NOMARCHY, or NOME. The largest ad ministrative division of Greece. Since 1899 the nomarehies have numbered twenty-six. They are subdivided into eparchies, which in turn are made up of The administration of is in the hands of a nomarch, ap pointed by the Government for an indefinite term. This duties a re unuch like those of the French prefect. Like him, he is assisted by a council elected by universal suffrage, but for a fixed term. The eparchy corresponds to the French arrondissement and the demarehy to the com mune.
NOME (Lat. nom us, from Gk. p6nos, notnoc% province, district, from vIkatv, nemein, to pasture, distribute). The name given by the Greeks to the provinces or districts into which Egypt was divided, from the earliest historical period doom to the time of the Boman dominion. It is prob able that the nomes were the remains of small independent States. Which in very early times were united under a single monarchy. Each nome possessed its own god or group of gods, worshiped in the local temple, as also its own myths and religious traditions. The government of the none was a copy, in miniature, of that of the State. At the head stood the 11Dmm1rch, or governor, and under him was a regular grada tion of officials, each responsible to his immediate superior. In the earlier period. each nome had its own treasury. its own courts of justice, and
its Own military establishment. Coder the feudal system of the Middle Empire, the nomarefs were Inc heads of ancient noble families, and were prompt to take advantage of any weaknes in the Central Government to make themselves prac tically independent prinees. The old nobility was, however, extinguished in the llvksos wars, and from the time of the New Empire the Homes were purely administrative districts ruled by royal governors, who still bore the title of nomarchs. In the time of the Ptolemies the chief officer of the mune was the strategos, tinder whom the nomarch Was a subordinate official charged with supervising the collection of taxes and other financial matters. in general there were some 42 nomes, 22 in Upper and 20 in Lower Egypt, but the number was not invariable. So far as is at present known. the number of the Homes never fell below 36. nor exceeded 47. Consult: Duemiehen, llesehiehte des alien Aegyp tcns (Berlin, 1878) ; Budge, A History of Egypt (New York, 1902) ; Brugseh, Geographic des ntleH Aegyptens (Leipzig, 1857) ; Dictionnnirc gcographique de Paneientc Egypte (Leipzig, 1879.80) ; Egypt Exploration Fund, An iltlos of Ancient Egypt (2d ed., London.