Who is the Basileus of Rome?
By the 4th century however, basileus was applied in official usage exclusively to the two rulers considered equals to the Roman Emperor: the Sassanid Persian shahanshah ("king of kings"), and to a lesser degree the King of Axum, whose importance was rather peripheral in the Byzantine worldview.
Is Basileus translated as King?
According to pseudo-Archytas's treatise "On justice and law", quoted by Giorgio Agamben in State of Exception (2005), Basileus is more adequately translated into "Sovereign" than into "king".
Is Jesus Christ a basileus?
Jesus is Basileus Basileōn (Βασιλεὺς βασιλέων = King of Kings, Revelation 17:14, 19:16) (a previous Near Eastern phrase for rulers of empires), or Basileus tōn basileuontōn (Βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων = literally King of those being kings, 1 Timothy 6:15).
What was the title of King of Kings in ancient Greece?
King of Kings. The title King of Kings was prominently used by Achaemenid Persian kings such as Darius the Great (pictured). The full titulature of Darius was Great King, King of Kings, King in Fārs, King of the Countries, Hystaspes’ son, Arsames’ grandson, an Achaemenid.
What is the role of the basileus?
The Basileus shall preside at all meetings of the chapter. She shall enforce the laws and appoint all committee chairmen not provided for in the chapter by-laws. She shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee, Auditing and Standards.
What was the title of the Byzantine emperor?
The Byzantines reserved the term "basileus" among Christian rulers exclusively for the emperor in Constantinople, and referred to Western European kings as rēgas, a Hellenized form of the Latin word rex ("king"). The feminine form basilissa referred to an empress.
Is a basileus?
Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by the Byzantine emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority and sovereigns in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of modern Greece.
What was a basileus in Dark Age Greece?
A more appropriate name for the Dark Age basileus is the anthropological term "chief," which suggests a man with far less power than a king. The basileus, nevertheless, was a man of great stature and importance in his community.
Who was the first ruler of the Byzantine Empire?
Justinian I, who took power in 527 and would rule until his death in 565, was the first great ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
What is the title of emperor?
An emperor (from Latin: imperator, via Old French: empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm.
How do you spell basileus?
Basileus (Greek: βασιλεύς) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history.
What is plural for basileus?
noun. ba·si·leus | \ ˌbäsəˈleu̇s \ plural basileis\ -ˈlās \
How do you pronounce basileus in English?
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What did Greeks call king?
basileusAnax (Greek: ἄναξ; from earlier ϝάναξ, wánax) is an ancient Greek word for "tribal chief, lord, (military) leader". It is one of the two Greek titles traditionally translated as "king", the other being basileus, and is inherited from Mycenaean Greece. It is notably used in Homeric Greek, e.g. for Agamemnon.
Why was it called Dark Ages?
The 'Dark Ages' were between the 5th and 14th centuries, lasting 900 years. The timeline falls between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. It has been called the 'Dark Ages' because many suggest that this period saw little scientific and cultural advancement.
Why is it called Greek Dark Age?
The Dark Age was a transitional period between the fall of Mycenaean Greece of the Bronze Age, and Archaic Greece of the Iron Age. This period is called the Dark Age because the palaces that ruled the Mycenaean age collapsed, and with them fell civilization in mainland Greece.
What did the Byzantines call their emperors?
The title of all Emperors preceding Heraclius was officially "Augustus", although other titles such as Dominus were also used. Their names were preceded by Imperator Caesar and followed by Augustus. Following Heraclius, the title commonly became the Greek Basileus (Gr.
Was the Byzantine emperor a god?
The Byzantine emperor embodied something tangibly to the divine on earth. The Roman emperor, as well as everything associated with domus divina, was believed to be sacred. The spreading of Christianity in the Roman Empire did not alter much the emperor's sacred aura.
What are Roman emperors called?
Every emperor was called or called himself imperator (Tiberius f.e. was hesitant, as with the taking over of the Augustus-title, and was still known as Tiberius Caesar Augustus), but it still retained qualities of a title.
Was the Byzantine emperor elected?
In theory, current since the time of Augustus and later formalized in aspects of the Byzantine coronation ceremony, the office of Roman emperor was elective, and the emperor was chosen by the Roman people, the Senate, and the army.
Who was the Seleucid ruler?
Although the Hellenic Seleucid rulers frequently assumed old Persian titles and honors, the usurper Timarchus is one of few concrete examples of a Seleucid ruler using the title "King of Kings".
Who was the King of Kings in the Seleucid Empire?
The title was evidently quite well known to be associated with the Seleucid king, the usurper Timarchus (active 163–160 BC) called himself "King of Kings" and the title was discussed in sources from outside the empire as well. Some non-Seleucid rulers even assumed the title for themselves, notably in Pontus (especially prominently used under Mithridates VI Eupator ).
