Cleruchy

Cleruchy (Greek: κληρουχία, klēroukhía) was a form of colonial settlement in ancient Greece and the Hellenistic world in which a metropolis established population settlements in conquered or frontier lands while retaining political control over the territory and its inhabitants. The settlers remained citizens of the mother city and were obliged to provide military service and pay taxes to it. Land in the new territory was allocated as allotments (kleroi) to individual settlers or to communities, and the proceeds and strategic allegiance largely flowed to the metropolis rather than creating an independent polity.

Cleruchies differed from autonomous colonies (apoikiai) in that they did not form fully independent city-states. Instead, they served as a means to secure newly acquired lands, populate and stabilize frontiers, and provide manpower and revenue for the metropolis. The system allowed a city to project influence beyond its immediate homeland without relinquishing governance over the colonized area.

Historical use and significance: The concept is attested in classical sources as a tool of Greek imperial and frontier policy. Athens employed cleruchies to secure territories and settle veterans after its imperial extensions in the 5th century BCE. In the Hellenistic period, Macedonian and successor states extended cleruchies in regions such as Thrace, Illyria, and Asia Minor to stabilize frontier zones and ensure loyalty to the central authority. The term persists in discussions of ancient colonization, though the practice gradually evolved and the designation fell from common usage in later periods.