Exilarchy
Encyclopedia
An exilarchy is a description of the form of government
of the exilarch
s or Reish Galuta or Aechmalotarcha
, of the Babylonian captives from the Kingdom of Judah
. It was a theocratic
monarchy
that was established and constituted for rule over its ethnic or religious diaspora
rather than over the place of origin whence its diaspora originated. The exilarch usually only has cultural and honorary powers over his or her subjects, as such subjects are ultimately under the political governance of their host countries of residence or citizenship.
Form of government
A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
of the exilarch
Exilarch
Exilarch refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community in Babylon following the deportation of King Jeconiah and his court into Babylonian exile after the first fall of Jerusalem in 597 BCE and augmented after the further deportations following the destruction...
s or Reish Galuta or Aechmalotarcha
Aechmalotarcha
Aechmalotarcha, or Æchmalotarcha, in antiquity, is a Greek term signifying the chief or leader of captives.The Jews who refused to return with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity created an Æchmalotarcha to govern them. The people themselves did not refer to him by that title,...
, of the Babylonian captives from the Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
. It was a theocratic
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
that was established and constituted for rule over its ethnic or religious diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
rather than over the place of origin whence its diaspora originated. The exilarch usually only has cultural and honorary powers over his or her subjects, as such subjects are ultimately under the political governance of their host countries of residence or citizenship.