Ethnarch

Ethnarch, pronounced /ˈɛθnɑːrk/, the anglicized form of ethnarches (Greek: ἐθνάρχης), refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words ἔθνος (ethnos, "tribe/nation") and ἄρχων (archon, "leader/ruler"). Strong's Concordance gives the definition of 'ethnarch' as "the governor (not king) of a district."

The title first appeared in the Hellenistic Middle East, possibly in Judea. In the First book of Maccabees the word is used three times (1 Maccabees 14:47 and 15:1-2), where Simon is referred to as the high priest and ethnarch of the Judeans.

It was used in the region even after it fell under the dominion of Rome, and until the early Roman Empire, to refer to rulers of vassal kingdoms who did not rise to the level of kings. 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 Judah), and Idumea (Biblical Edom), from the death of his father in 4 BC to AD 6. This region is known as the Tetrarchy of Judea. His brother Philip received the north-east of the realm and was styled 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.

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