nomarch

thumb|Drawing of a nomarch based on Middle Kingdom tomb paintingsA nomarch (, Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsible for a nome. More recent studies are more cautious about using this term as it is a Greek word that does not exactly match Ancient Egyptian administrative titles and modern scholars often prefer other, more neutral words for describing the heads of the provinces, such as governor.

==Etymology== The term nome is derived from nomós "province, district". Nomarch is derived from nomárkhēs: "province" + "ruler".