Tetrarchy
/ˈtɛt.rɑːr.ki/noun
A government or rule by four persons, or the territory ruled by them.
Did you know?The term was famously used for the Roman system created under Diocletian, where power was divided among four rulers to stabilize an empire under pressure.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷetwóres
“four”
Ancient Greek
Greek
τετρα- (tetra-)
“four, composed of four”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἀρχή (archē)
“beginning, rule, leadership”
Late Greek
Greek
τετραρχία (tetrarchía)
“rule by four; the office or district of a tetrarch”
Late Latin
Latin
tetrarchia
“rule of four; tetrarchy”
Middle English
English
tetrarchie
“a division of rule among four rulers”
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