A silver coin of the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter. The reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ (king Antiochus).

Basileus (Greek Βασιλεύς - also pronounced vasilefs or vasilias) means "king". It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by Byzantine monarchs, but also has a longer history of use in Ancient Greece. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... After the death of Alexander the Great in the afternoon of 11 June 323 BC, his empire was divided by his generals, the Diadochi(successors). ... Silver coin of Antiochus I. The reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. ... Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt). ... The Omphalos in Delphi An omphalos is a religious stone artifact in the ancient world. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ...

Etymology

The etymology of "basileus" is unclear. The Mycenean form was gwasileus (qa-si-re-u), denoting some sort of court official or local "boss", but not an actual king. Most linguists assume that it is a non-Greek word that was adopted by Bronze Age Greeks from a preexisting linguistic substrate of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... The word substrate can mean the following: In biochemistry, a substrate is a molecule which is acted upon by an enzyme. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

Ancient Greece

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. They were inscribed with the Linear B script, which was deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952 and corresponds to a very early form of Greek. The Lion Gate at Mycenae The Lion Gate (detail) Mycenae (ancient Greek: , IPA , in modern Greek: Μυκήνες ), is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. ... (16th century BC - 15th century BC - 14th century BC - other centuries) (1500s BC - 1490s BC - 1480s BC - 1470s BC - 1460s BC - 1450s BC - 1440s BC - 1430s BC - 1420s BC - 1410s BC - 1400s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1504 BC - 1492 BC -- Egypt... (12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC - other centuries) (1100s BC - 1090s BC - 1080s BC - 1070s BC - 1060s BC - 1050s BC - 1040s BC - 1030s BC - 1020s BC - 1010s BC - 1000s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256... Linear B script sample Linear B is the script that was used for writing Mycenaean, an early form of the Greek language. ... Michael Ventris (July 12, 1922–September 6, 1956) was an English architect and classical scholar, who along with John Chadwick was responsible for the decipherment of Linear B. At the beginning of the 20th century, archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans began excavating Knossos, an ancient city located on the island of... 1952 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

The word "basileus" is written as "qa-si-re-u" and its original meaning was "chieftain" (in one particular tablet the chieftain of the guild of bronzesmiths is referred to as "qa-si-re-u"). Its meaning later evolved to "king", as is attested in the works of Homer. The word can be contrasted with anax, another word used for "king" and usually meaning "High King" or "overlord". The title "basileus" was used throughout the Greek-speaking world to signify the person and office of king, either in reality or when recounting Greek mythology. "Anax" was then used only in poetry and was particuralrly associated with the Olympian Gods, especially Zeus. This article is about the leader. ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... A smith or metalsmith is a person involved in the shaping of metal objects. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state, whose titles and ascent are often inherited, not earned, and who represents a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. ... Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... Anax is an ancient Greek word for king. It was one of two Greek titles traditionally translated this way, the other being basileus. ... Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... The Twelve Olympians, in Greek mythology, were the principal gods of the Greek pantheon, residing atop Mount Olympus. ... Statue of Zeus The Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall Statue of Zeus in about 435 bc. ...

In classical times the use of "basileus" was limited to the very few states that never abolished the hereditary royal office in favor of democratic or oligarchic rule: namely the two hereditary Kings of Sparta (who served as joint commanders of the army), the Kings of Macedon and Epirus, various kings of "barbaric" (i.e. non-Greek) tribes in Thrace and Illyria, as well as the Achaemenid kings of Persia. The Persian king was also referred to as "Megas Basileus" (Great King) or "Basileus Basileon", a translation of the Persian title "Shâhanshâh" (King of Kings). This article describes the ancient classical period: for the classical period in music (second half of the 18th century): see Classical music era. ... Sparta was an important Greek city-state in the Peloponnesus. ... Macedon (also sometimes known as Macedonia) was an ancient kingdom in the present-day territory of northern Greece, inhabited by Dorian Greeks. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípeiros), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece, bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the Ambracian Gulf and the province of West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and Albania to the north. ... Barbarian was originally a Greek term applied to any foreigner, one not sharing a recognized culture or degree of polish with the speaker or writer employing the term. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... In classical history, Illyria or Illyricum or Illyrikon was a region in the western part of todays Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the tribes and clans of Illyrians, an ancient people who probably spoke an Indo-European language (the Illyrian languages). ... Achaemenid empire in its greatest extent The Achaemenid Dynasty (Hakamanishiya in the Avestan language, هخامنشی - transliterated Hakamanshee in Modern Persian) was an iranian dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire, including Cyrus the Great, Darius the Great and Xerxes I. At the height of their power, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... King of Kings or some literal parallel in various languages is a lofty title that has been used by several monarchies in history, and in many cases the literal title meaning King of Kings, especially in the case of Semitic languages is conventionally (usually inaccurately) rendered as Emperor. The rulers...

