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Protostrator
''Prōtostratōr'' () was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. Its proximity to the imperial person led to a highly visible role in imperial ceremonies, and served as a springboard for several capable individuals, like Manuel the Armenian or the future emperors Michael II and Basil I the Macedonian, to reach the highest offices. From the mid-11th century, the post rose in importance, becoming more an honorific dignity for senior members of the court, than an actual office. From the 13th century on, the post could be held by several persons, and ranked eighth in the overall hierarchy of the court. Throughout its history, it was a title often borne by senior military commanders. The female form of the title, given to the wives of the ''prōtostratores'', was ''prōtostratorissa'' (πρωτοστρατόρισσα). History and evolution The title means "first ", reflecting the office's initial nature as chief of the imperial order (''taxis'') of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuel The Armenian
Manuel the Armenian (), was a prominent Byzantine general of Armenian origin, active from until his death. After reaching the highest military ranks, a palace conspiracy forced him to seek refuge in the Abbasid court in 829. He returned to Byzantine service the next year, receiving the position of Domestic of the Schools from Emperor Theophilos, who had married his niece Theodora. Manuel remained in the post throughout Theophilos's reign, and reportedly saved the emperor's life in the Battle of Anzen in 838. According to one report, he died on 27 July 838 of wounds received during the battle, but other sources record his survival past this date, ascribing him a major role in the regency that governed the empire after Theophilos's death, and report that he died some time around 860. Biography Manuel was of Armenian origin, and the brother of Marinos, the father of the future Byzantine empress Theodora. Manuel first appears in the reign of Michael I Rangabe (ruled 811–813), when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strator
Α ''strator'' () was a position in the Roman and Byzantine militaries roughly equivalent to a groom. The word is derived from Latin ''sternere'' ("to strew", i.e. hay, straw). The ''strator'' (in Greek narrative sources often replaced with the Greek equivalent of ''hippokomos'') was typically a soldier, sometimes even a centurion, who was chosen from the ranks to act as a groom for a senior officer or civil official. His tasks included attending to and even procuring horses, and the supervision of the stable. In the Roman Empire, the ''stratores'' of the imperial court formed a distinct corps, the '' schola stratorum'', headed by the Count of the Stable (''comes stabuli''), and later, in the middle Byzantine period, the '' protostrator'' (πρωτοστράτωρ, "first ''strator''"). In the provincial administration, senior ''stratores'' chosen among centurions etc. were typically members of the staff of Roman governors and in turn headed other, more junior ''stratores''. In t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count Of The Stable
The Count of the Stable (; ) was a late Roman and Byzantine office responsible for the horses and pack animals intended for use by the army and the imperial court. From Byzantium, it was adopted by the Franks, and is the origin of the post and title of constable, via the Old French . History and functions The post first appears in the 4th century as the ('tribune of the [sacred] stable'), initially responsible for the levying of horses from the provinces.. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, the holders of the post ranked equal to the tribunes of the guard regiments. In the , they are listed as the under the .. , XIV.6. By the early 5th century, as attested in the , they were raised to with the rank of , but the older title of tribune remained in parallel use for some time (cf. , 6.13.1). Eight holders of the office are known from the 4th century, including Emperor Valens () and his brothers-in-law Cerealis and Constantinianus. Evidently, the post was closely associated with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th centuryAD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'. During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Romanization (cultural), Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine the Great, Constantine I () legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. Theodosius I, Theodosius I () made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The empire adopted a defensive strategy and, throughout its remaining history, expe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthypatos
''Anthypatos'' () is the translation in Greek of the Latin ''proconsul''. In the Greek-speaking East, it was used to denote this office in Roman and early Byzantine times, surviving as an administrative office until the 9th century. Thereafter, and until the 11th century, it became a senior Byzantine court dignity. History and functions Gubernatorial title The title of ''anthypatos'' was the traditional Greek translation of the Latin title of ''proconsul''. Under the Principate, the title of ''anthypatos''/''proconsul'' had been borne by all governors of a senatorial province, irrespective of whether they had previously been consuls, but after the reforms of Diocletian (), there were only two: the governors of Asia and Africa. The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' of , on the other hand, mentions three, with the proconsuls of Africa (''Pars Occ''. XVIII) and Asia (''Pars Or.'' XX) being joined by the proconsul of Achaea or Hellas (''Pars Or.'' XXI). To them was added Constantinople after it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire and later as regional capital to both the Roman and Byzantine Empire. During the Crusades, Antioch served as the capital of the Principality of Antioch, one of four Crusader states that were founded in the Levant. Its inhabitants were known as ''Antiochenes''. The remains of the ancient city of Antioch are mostly buried beneath alluvial deposits from the Orontes River. The modern city of Antakya, in Hatay Province of Turkey, lies in its place. Antioch was founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, as one of the tetrapoleis of Seleucis of Syria. Seleucus encouraged Greeks from all over the Mediterranean to settle in the city. The ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magistros