What was the name of the king of Babylon?
The standard royal title of the Arsacid ( Parthian) kings while in Babylon was Aršaka šarru ("Arsacid king"), King of Kings (recorded as šar šarrāni by contemporary Babylonians) was adopted first by Mithridates I (r. 171–132 BC), though he used it infrequently.
What is the meaning of the word "king of kings"?
In Judaism, Melech Malchei HaMelachim ("the King of Kings of Kings") came to be used as a name of God. "King of Kings" (βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων) is also used in reference to Jesus Christ several times in the Bible, notably in the First Epistle to Timothy and twice in the Book of Revelation. In Islam, both the terms King ...
What was the title of the Achaemenid king?
The Achaemenid Kings used a variety of different titles, prominently Great King and King of Countries, but perhaps the most prominent title was that of King of Kings (rendered Xšâyathiya Xšâyathiyânâm in Old Persian), recorded for every Achaemenid king. The full titulature of the king Darius I was "great king, king of kings, king in Persia, ...
What titles did Sargon use?
For instance, Ashurbanipal's great-grandfather Sargon II used the full titulature of Great King, Mighty King, King of the Universe, King of Assyria, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad.
Where did the title King of Kings come from?
The title of King of Kings occasionally appears in inscriptions of kings of Urartu. Although no evidence exists, it is possible that the title was also used by the rulers of the Median Empire, since its rulers borrowed much of their royal symbolism and protocol from Urartu and elsewhere in Mesopotamia. The Achaemenid Persian variant of the title, Xšâyathiya Xšâyathiyânâm, is Median in form which suggests that the Achaemenids may have taken it from the Medes rather than from the Mesopotamians.
Etymology
- The etymology of basileus is unclear. The Mycenaean form was *gʷasileus (Linear B: 𐀣𐀯𐀩𐀄, qa-si-re-u), denoting some sort of court official or local chieftain, but not an actual king. Its hypothetical earlier Proto-Greek form would be *gʷatileus. Most linguists assume that it is a non-Greek word that was adopted by Bronze Age Greeks from a pre-existing linguistic Pre-Greek sub…
Ancient Greece
- Original senses encountered on clay tablets
The first written instance of this word is found on the baked clay tablets discovered in excavations of Mycenaean palaces originally destroyed by fire. The tablets are dated from the 15th century BC to the 11th century BC and are inscribed with the Linear B script, which was deciphered by Mich… - Pseudo-Archytas' definition of the Basileus as "sovereign" and "living law"
According to pseudo-Archytas's treatise "On justice and law", quoted by Giorgio Agamben in State of Exception (2005), Basileus is more adequately translated into "Sovereign" than into "king". The reason for this is that it designates more the person of king than the office of king: the power of …
Alexander The Great
- Basileus and Megas Basileus were exclusively used by Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors in Ptolemaic Egypt, Asia (e.g. the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon and by non-Greek, but Greek-influenced states like the Kingdom of Pontus) and Macedon. The feminine counterpart is basilissa (queen), meaning both a queen regnant (such a...
Romans and Byzantines
- Under Roman rule, the term basileus came to be used, in the Hellenistic tradition, to designate the Roman Emperor in the everyday and literary speech of the Greek-speaking Eastern Mediterranean. Although the early Roman Emperors were careful to retain the façade of the republican institutions and to not formally adopt monarchical titles, the use of basileus amply illustrates tha…
New Testament and Jesus
- While the terms used for the Roman emperor are Kaisar Augustos (Decree from Caesar Augustus, Dogma para Kaisaros Augoustou, Luke 2:1) or just Kaisar (see Render unto Caesar...) and Pontius Pilate is called Hegemon (Matthew 27:2), Herod is Basileus (in his coins also Basileōs Herodou, "of King Herod", and by Josephus) Regarding Jesus the term basileus acquires a new Christian t…
Modern Greece
- During the post-Byzantine period, the term basileus, under the renewed influence of Classical writers on the language, reverted to its earlier meaning of "king". This transformation had already begun in informal usage in the works of some classicizing Byzantine authors. In the Convention of London in 1832, the Great Powers (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, July Monarc…
See Also
- Anthesteria, Dionysus festival in which a basilinna, wife of the archon basileus for the time, went through a ceremony of marriage to the wine god. May be compared to carnivals and other charivaris.
- Auctoritas
- Imperium
- Anthesteria, Dionysus festival in which a basilinna, wife of the archon basileus for the time, went through a ceremony of marriage to the wine god. May be compared to carnivals and other charivaris.
- Auctoritas
- Imperium
- Sovereignty
Sources