View source for Taxiarch

{{Short description|Greek term for brigadier}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2007}}

The word '''taxiarch''' ({{langx|el|ταξίαρχος|taxiarchos}} {{small|(masculine)}}; {{langx|el|ταξιάρχη|taxiarchē|label=none}} {{small|(feminine)}}) is used in the [[Greek language]] to mean "[[brigadier]]". The term derives {{ety||táxis|order}}, in military context meaning 'an ordered formation'. It is cognate with the scientific term [[taxonomy]]. In turn, the rank has given rise to the Greek term for [[brigade]], ''taxiarchia''. In [[Greek Orthodox Church]] usage, the term is also applied to the [[archangel]]s [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] and [[Gabriel]], as leaders of the [[heavenly host]], and several locations in Greece are [[Taxiarches (disambiguation)|named]]<!--intentional link to DAB page--> after them.

== Ancient use ==
In [[ancient Greece]], the title or rank was held by a number of officers in the armies of several but not all [[city-state]]s, with [[Sparta]] being a notable exception. In [[Classical Athens]], there were ten taxiarchs, one for each of the city's tribes (''[[phyle|phylai]]''), a subordinate to the respective ''[[strategos]]''.

== Byzantine use ==
The term first appears in use in the [[Byzantine army]] in the late 6th-century [[Strategikon of Maurice|''Strategikon'']] of emperor [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]], where it is reserved for the commander of the elite ''[[Optimatoi]]'' mercenary corps.<ref name="ODB">{{cite book | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan | title = [[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6 | page=2018}}</ref> In the 10th-century, the term was revived and refers to the commander of one of the new type of infantry brigade (''taxiarchia''), composed of 500 heavy infantry, 300 archers and 200 light infantry. On account of their numerical size, these units were also known as ''chiliarchia'', and their commander correspondingly as ''[[chiliarch]]os'', and are also equated to the thematic ''droungos'' under a ''[[droungarios]]''.<ref name="ODB"/><ref>{{Cite book |first = John F. |last = Haldon |title = Warfare, state and society in the Byzantine world, 565–1204 |year = 1999 |publisher = Routledge |isbn = 1-85728-494-1 | page=115 }}</ref> During the 11th century, with the demise of the [[Theme (Byzantine district)|thema]]tic armies, the rank rose in importance, and eventually surpassed and replaced that of ''[[tourmarches]]'', so that in the [[Komnenian army|Komnenian-era army]], the ''taxiarchia'' was the largest-scale permanent infantry formation.

== Modern use ==
In the modern [[Hellenic Army]] the rank of ''Taxiarchos'' (abbreviated Ταξχος) is equivalent to [[Brigadier General]] with a NATO Code OF-6.<ref>STANAG 2116: "NATO codes for grades of military personnel", 6th edition, 2010, page A-2</ref> The rank was introduced in the Greek military by royal decree on 5 June 1946,<ref>"Η ιστορία της οργάνωσης του Ελληνικού Στρατου (1821-1954)", ''Hellenic Army General Staff'', Athens, 2005, p. 410</ref> and the insignia instituted later in the same year.<ref>"Η ιστορία της οργάνωσης του Ελληνικού Στρατου (1821-1954)", ''Hellenic Army General Staff'', Athens, 2005, p. 427</ref> It is superior to a ''[[Syntagmatarchis]]'' ([[Colonel]]) and inferior to an ''[[Strategos|Ypostratigos]]'' ([[Major General]]). The rank's insignia consists of a flaming grenade (replacing the crown borne under the [[Greek monarchy]]), a crossed sword and baton device and a six-pointed star. A ''Taxiarchos'' typically serves as the commanding officer of a brigade or as the [[executive officer]] of a [[Division (military)|division]].

In the [[Hellenic Air Force]], which otherwise uses [[Royal Air Force]]-style ranks different from those of the Army, the equivalent rank ([[Air Commodore]]) is denoted as ''Taxiarchos tis Aeroporias'' ("Air Force Brigadier") or simply ''Taxiarchos''.<ref>STANAG 2116: "NATO codes for grades of military personnel", 6th edition, 2010, page C-2</ref> The rank is also used by the [[Hellenic Police]] (and the [[Greek Gendarmerie]] before) and the [[Cypriot National Guard]].

=== Gallery ===
<gallery>
File:GR-Army-OF6-1946.svg|Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1946–1959
File:GR-Army-OF6-1959.svg|Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1959–1970
File:GR-Army-OF6-1970.png|Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1970–1973
File:Army-GRE-OF-06.svg|Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos'', 1975–today
File:Hellenic Air Force OF-6.svg|Rank insignia of a ''Taxiarchos tis Aeroporias'', 1946–today
File:GR-Police-OF6.svg|Rank insignia of a Police ''Taxiarchos'', 1986–today 
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Portal|Byzantine Empire|Greece}}
{{reflist}}

{{Greece officer ranks}}

[[Category:Archangels in Christianity]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek military terminology]]
[[Category:Byzantine military offices]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Greek Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Military ranks of Greece]]
[[Category:Military ranks of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Military ranks of ancient Macedon]]