Tetrarchy

//ˈtɛtɹɑːki// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A government where power is shared by four people, especially (historical) the Herodian tetrarchy established in Judea after the death of Herod and the Tetrarchy of Diocletian which ruled the Roman Empire in the years 293-313.

    "Constantius was not born to the purple and Maximianus was the only original member of the First Tetrarchy from whom Constantine could satisfactorily derive his rule."

  2. 2
    The land ruled by such a government, either together or separately.

    "According to Josephus, Herod Agrippa, who succeeded Antipas in his Tetrarchy, died in the seventh year of his reign;[…]."

Synonyms

All synonyms
government

Example

More examples

"Constantius was not born to the purple and Maximianus was the only original member of the First Tetrarchy from whom Constantine could satisfactorily derive his rule."

Etymology

From Latin tetrarchia, from Ancient Greek τετραρχία (tetrarkhía), from τετρα- (tetra-, “four”) + -αρχία (-arkhía, “-archy: rule”), equivalent to tetra- + -archy.

Related phrases

roman empire

More for "tetrarchy"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.