demarchos

The ''dēmarchos'' ( gr, δήμαρχος, 3=archon of the deme; plural δήμαρχοι, ''dēmarchoi''), anglicized as Demarch, is a title historically given to officials related to civic administration. In ancient Athens the title was given to the elected chief magistrate of each of the demes of Attica. In later literature, the term was used as a translation of the Roman office of . In the Byzantine Empire the ''dēmarchos'' was the leader of one of the racing factions (then known as "demes") of the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Largely concerned with ceremonial in the early centuries, from the 11th century the title was applied to various administrative positions in Constantinople, until the end of the empire. In modern usage, the term is used for the mayor of a municipality.

Ancient Greece

Athens

In Classical Athens, the was the highest magistrate in each of the 139 demes (, , sing. , ) that comprised Attica after the reforms of Cleisthenes. The office lasted for one year, and was elected from the members of the deme (the δημώται, ), initially by direct vote, but by the end of the 4th century, he was usually elected by lot. The of Piraeus was initially appointed by the (i.e., the Athenian city-state), as was that of Oropus; these too eventually came to be elected by lot from among the entire Athenian citizen body. In some demes, the office was eponymous, i.e. it was used for dating, along with the names of the eponymous archons of the entire of Athens.

The responsibilities of the were to convene and chair the local assembly, and supervise the execution of its resolutions, as well as their engraving in public view. Along with the treasurers he supervised the deme's landed properties and their rent, as well as expenditure; along with the priests he was responsible for religious festivals, sacrifices, or theatre performances. As chief magistrate he also possessed considerable judicial powers, including holding his outgoing predecessor to account, and chairing the assembly when it was functioning as a public court. In the event that the deme as a whole was involved in a court case, he was responsible for representing it before the .

Occupying a crucial position at the interface between the deme and the Athenian , he was also charged with maintaining up to date the deme's register of citizens (, ), which he kept sealed at his own residence, as well as registers of those citizens eligible for naval service as rowers in the triremes. It is unclear whether he was also responsible for maintaining registers of those eligible for hoplite service. He also had fiscal duties, supervising confiscations and maintaining the registers of confiscated property, as well as collecting (before 387/86 BC) the tax from property-owning citizens.

Other usage

The office is also attested in Chios in the 6th century BC, where the was appointed alongside the , possibly charged with judicial matters, whereas in Eretria on Euboea the was responsible for religious affairs.

In Naples, originally a Greek colony in Italy, the was originally an important office, standing at the head of the . It is unclear whether it was held by a single person or a college of holders. The office survived into the Roman period, where it was reduced to a largely symbolic role supervising public religious acts and festivals. Its holders included the Roman emperors Titus () and Hadrian (). The office survived at least until the time of Constantine the Great ().

Greek writers also commonly used the term to translate the Roman magistrature of , probably influenced by the title's use in Naples and other Greek cities of the area. The term was thus rendered ().

Byzantine usage

Background

In Late Antiquity, the term "demes" () came to be used for the associations responsible for the organization of games and chariot races. There were usually four, known by their colours as the Blues (Βένετοι, ), Greens (Πράσινοι, ), Whites (Λευκοὶ, ), and Reds (Ῥούσιοι, ). The Blues and Greens were the most important, with the Whites and Reds as their respective junior partners.. In Late Antiquity, they were widespread across the Byzantine Empire, and even played an important political role, both as leading ceremonial acclamations to the emperor in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, and as organizing factors in urban riots in the empire's great cities, notably the Nika revolt in Constantinople. However, after the Muslim conquests and the crisis of the 7th century, the were restricted to Constantinople and were reduced to a purely ceremonial role as integral parts of the administration: their personnel had court ranks, and were paid salaries by the .

According to the of 899, only the Blues and Greens survived, separated further into those "of the city" (πολιτικοὶ, ), under a ''dēmarchos'', and the "suburban" (περατικοὶ, ), under a , a role which was entrusted to senior military officials: the Domestic of the Schools for the Blues, and the Domestic of the Excubitors for the Greens. All of these were grouped under the generic label of .

History and functions

The title of is first securely attested in 602. The 10th-century ''Patria of Constantinople'' refer to two under Theodosius II (), but this is most likely an anachronism.. In popular usage, they are sometimes called (διοικηταὶ).

Their exact role is unclear: in view of their ceremonial role in later centuries, Alan Cameron suggested that they were claque conductors, whereas G. Manojlovic considered them as military commanders of a militia recruited by the . By the mid-9th century, the was a government official, as attested in the ''Taktikon Uspensky'' and seals of office, holding the dignities such as or in the court hierarchy. The records their staff of subaltern officials:
* a deputy (, , )
* a secretary (, ) and a notary (, )
* a poet (, ) and a composer (, ) for the acclamations during ceremonies
* a master (, ) and the 'first ones' (, ), whose role is obscure
* a 'neighbourhood supervisor' (, ), whose exact duties are unclear
* the charioteers (, ), specifically the officials known as the () of the Blues and Greens and the () of the Whites and Reds
* the ordinary members (, )
The actual personnel of the Hippodrome were not part of their staff.
In the ''De ceremoniis'' of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, the ceremonies of promotion for the are recorded, as well as for their subalterns.

In the 11th century, the that appear in seals also hold offices in the administration, such as and . The continuity with their 9th–10th century forebears is unclear. The title survived into the Palaiologan period, charged with various administrative duties in Constantinople: according to a letter of Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople (1289–1293 and 1303–1309), two were responsible for supervising the grain trade and bread production, while later in the 14th century the administered the quarters () of the city. In the mid-14th century book of ceremonies of pseudo-Kodinos, the banners (, ) of the are mentioned as following behind those of all the other officials in processions.

During the final siege of Constantinople in 1453, the assumed the role of military commanders.

References

Sources

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* {{cite book , editor-first=Jean , editor-last=Verpeaux , title=Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des Offices , publisher=Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , year=1966 , language=fr

Administration of Constantinople
Ancient Attica
Ancient Athenian titles