Asiarcll (^Aaidpxne, rider of Asia Minor, in the plur., Acts xix, 31; Vulg. Asia principes ; Auth. Vers, "the chief of Asia"), the title of the ten persons an- nually chosen in Proconsular Asia as chief presidents of the religious rites (prasides sacerdotales, Tertull. De Spect. 2), and whose office it was to exhibit solemn games in the theatre every year, in honor of the gods and of the Roman Emperor (Cod. Theodos. xv, 9, 2). This they did at their own expense (like the Roman aediles), whence none but the most opulent persons could bear the office, although only of one year's con- tinuance (see Conybeare and Howson, Life and Epis- tles of St. Paul, ii, 83). The appointment was much as follows : at the beginning of every year (i. e. about the autumnal equinox), each of the cities of Asia held a public assembly, in order to nominate one of their cit- izens as asiarch (Spanheim, Be usu cl prastant. num. p. 694). A person was then sent to the general coun- cil of the province, at some one of the principal cities, as Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis, etc., to announce the name of the individual who had been selected (JEA. Arist. p. 344 sq., cd. Jebb ; p. 613 sq., ed. Cant). Of the persons thus nominated by the cities the council designated ten. As the asiarchs arc repeatedly mentioned in the plural, some suppose that the whole ten presided as a college over the sacred rites (comp. Strabo, xiv, 649). But in Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. iv, 15) Polycarp is said to have suffered martyrdom when "Philip was asiarch and Statius Quadratus proconsul of Asia ;" from which and other circumstances it is deemed more probable that, as in the case of the irenarch, the names of the ten nominated by the general council were submitted to the proconsul, who chose one of the number to be asiarch (see Vales, in loc. ; Deyling, Observ. iii, 379 sq.). Kuinoel (at Acts xix, 31) admits that one chos- en by the proconsul was pre-eminently the asiarch, but conceives that the other nine acted as his assessors, and also bore that title. Others, however, think the plurality of asiarchs sufficiently accounted for by sup- posing that those who had served the office continued to bear the title, as was the case with the Jewish high- priests ; but the other branch of the alternative is usu- ally preferred. It is probal de that in the course of time changes were made in the office, which our fragmentary information does not enable us to trace ; and that the solitary testimony of Eusebius amounts to no more than that one asiarch, Philip, then and there presided at the public games, but not that the arrangements of all the games were made and provided by that one asiarch. Even the college of these officers appear to have had jurisdiction in Proconsular Asia (q. v.) only, for we find mention of similar functionaries in the oth- er provinces of Asia Minor, e. g. Bithyniarch, Gala- tarch, Lyciarch, Cariarch, etc. (Strabo, xiv, 3; Mala- las, p. 285, 289, ed. Bonn), and likewise in other parts of the Roman empire, e. g. Syriarch (Liban. Ep. 1217), Phoeniciarch, Cypriarch (2 Mace, xii, 2), etc., each charged with similar duties in their respective districts (see the Hall. Encycl. iii, 284 sq.). There is no ground for the supposition of Schottgen (Miscel. Lips, v, 178 sq.), that the asiarchs wore city magistrates, having appellate or superior jurisdiction over the decisions of local courts : they should by no means be confounded with the archon, or chief magistrate of Ephesus ; for they were representatives, not of a single city, but of many cities united. This notion of the asiarchs is confirmed by a medal of Rhodes, struck under Ha- drian, on the reverse of which we read, "A coin struck in common by thirteen cities, in honor of the magistrate of Rhodes, ClaudioFronto, asiarch and high- priest of the thirteen cities." The office might be tilled by the same person several times (Ackennan, Num. III.
ASIATIC BRETHREN
471
ASMOD^EUS
p. 51). Their place of res- idence was at Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis, Cyzicus, or at any other city where the council washeld. Their office was thus, in a great measure at least, religious, and they arc, in conse- quence, sometimes called "priests" (apxtEpuc), and their office a " priesthood"
(iinwavi'ii) (Mart. S. Polii- Coin of llypa-pa m I.ydia : a . „v , 91\
military ii-ure pourin- tin ™'P- ln ratr- AP- c- -1> contents of a patera upon an Probably it represented the altar with the fire kindled, religious element of the an- while Victory places a gar- . t Panionian League, land on his head : legend (in . " !
Greek), "Of the Hypaepeni- to tne territorial limits ot ans under Menander, second which also the circle of the time Asiarch and Praetor." functions of the asiarchs nearly corresponded (see Herod, i, 142). Coins or in- scriptions hearing the names of persons who had served the office of asiarch one or more times, are known as belonging to the following cities : Aphrodisias, Cyzi- cus, Hypaepa, Laodicea, Pergamos, Philadelphia, Sar- dis, Smyrna, Thyatira. (Aristid. Or. xxvi, 518, ed. Dind. ; Eckhel, ii, 507 ; iv, 207 ; Bockb, Inscr. vol. ii ; Krause, Civitates Ncocor.ce, p. 71; Wetstein, On Acts XIX ; Herod, v, 38 ; Hammond, On X. T. in loc.)