tetrarchy

American  

[te-trahr-kee, tee-] / ˈtɛ trɑr ki, ˈti- /

Rarely tetrarchate

noun

1. the position, territory, or tenure of a tetrarch, especially of the ruler of the fourth part of a province or country in the ancient Roman Empire.

   Agrippa returned to Rome in a.d. 39 and secured the banishment of his uncle Antipas, whose tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea he was then granted.

2. a group of four joint rulers or chiefs, or the rule or domain of such a group.

   Many thanks to our tetrarchy of system administrators, who worked together to fix this complex network problem in record time.

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Other Word Forms

• tetrarchic
  adjective
• tetrarchical
  adjective

Example Sentences

This shared rule between the four emperors was called a tetrarchy.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

A Roman depiction of the tetrarchy dating from the period of Diocletian’s reign.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

Diocletian’s hope was that the tetrarchy would end the cycle of assassinations.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

The southern tetrarchy is composed of the four cities, Ur or Hur, Huruk, Nipur, and Larsa or Larancha, which are probably identified with the Scriptural "Ur of the Chaldees," Erech, Calneh, and Ellasar.

From The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. by Rawlinson, George

Yet now, during the meal that followed, Mary, the toast of the tetrarchy, she whose wit and brilliance had been echoed even in Rome, wrapped herself in a mantle of silence.

From Mary Magdalen by Saltus, Edgar