Archdemon

"Ahh, the Archdemons... Yeah, I don't get them either. Though I'm pretty sure the demons themselves don't really get it as well. In some documents, they are fallen angels who sided with Lucifer, others said they were pagan gods who were demonized because of the Christians, and a few stated that they were the original rulers of Hell before the newer demons show up. No one really sure of their origins and nature, which might be what the demons would prefer anyway. Regardless, they are incredibly powerful bastards that you do not want to make an enemy out of."

- Carl Black.

An Archdemon is a high-ranking demon and spiritual entity as it is a physical one, prominent in the infernal hierarchy as a leader of the infernal host. Essentially, the archdemons are the demonic counterparts of the Archangels and/or True Archangels. Archdemons are described as the leaders of demonic hosts, just as archangels lead choirs of angels.

Overview
There is controversy regarding which demons should be classed as archdemons. During different ages, some demons were historically "promoted" to archdemons, others were completely forgotten, and new ones were created. Archdemons are also said to be once fallen angels whom were in a choir of angels before they were cast out from Heaven and unto Hell. Archdemons are described as the leaders of demonic hosts, just as archangels lead choirs of angels.

While the system of classifying angels has been accepted by the majority of Christian scholars. However, no similar consensus has been reached on the classification of demons. This is largely due to the fact that, historically, the definition of what an archdemon is and the names of those demons has varied greatly over time. One common medieval classification associate the seven deadly sins with archdemons

Description
In ancient Jewish lore, many of the pagan gods of neighboring cultures were identified as extremely pernicious demons in order to prevent Jews from worshiping them. Therefore, the pagan deity Baal was reinterpreted as the archdemon Bael or Beelzebub, and the pagan deity Astarte was reinterpreted as the archdemon Astaroth. These two in particular were seen as some of the worst enemies of God. By the Middle Ages, these pagan deities were no longer worshiped, so their characterizations as archdemons were no longer important, but they still persisted anyway. New archdemons were invented over time, most of them revolving around Satan and the Antichrist.

They were dubbed as archdemons simply due to the fact that they retained their high status as they once did in Heaven. The only difference being is that they were promoted as archdemon by a once high ranking angel such as Lucifer, Belial, or Astaroth. Archdemons are at times thought to be demon lords or Princes of Hell such as Asmodeus or Belphegor, but it depends on the iteration of it. Archdemons are simply high ranking demons whom are tasked of being second in command of their Lords' demonic legion. They are possibly referred to as "archangels of death" in the Bible.

Myths and Legends
Given that many devils were rebellious angels who had fallen, they maintained their rank as ex-angels within their new roles. Alphonsus de Spina in 1459 believed that specifically one third of the original angelic court became devils; specifically 133,306,668. However, accounts have varied throughout history and Johann Weyer altered the figures from 7,405,926 demons to 72 demons of hell.

The Lesser Key of Solomon, an anonymous 17th century grimoire, lists 72 of the most powerful and prominent demons of Hell in its first part, the Ars Goetia. Satan himself is not mentioned among them considering his overall dominion of Hell as the Prince of Darkness. Below him, The Ars Goetia suggests, are the four kings of the cardinal directions who have power over the seventy-two, next the kings, and onward with other demons with lower monarchic titles. The four kings of the cardinal directions are the primary point of contention between different editions and translations, and occultist writers.

Arabic and Middle Eastern occultism
Traditionally, seven kings of the jinn are assigned to each day of the week. Although they can do, unlike the spirits of heavens, both good and evil, they have responsibility given by God regarding the affairs of the earth. In some reports, they are rather infernal demons (ʻIfrīt) than explicitly jinn. A hadith from Wahb ibn Munabbih reports that the archetypes of the jinn are like air, differing from the regular jinn, they don't need to eat, drink and they do not produce offspring. Since they do not move themselves, they send subordinate demons (shayāṭīn). They are mentioned in several Muslim treatises, such as the Book of Wonders.

The Muslim Occultist Ahmad al-Buni qualified four kings of infernal demons named Mudhib, Maimun, Barqan and Al-Ahmar, as archdemons paralleling the hierarchy of archangels in Islam. Each of them has their own demons under command. These kings are identified with different days of the week. They frequently appear inscribed in talismans. According to Muslim astrology, one needs to get permission of the king of the jinn for the corresponding day to perform a spell. When the jinn-king is summoned together with the name of the angel responsible for the day, it would be impossible for the jinn-king to deny an order of the sorcerer.

Zoroastrianism
According to Zoroastrian dualism, the world is created by two opposing forces. The good deity Ahura Mazda created everything good, but for everything good created Angra Mainyu created an evil counterpart. These results in the existence of seven Archdemons, who in return command a countless numbers of demons. These archdemons stay in exact opposition to the Amesha Spenta.

