LiTEBATrKE.— The best article on A/tia is in Ruffpiero, Dizio- nario Epiiintjieo lii Antichitd Rotntme : see also .Marquardt, Jioin. S/aalm'truattuitff, i. pp, :J.S;l-349 ; Mommsen, Prueiuces of the Rm». Kiiiji. {Rom Gench. v.) ch. viii. ; and llamsay, flin- iorical Geof/ritjifii/of Asia Minor, clis. A-K : ttieaceovint of the jtrnconsuls of Asia (riven by Wa<idini:ton. FuHtende la Province d' Artie, requires to be supplemented by the list of governors in the Dizioiiario. W. M. RAMSAT.
ASIARCH ("Ao-iopxiO was the title of certain officials of the Rom. province Asia, whose num- ber, tenure of office, and mode of appointment are most obscure. Such widely divergent views are still held about the Asiarchate that it is hardly possil)le to give any adequate account of it in our limited space. The Asiarchs (like the analogous officials, Galatarch, Syriarch, Lykiarch, Pam- phyliarch, etc.) were provincial, not municipal officials ; and they exercised certain powers in the Association in which the whole province of Asia united for the wor.ship of Rome and the Emperors, called Commune Asia; (Koifhv 'Ao-ias). That the Asiarchs were the high priests of the temples of the Imperial worship erected by the Commune Asice in Pergamos. Smyrna, Ephesus, Cyzicus, S.ardis, and perhaps other cities (^apxifpfvs tTis *A(T(as fjwv Twt', or caoy toC, ^1/ Tlepydfxti'^ w.r. A.), is denied by some good authorities, but seems to us highly probable: we take the term A. as a popular conversational name, which gradually established itself even in official usage, for these ' high priests of the temples of Asia.' We also regard it as probable (though it cannot be detinitely proved) that, beyoiul tlie high priests of the temples in the individual cities, there was a supreme high priest as head of the entire provincial cult. These high lu'iests seem, along with probably some other officials, to have formed a sort of Council, which managed the l)usiness of the Commune Asi(B, and had the di.sposal of certain funds intended for the maintenance of the Imperial temples and cere- monial. The Commune Asice celebrated in the
great cities of the province festivals with games, called Koiva 'Aaias ^v 'S.^vpvrj AaodiKeia^ K.r.K. ; and the games were presided over by an A., perhaps the supreme A., if we are right in supposing his existence. It is not improb. that the Council of tlie Asiarchs sat at stated periods in the great cities alternately ; and that they assembled at the city where the Koifa 'Aaias were being held. In that case the Asiarchs were prob. a.ssembled at Ephesus for such a jiurpose when they sent advice to St. Paul to consult his safety (Ac 19^') ; and perhaps the festival had both brought together a vast crowd of the Asian populace, and shown clearly to the artisans that their trade in selling small shrines to the pilgrims and devotees who had tloclicd to the festival was dwindling. The tenure of office of the Asiarchs, ace. to our view, was four yeare (a term which was very common for such offices in the E. provinces) ; but some high authorities hold that the Asiarchs were appointed annually. It is certain that the proconsul governing Asia (which see) took some part in the appointment ; but tlie details are doubtful and disputed. An A. enjoyed great dignity in his native city, and coins or in- .scriptions of very many cities in the province com- memorate the names of Asiarchs sprung from thence. They acted, doubtless, as presidents in local festivals as well as in the provincial games (Koiri 'Atri'as), and. of course, incurred in such cases con- siderable expense, part of which was compulsory, but most was voluntary (from ambition, or gener- osity, or ostentation).
Literature.— Brandis in Pauly-Wissowa's Beal-Enei/clopcf- (ft?, arts. 'Arcbiereus' and '.Vsiarches'; Monceaux, De Co7nmuni Aititv\ Biichner,/>« Xeocoria\ Mommsen, /'rwi'iflCf* of the Rom. Emp. (Rbmimhe Geschic/ite. vol. v.) ch. viii.; Lightfoot, .SV. IgntitiuK and St. Polyearp. ii. p. Ss" ff. ; Benrlier. Le Ciille Imperial ; Ouiraud, Leu annemldees provinfiialett de l' Empire Romaiue ; Hicks. Ancient Gr. Inttcrip. in the Brit. Muh. iii. p. S( ; Kamsay, Clatnical Rer. iii. p. 174 tt.. Cities and Bishoprics of Plirijoiit, i. pp. 55-5S, and ii. ch. xi.
W. M. R.\MSAY.
ASIBIAS (A 'A(r.S(as, B 'Ao-fSf/aO, 1 Es 9-».— One of tlie sons of Phoros or Parosh who agreed to put away his 'strange' wife; answering to Malchijah (2) in Ezr 10^ (■^J^'?", but A 'AaaBii, n 2o6-, B om.).
H. ST. J. THACKl.liAY.
ASIDE, that is, on (or to) one side, has a moral sense = astray, in Ps 14^ 'They are all gone a., they are all together become filthv ' ; Sir 2' ' go not a., lest ye fall.' J. Hastings.
ASIEL (''N'VT)-— 1. Grandfather of Jehu a Simeonite 'prince' (1 Ch 4"*^). 2. (^Asihel) One of five writers employed by Ezra to transcribe the law (2 Es 14-1). 3. ('AatjjK ; Heb. >n-v ; AV Asael) A forefather of Tobit (To 1'). Probably a corrupt form of the name Jahzeel {^:f>'^- Gn 46-*), a son of Naphtali ; A. is said to belong to this tribe.
J. T. Makshai.1,.
ASIPHA (A 'A^fKpd, B Taaa-pi), 1 P:s 529.— His sons were among the temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel. Called Hasupha (T='-7) Ezr 2<8,
Neh 7"'. H. ST. J. TilACKEKAY.
ASM0D;EUS (•''-''■r'^ To 3'- ") is probably identi- cal with the evil demon of the ancient Persian religion, ..ICshma da-va = the 'covetous' or 'lustful demon.' When the Hebrews borrowed the name, they connected it with ■'^'f, ft> destroy. Hence this is the being called 6 oKedpfvuf in Wis 18^^, and i'''?.? = S airoWvuy in Kev 9". In the latter passage he is styled ' angel of the aby.ss ' and ' king ' of the destructive creatures .shaped like locusts, but with men's faces and flowing hair. The only mention of Asmodseus in the (ir. Bible is in Tobit, where he is described as rrh wopvp^f Saifnii'io:' ; Vulg. d:emonium nequissimuin ; but in the Aram, and Heb. VSS ' King of the Shedhiin.' By this name he is known