The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magistros'' (μάγιστρος), until it disappeared in the 12th century. History and functions Late Roman Empire Although some scholars have supported its creation under Emperor Diocletian (), the office can first be definitely traced to the year 320, during the reign of Roman emperor Constantine the Great (), but was probably created sometime soon after 312–13, probably as part of an effort to limit the power of the praetorian prefect (''praefectus praetorio'') the Roman emperor's chief administrative official. The ''magister'' was first given command of the palace guard, the ''Scholae Palatinae''. He was also appointed head of the palatine secretariats, divided into four bureaux, the ''sacra scrinia'', each under a respective ''magiste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine IX Monomachos
Constantine IX Monomachos (; 980/ 1000 – 11 January 1055) reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita chose him as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring against her previous husband, Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian. The couple shared the throne with Zoë's sister Theodora Porphyrogenita. Zoë died in 1050, and Constantine continued his collaboration with Theodora until his own death five years later. Constantine's reign was marked by prodigality, enjoying an abundant imperial treasury following the conquests of his predecessors and the era of economic expansion that the Empire experienced in the first half of the 11th century. While Zoe was deprived of access to this treasure by Romanus III and then Michael IV, her third husband ensured that she could enjoy it as much as she wanted. He also distributed a large number of gifts, both in monetary forms and through donations of land or tax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos Skleros
Romanos may refer to: * Romanos, Aragon, a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in Aragon. * Romanos the Melodist, early medieval Greek poet and saint *Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of ... (870–948), Byzantine Emperor from 920 to 944 * Romanos II (938–963), Byzantine Emperor from 959–963) * Romanos III Argyros (968–1034), Byzantine emperor from 1028 to 1034 * Romanos IV Diogenes ( – 1072), Byzantine emperor who reigned from 1068 to 1071 * Romanos Kourkouas, Byzantine aristocrat and senior military leader of the mid-10th century * Romanos Melikian (1883–1935), Armenian composer See also * Romano (other) * Romanus (other), hellenized as Romanos, the name of several people {{disambig, hndis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagina
Malagina (), in later times Melangeia (Μελάγγεια), was a Byzantine district in the valley of the Sangarius river in northern Bithynia, at least overlapping the modern territory of Pamukova. History Malagina served as a major encampment and fortified staging area ('' aplekton'') for the Byzantine army. It was the ''aplekton'' closest to the imperial capital of Constantinople, and, as such, of major importance during imperial expeditions to the East: it was here that the armies of the powerful themes of ''Anatolikon'', ''Opsikion'' and ''Thrakesion'' joined the emperor.Kazhdan (1991), p. 1274 The region was also the site of the major imperial horse ranches ('' metata'') in Asia Minor. It is first mentioned in historical sources in 798, when Empress Irene assembled an army there. Other sources state that the first mention of Malagina is in a text attributed to St. Methodius, dating from the late seventh century. The site was attacked by the Arabs in 798, 860 and in ca. 875. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikolaos Oikonomides
Nikolaos or Nikos Oikonomides (, 14 February 1934 – 31 May 2000) was a Greek Byzantinist, and one of the leading experts in the field of Byzantine administration. Biography Oikonomides was born in Athens. He studied in the University of Athens from 1951 to 1956, under the tutelage of Byzantinist Dionysios Zakythinos. After obtaining his degree, in 1958 he went to Paris to pursue doctoral studies under Paul Lemerle. His studies in Paris also introduced him to sigillography, and led to the discovery of the so-called ''Escorial Taktikon'' or ''Taktikon Oikonomides''. The outcome of his work on ''Escorial Taktikon'' and the other '' Taktika'' (seating lists in Byzantine imperial banquets) was published in 1972, as the ''Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècle'', containing a translation and commentary on the ''Taktika''. Oikonomides returned to Greece, but the establishment of the dictatorial Regime of the Colonels in 1967 forced him to go to exile in Canada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consistorium
The ''sacrum consistorium'' or ''sacrum auditorium'' (from , "discuss a topic"; , "sacred assembly") was the highest political council of the Roman Empire from the time of Constantine the Great on. It replaced the '' consilium principis'' that had existed during the Principate. The council's powers and membership varied, being ultimately dependent on the emperor. The ''magister officiorum'', the ''quaestor sacri palatii'', the ''comes sacrarum largitionum'', the '' comes rerum privatarum'' and a few other high court officials were ''ex officio'' members, but the emperor was free to appoint additional members. These were specially appointed ''comites consistoriani'', who in the 6th century held the rank of ''vir spectabilis The title ''vir illustris'' () is used as a formal indication of standing in late antiquity to describe the highest ranks within the senates of Rome and Constantinople. All senators had the title ''vir clarissimus'' (); but from the mid fourth ce ...'', as we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