Seven Princes of Hell

 * Lucifer - Demon Lord of Pride, Supreme Emperor of Hell, Conqueror of the Infernal Planes
 * Beelzebub - Demon Lord of Gluttony, Founder of the Order of the Fly
 * Asmodeus - Demon Lord of Lust, King of the Nine Hells
 * Leviathan - Demon Lord of Envy, Grand Admiral of Hell
 * Belphegor - Demon Lord of Sloth, Master of Mechanical Engineering
 * Mammon - Demon Lord of Greed, Treasurer of Hell
 * Satan - Demon Lord of Wrath, Arbiter of God, True Emperor of Hell
 * Lilith - Mother of the Lilim, Supreme Empress of Hell, First Wife of Lucifer
 * Barbelo - Second Wife of Lucifer
 * Mephistopheles - Prince of Trickery, King of the Crossroads
 * Mundus - Emperor of the Demon World
 * Pythius - Ruler of Malebolge
 * Merihem - Prince of Violence

Six Great Officers

 * Lucifuge Rofocale - Prime Minister of Hell, Leader of the Six Great Officers
 * Satanachia - Commander-in-Chief of Hell's Armies, Grand-Commander of Lucifer's Army
 * Agaliarept - Commandant of Hell's Armies, Keeper of Mysteries
 * Fleurety - Lieutenant-General of Hell's Armies, Royal Scientist of Hell
 * Sargatanas - Brigadier-Major General of Hell's Armies, Revealer of Hell
 * Nebiros - Marshal and Inspector General of Hell's Armies, Royal Necromancer of Hell

Seven Electors of Hell

 * Aciel
 * Uphir - Royal Physician
 * Dirachiel
 * Eequiel
 * Geliel

Demon King of Directions

 * Amaymon
 * Corson
 * Ziminiar
 * Gaap
 * Oriens

Four Infernal Kings of Islam

 * Mudhib
 * Maimun
 * Barqan
 * Al-Ahmar

Infernal Nobles of the Ars Goetia

 * Bael
 * Paimon
 * Beleth
 * Purson
 * Asmoday
 * Vine
 * Balam
 * Zagan
 * Belial
 * Astaroth

Grand Succubi

 * Naamah
 * Agrat Bat Mahlat
 * Eisheth Zenunim
 * Mahalat

Knights of Hell

 * Llintius - Current Leader of the Knights of Hell
 * Sparda - Former Leader of the Knights of Hell, Traitor to Hell
 * Urxehl
 * Corvinus
 * Jodohr
 * Xephros - Retired Knight of Hell

Leaders of Major Sectors of Hell

 * Zariel
 * Abaddon
 * Iblis
 * Alastor
 * Fierna
 * Dispater
 * Pazuzu
 * Uziel
 * Levistus
 * Davoth

Fallen Angels

 * Satanael
 * Azazel
 * Samyaza
 * Asbeel
 * Ramiel
 * Samael

Great Evils

 * Tathamet - Source of the Great Evils, Body of the Burning Hells, Evil Remains of God
 * Dul'Mephistos (Mephisto)
 * Al'Diabolos (Diablo)
 * Tor'Baalos (Baal)
 * Andariel
 * Duriel
 * Belial
 * Azmodan

Other Archdemons

 * Adramelech - Grand Chancellor of Hell, President of the Senate of Demons, Supervisor of the Devil's wardrobe
 * Anamelech
 * Amenadiel
 * Abezethibou
 * Mazikeen - Greatest Lilim, Temporary Queen of Hell
 * Spawn
 * Leonard
 * Argosax
 * Abigail
 * Hades
 * Tiamat
 * Erebus
 * Asura
 * Dagon
 * Dis
 * Yetzer Hara
 * Tanin'iver
 * Great Red Dragon
 * Belzyar

High Nobles of Makai

 * Garunan Bosital
 * Belial Aensland
 * Jedah Dohma

Ghoul Emperors

 * Morock
 * Nebiroth
 * Rushifell
 * Darkoan
 * Phalanx
 * Verona
 * Sardius

Quotes

 * "Even the Devil was once an Angel." - An Archdemon.


 * "He has his eye on you." - About a specific archdemon.


 * "Archdemons, Vilest fiends to ever crawl out of that hellish pits. Those are the leaders of hell, the most ancient and powerful demons in existence, each possess immense authority over all other demons. I don't know what Father was thinking when He let them live, saying that there's potential for good inside them. If I can oppose Father, I will say it's a load of *****, but I can't. So please erase my last sentence from your memory." - Ariel.

Image Sources

 * (Archdemons Scandalous.png) Scandalous! by ProfessionalVillain
 * (Demon Arch.png) Archdemon from ???
 * (Asmodeus - Eric Deschamps.jpg) D&D Asmodeus by Eric Deschamps
 * (Andree-burlamaqui-faustingram.jpg) Archdemon Faust by Andrée Burlamaqui
 * (Anthony-guerrero-archdemon-img-20180604-132504-688.jpg) Archdemon by Anthony Guerrero
 * (Ev-shipard-archdemonofpaliano.jpg) Archdemon of Paliano by Evan Shipard
 * (Archdemon of Unx.jpg) Archdemon of Unx by Dave Allsop
 * (Archdemon by smashingrocks d96xyt1-fullview.jpg) Archdemon by smashingrocks
 * (Archdemon Eliminate.png) Archdemon by Eliminate
 * (Welcome to HELL.jpg) Welcome to HELL. by freezeex
 * (Archdemon.jpg) Archdemon by MrZarono
 * (Edward archdemon concept by hexfloog da2c64l-pre.jpg) Edward Archdemon Concept by Hexfloog
 * (Aleksandar-ignatov-belzyar.jpg) Archdemon Belzyar by Aleksandar Ignatov
 * (Book of Wonders folio 32a.jpg) Portrait of Maymūn, the demon king of Saturday from the Kitab al-bulhan
 * (Diablo Diablo III full body.PNG.png) Diablo's Full Body from Diablo III