high-ranking commanders. Although the specific nature of the title is not attested, it is generally accepted that in the 10th–11th centuries, it signified the commanders of the contingent of foreign mercenaries serving in the Byzantine army. Ottoman Empire Rather different was the case of minority community ethnarchs, especially within the Islamic Ottoman Empire that were recognized as legitimate entities (millet) and thus allowed to be heard by the government through an officially acknowledged representative, though without political persona. When the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II decided to give such dialogue a more formal nature, the logical choice for the major Orthodox Christian communities was the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The non-Chalcedonian Christians (Armenians, Syriacs, and Copts) were represented by the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. For the far smaller, but also influential Jewish diaspora, a similar position was granted to the Hakham Bashi, i.e., chief rabbi. Modern Greece and Cyprus In modern Greek usage, the term has the connotation of "father of the nation", and is widely used as an epithet applied to perhaps the most influential political leader in modern Greek history: Eleftherios Venizelos. In the context of modern Cyprus, the term nearly always refers to the nation's first president, Archbishop Makarios. Notes References and sources References Sources Flavius Josephus STRONGS NT 1481: ἐθνάρχης. Strong's Concordance (Bible Hub). Retrieved: 18 August 2014. Γεώργιος Γρατσέας. "Έθνάρχης." Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια (ΘΗΕ). Τόμος 5 (Διοκλητιανός-Ζώτος). Αθηναι – Αθαν. Μαρτινος, 1964. σελ. 351. Government of the Ottoman Empire Religious leadership roles Byzantine military offices Constitutional state types Monarchy Oligarchy Titles of national or ethnic leadership Herodian dynasty Hasmonean dynasty