chiliarch

[kil-ee-ahrk]

noun

1. (in ancient Greece) the military commander of 1000 men.

Other Word Forms

• chiliarchy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of chiliarch¹

1650–60; < Latin chiliarchēs (or chiliarchus ) < Greek chiliárchēs (or chiliárchos ), equivalent to chī́li ( oi ) 1000 + -archēs (or -archos ) -arch

Example Sentences

We know that Alexander elevated Hephaestion to “chiliarch,” a position second only to Alexander himself, around 330 B.C.

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Chil′iagon, a plane figure having 1000 angles; Chil′iahēdron, a solid figure having 1000 sides; Chil′iarch, a leader or commander of a thousand men; Chil′iarchy, the position of chiliarch; Chil′iasm, the doctrine that Christ will reign bodily upon the earth for 1000 years; Chil′iast, one who holds this opinion.

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Antipater on his death-bed appointed Polysperchon to the supreme command, and gave Kassander the post of chiliarch, or general of the body guard.

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At this perilous crisis Themistokles first applied to Artabanus, a chiliarch, or officer in command of a regiment of a thousand men, whom he told that he was a Greek, and that he wished to have an interview with the king about matters of the utmost importance, and in which the king was especially interested.

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Moreover Roxanes the chiliarch, as Themistokles passed by him in silence into the king's presence, whispered, "Thou subtle serpent of Greece, the king's good genius has led thee hither."

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