "Olgerus, dux Daniæ" (who may have been the historical person around whom the myth ofOgier the Daneformed), with the help ofCharlemagne.

Duxis also the root of various high feudal noble titles of peerage rank, such as the Englishduke,the Frenchduc,the Spanish and Portugueseduque,theVenetiandoge,the Italianducaandduce,and theByzantine Greekdukasordoukas(Gr. δούκας) (seeDoukas).

Italian Fascist dictatorBenito Mussoliniused the title ofdux(andducein Italian) to represent his leadership. One fascist motto was "DVX MEA LVX", Latin for "[The] Duce [is] my light" or "[The] Leader [is] my light".

In pre-revolutionary Russia, theDux Factorybuiltbicycles,automobilesandaircraftinMoscow.

Education

• In Hong Kong, Scotland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealandduxis a modern title given to the highest-ranking student in academic, arts or sporting achievement (Dux Litterarum,Dux ArtiumandDux Ludorumrespectively) in each graduating year.This can lead to scholarships at universities.Therunner-upmay be given the titleproxime accessit(meaning "he/she came next" ) orsemidux.
• InPortugueseuniversities theDuxis the most senior of students, usually in charge of overseeing thepraxe(initiationritualsfor thefreshmen).

Popular culture

• InRuneScape 3,"Dux" is offered to players as a choice of title alongside "Duke" and "Duchess".
• InLight Bringerof Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, "Dux" is a rank and title given to those who speak with the authority of their liege, as in the character ofHoliday ti Nakamura.

References

Sources

• Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft(Pauly–Wissowa)

External links

• The dictionary definition ofduxat Wiktionary