The term was also used in classical Athens in the title of the "Archon Basileus" (Lord King), which was an elected and purely ceremonial office supervising religious rites. In other city-states occasionally governed by authoritarian rulers the term "basileus" was never used, and the titles "tyrannos" (tyrant) or, more benignly, "archon" (lord) were preferred. This signifies that a ruling Greek "basileus" had to be an heir of a long-standing, legitimate dynasty. A view of the Acropolis of Athens during the Ottoman period, showing the buildings which were removed at the time of independence The history of Athens is the longest of any city in Europe: Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years. ... Archon (Gr. ... A lord is a male who has power and authority. ... A tyrant (from Greek τυραννος tyrannos) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ... A dynasty is a family or extended family which retains political power across generations, or more generally, any organization which extends dominance in its field even as its particular members change. ...

Alexander the Great

"Basileus" was exclusively used by Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors in Egypt, Asia and Macedon. The female counterpart is "basilissa" (Queen), meaning both a Queen regnant (such as Cleopatra VII of Egypt) and a Queen consort. Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... The term Hellenistic (derived from Héllēn, the Greeks word for themselves) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of various ethnicities, and from the political dominance of... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... Macedon (or Macedonia from Greek ) in Classical Antiquity was the ancient state of Macedonia on the margins of Ancient Greece, bordering with the Greek state of Epirus on the west and with Thrace on the East. ... The term queen regnant refers to a female monarch. ... Sculpture of Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator (Κλεοπάτρα θεά φιλοπάτωρ, December, 70 BC or January, 69 BC–August 12?, 30 BC) was queen of ancient Egypt. ... King George V of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Mary A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king. ...

Byzantines

At the time of the Byzantine Empire, "basileus" assumed the meaning of "emperor" and was used by the Byzantine Emperors from the reign of Justinian II onwards, when official usage of Latin in coinage and state documents was gradually replaced by Greek. An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Justinian II, known as Rhinotmetus (the Split-nosed) (669-711) was Byzantine emperor from 685 to 695 and again from 704 to 711. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... 1¢ euro coin A coin is usually a piece of hard material, generally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of money. ...

This use of the word was new — when the Romans had originally conquered the Mediterranean, the imperial title "Caesar Augustus" was initially translated as "Kaisar Sebastos", and later Hellenized to "Kaisar Augoustos". "Imperator", another imperial title, was translated as "Autokrator". Interestingly, "BASILEUS" was initially stamped on Byzantine coins (in lieu of the standard Latin abbreviations "C.IMP." for "Caesar Imperator") in Latin script. Only somewhat later was the Greek script universally used. Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ... Bust of Augustus Caesar Caesar Augustus (Latin: IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS)¹ (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known earlier in his life as Gaius Octavius or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was the first Roman Emperor and is traditionally considered the greatest. ... The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ... An autocrat is generally speaking any ruler with absolute power; the term is now usually used in a negative sense (cf. ...

The title of "basileus" became an issue of great diplomatic controversy when Charlemagne was crowned as "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III on December 25, 800 AD, at St. Peter's in Rome. The matter was complicated by the fact that the Eastern Empire was then ruled by the Empress Irene, who had ascended the throne of Constantinople after the death of her husband, the emperor Leo IV, as Regent to their 9-year-old son, Constantine VI. Following Constantine's coming of age, the Empress Dowager eventually decided to topple him and rule in her own name. In the conflict that ensued, Irene was victorious and Constantine was blinded and imprisoned, to die soon after. The repulsion generated by this incident of virtual filicide cum regicide was compounded by the innate Frankish aversion to the concept of a ruling Empress. Charlemagne is also the name of a column in The Economist on European affairs Charlemagne (c. ... Roman Emperor is the title historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Leo III (died June 12, 816) was Pope from 795 to 816. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining. ... For other uses, see number 800. ... The Basilica of Saint Peter from Castel SantAngelo. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,823,210 almost 4,000,000 1... This solidus struck under Irene reports the legend bASILISSH, Basilissa. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Leo IV, called Chozar or the Khazar (c. ... Constantine VI (771 - 797) succeeded his father Leo IV as Byzantine emperor at the age of nine in 780, and was emperor under the regency of his iconophile mother Irene. ... Empress Dowager (Chinese, Korean and Japanese: 皇太后; Chinese pinyin Húang Tài Hòu, Korean pronunciation: Hwang Tae Hu, Japanese pronunciation: Kōtaigō) was title given to the mother of a Chinese emperor. ... Filicide is the act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. ... The broad definition of Regicide is the deliberate killing of a king, or the person responsible for it. ... The King of the Franks, in the midst of the Military Chiefs who formed his Treuste, or armed Court, dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws). ...

Charlemagne, in an effort to advance his own dynastic affairs, proposed marriage to the aging Empress, but Irene, who now styled herself "Basileus" (in the male, rather than "Basilissa", in the female) rejected Charlemagne's marriage proposal, and refused to recognise Charlemagne's imperial title. Eventually a compromise was reached, whereby Charlemagne was to be recognised as "Emperor Augustus of the Franks and the Lombards", but not "of the Romans". The Franks or the Frankish people were one of several west Germanic tribes who entered the late Roman Empire from Frisia as foederati and established a lasting realm (sometimes referred to as Francia) in an area that covers most of modern-day France and the region of Franconia in Germany... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, from which the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Scandinavia that entered the late Roman Empire. ...

See also: Byzantine Empire, Persia The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ...

External link

• http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/25.html