Antisyntagmatarkhis
Encyclopedia
Antisyntagmatarchis is used in the Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 to mean "Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

". The typical responsibility of an Antisyntagmatarchis is to exercise command of a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

. Officers holding this rank should be addressed as "Kyrie Diikita" (Κύριε διοικητά) (stressed on the last syllable), by their subordinates when they exercise battalion command or "Kyrie Antisyntagmatarcha" (Κύριε Αντισυνταγματάρχα) (stressed on the syllable before last) in other cases.

The term was first used in the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

 (1821 - 1827). The earliest known written use occurred in revolutionary government papers of 1822. In the modern Hellenic Army
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army , formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece.The motto of the Hellenic Army is , "Freedom Stems from Valor", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War...

 the rank is superior to an Tagmatarchis (Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

) and inferior to an Syntagmatarchis (Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

). The insignia consists of a flame and two golden stars.

Most commissioned officers retire in this rank. Promotions to Syntagmatarchis and above are open to a few but this is most often based on the personal charisma and political contacts of the candidate rather than seniority.
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