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Aristocracy (class)
 
 
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The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest class
Class

Class may refer to:...
 in society, who traditionally have a lot of land, money, and power. They are usually below the leaders of the country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 in the hierarchy
Hierarchy

A 'hierarchy' is an arrangement of items The word derives from the Greek language , from ?e?????? , "president of sacred rites, high-priest" and that from , "sacred" + , "to lead, to rule"....
 of status within the aristocracy
Aristocracy

Aristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number....
 form of government.

The term "aristocracy" is derived from the Greek language
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 aristokratia, meaning 'the rule of the best'.

term "aristocracy" (???st???at?a) was first given in Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 to young citizens (the men of the ruling class) who led armies from the front line.






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The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest class
Class

Class may refer to:...
 in society, who traditionally have a lot of land, money, and power. They are usually below the leaders of the country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 in the hierarchy
Hierarchy

A 'hierarchy' is an arrangement of items The word derives from the Greek language , from ?e?????? , "president of sacred rites, high-priest" and that from , "sacred" + , "to lead, to rule"....
 of status within the aristocracy
Aristocracy

Aristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number....
 form of government.

The term "aristocracy" is derived from the Greek language
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 aristokratia, meaning 'the rule of the best'.

Origins of the notion

The term "aristocracy" (???st???at?a) was first given in Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 to young citizens (the men of the ruling class) who led armies from the front line. Because military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 bravery was highly regarded as a virtue
Virtue

Virtue is morality excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics Value as promoting individual and collective well-being, and thus Goodness and value theory by definition....
 in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
, it was assumed that the armies were being led by "the best". From the ancient Greeks, the term passed on to the European Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 for a similar hereditary class of military leaders often referred to as the "nobility
Nobility

Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary or for a lifetime. Titles of nobility exist today in many countries although it is usually associated with present or former monarchies....
". As in ancient Greece, this was a slave-holding class of privileged men whose military role allowed them to present themselves as the most "noble", or "best".

Europe

The French Revolution
French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudalism for the aristocracy and Roman Catholic Church clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Age of Enlightenment principles of cit...
 attacked aristocrats as people who had achieved their status by birth rather than by merit
Merit

The term merit is used in both Christianity and Buddhism. See:* Merit * Merit * Meritocracymerit can also mean:* Merit , a rock band from Syracuse, New York....
, and this was considered unjust. The term had become synonymous with people who claim luxuries and privileges as a birthright. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and other European countries in which hereditary titles are still recognised, "aristocrat" still refers to the descendant of one of approximately 7,000 families with hereditary titles, usually still in possession of considerable wealth, though not necessarily so.

USA

In the United States and other nations without a history of a hereditary military caste
Caste

Castes are hereditary systems of wikt:occupation, endogamy, culture, social class, and political power, the assignment of individuals to places in the social hierarchy is determined by social group and culture....
, aristocracy has taken on a more stylized meaning. It also can refer to those, like the Roosevelts, whose families came to the United States early in its history, acquired large holdings and have been able to maintain their wealth through several generations. The term "Southern aristocracy" refers to families who acquired large land holdings in the American South
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 before the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 and remain wealthy landowners to this day, or to families that lost their wealth in the 19th century but continue to insist on deference. In some cases, especially the latter, the usage is pejorative and refers to purveyors of snobbery.

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