The aristocracy[1] is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles.[2] In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Rome, or India, aristocratic status came from belonging to a military class. It has also been common, notably in African societies, for aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties. Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges.[3] They are usually below only the monarch of a country or nation in its social hierarchy.[4] In modern European societies, the aristocracy has often coincided with the nobility, a specific class that arose in the Middle Ages, but the term "aristocracy" is sometimes also applied to other elites, and is used as a more general term when describing earlier and non-European societies.[5] Aristocracy may be abolished within a country as the result of a revolution against them, such as the French Revolution.
The term aristocracy derives from the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἀριστοκρατία (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: aristokratia from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἄριστος (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: aristos) 'excellent' and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: κράτος (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: kratos) 'power').[6] In most cases, aristocratic titles were and are hereditary.
The term Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: aristokratia was first used in Athens with reference to young citizens (the men of the ruling class) who led armies at the front line. Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Aristokratia roughly translates to "rule of the best born". Due to martial bravery being highly regarded as a virtue in ancient Greece, it was assumed that the armies were being led by "the best". This virtue was called Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[arete]] . Etymologically, as the word developed, it also produced a more political term: Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[aristoi]] (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἄριστοι). The term aristocracy is a compound word stemming from the singular of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: aristoi, Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: aristos, and the Greek word for power, Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: kratos .From the ancient Greeks, the term passed to the European Middle Ages for a similar hereditary class of military leaders, often referred to as the nobility. As in Greece, this was a class of privileged men and women whose familial connections to the regional armies allowed them to present themselves as the most "noble" or "best" of society.