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Rhaiktor
The ( grc-x-byzantine, ῥαίκτωρ, the Hellenized form of la, rector) was a high-ranking court position of the middle Byzantine Empire. History and functions J. B. Bury assumed that the post was created either under Leo VI the Wise () or his father Basil I the Macedonian (), but Nicolas Oikonomides restored it in the text of the ''Taktikon Uspensky'' of . The title is also found in seals of the 7th and 8th centuries, but with a different sense; thus a " of Calabria" was the administrator of the local estates of the See of Rome in Calabria. The ''Kletorologion'' of 899 includes the among the 'special dignities' (). The exact functions of the office are not clear, but, as J. B. Bury wrote, they probably "consisted in exercising some authority over the Imperial household". Earlier authors suggested that the title was related, or even identical, to the later title of , but the theory was rejected by Rodolphe Guilland. His ceremony of appointment is recorded in Constantine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synkellos
''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major importance in the state, and often was regarded as the successor-designate to the reigning patriarch. The term is Greek and means "one who lives in the same cell" in a monastery. It is attested from the 5th century onward for the closest advisor of a bishop or archbishop, who then lived in the same residence or cell. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Patriarch of Constantinople quickly acquired a pre-eminent position, and it often happened that a ''synkellos'' succeeded to the patriarchal throne when it fell vacant. This was certainly the expectation by the 9th–10th centuries, when the ''synkellos'' was an official appointed by the Emperor, and became a tool for imperial control of the patriarchal succession. Thus, although its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratopedarches
''Stratopedarchēs'' ( el, στρατοπεδάρχης, , master of the camp), sometimes Anglicized as Stratopedarch, was a Greek term used with regard to high-ranking military commanders from the 1st century BC on, becoming a proper office in the 10th-century Byzantine Empire. It continued to be employed as a designation, and a proper title, of commanders-in-chief until the 13th century, when the title of (μέγας στρατοπεδάρχης) or Grand Stratopedarch appeared. This title was awarded to senior commanders and officials, while the ordinary ''stratopedarchai'' were henceforth low-ranking military officials. History Origin and early use The term first appears in the late 1st century BC in the Hellenistic Near East. Its origin is unclear, but it is used as a translation, in some inscriptions, for the contemporary Roman legionary post of (). Josephus (''De Bello Judaico'', VI.238) uses the term to refer to the quartermaster-general of all camps, while Dionysius of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus ( gr, Χριστόφορος Λακαπηνός, Christóphoros Lakapenōs) was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos () and co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 921 until his death in 931. Christopher was given the position of '' megas hetaireiarches'' (commander of the palace guard) in spring 919, after Romanos assumed the position of ''basileopator''. Romanos, in order to give his family precedence over the Macedonian line, raised Christopher to co-emperor on 21 May 921. In 928 Christopher's father-in-law, Niketas, unsuccessfully attempted to incite Christopher to usurp his father, resulting in Niketas being banished. Christopher died in August 931, succeeded by his father and two brothers, Stephen Lekapenos and Constantine Lekapenos, and Constantine VII. In December 944 his brothers overthrew and exiled his father, but they themselves were exiled after attempting to oust Constantine VII. Life Christopher was the eldest so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John The Rhaiktor
John the Rhaiktor ( el, Ἰωάννης ὁ ῥαίκτωρ; ) was a Byzantine official, who served as the chief minister ('' paradynasteuon'') of the empire in the early reign of Romanos I Lekapenos. Facing accusations, he left his office and retired to a monastery, but remained a confidant of the emperor, for whom he undertook a delicate diplomatic mission to Bulgaria in 929. He is likely to be identified as one of the conspirators who in 947 intended to depose Constantine VII and restore Romanos I's son Stephen Lekapenos to the throne. Life John is first mentioned in 922, in the aftermath of a failed conspiracy against emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (reigned 920–944) and his junior colleague Constantine VII (r. 913–959). At the time, he was a presbyter, held the title of ''rhaiktor'', and was the chief councillor ('' paradynasteuon'') to Romanos I. In the aftermath of the conspiracy's revelation by the servant of one of the conspirators, he took the servant into the imperi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Alexander. Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the '' Geoponika'' (τά γεοπονικά), an important agronomic treatise compiled during his reign, and three, perhaps four, books; '' De Administrando Imperio'' (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν), '' De Ceremoniis'' (Περὶ τῆς Βασιλείου Τάξεως), '' De Thematibus'' (Περὶ θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως), and '' Vita Bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paradynasteuon
The ''paradynasteuōn'' ( el, παραδυναστεύων, "the one who rules beside") was a term used, especially in the Byzantine Empire, to designate a ruler's favorite, often raised to the position of chief minister. Probably deriving from Thucydides, it was used in the later Roman Empire for people with great authority. It was not an official title or position, but the term was extensively used by chroniclers such as Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking ... or Theophanes Continuatus to designate an emperor's closest aide and chief minister. It gained greater currency during the Komnenian period and continued to be used by historians of the Palaiologan period, although the more technical term of '' mesazōn'' ("mediator"), which eventually cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos Lekapenos, born in Lakape (later Laqabin) between Melitene and Samosata (hence the name), was the son of an Armenian peasant with the remarkable name of Theophylact the Unbearable (Theophylaktos Abastaktos). However, according to the Byzantinist Anthony Kaldellis, Romanos is discussed in many Byzantine sources, but none of them calls him an Armenian. His father came from humble origin and that's the reason he was assumed to have been Armenian. This alleged ethnicity has been repeated so often in literature that it has acquired the status of a known fact, even though it is based on the most tenuous of indirect connections. Nevertheless, his father Theophylact, as a soldier, had rescued the Emperor Basil I from the enemy in battle at Teph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, ( el, Ζωὴ Καρβωνοψίνα, translit=Zōē Karbōnopsina), was an empress and regent of the Byzantine empire. She was the fourth spouse of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII, serving as his regent from 913 until 919. Early life Zoe Karbonopsina was born into a Greek family. She was a relative of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor and a niece of the admiral Himerios. Empress Desperate to sire a son, Leo VI married his mistress Zoe on 9 January 906, only after she had given birth to the future Constantine VII at the end of 905. However, this constituted his fourth marriage and was therefore un-canonical in the eyes of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which had already been reluctant to accept his third marriage to Eudokia Baïana, who died in childbirth in 901. Although the Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos reluctantly baptized Constantine, he forbade the emperor from marrying for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander (Byzantine Emperor)
Alexander Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Αλέξανδρος, ''Alexandros'', 23 November 8706 June 913) was briefly Byzantine emperor from 912 to 913, and the third emperor of the Macedonian dynasty. Life Alexander was the third son of Emperor Basil I and Eudokia Ingerina. Unlike his older brother Leo VI the Wise, his paternity was not disputed between Basil I and Michael III because he was born years after the death of Michael. As a child, Alexander was crowned as co-emperor by his father in early 879, following the death of Basil's son Constantine. Upon the death of his brother Leo on 11 May 912, Alexander succeeded as senior emperor alongside Leo's young son Constantine VII. He was the first Byzantine emperor to use the term "'' autocrator''" () on coinage to celebrate the ending of his thirty-three years as co-emperor. Alexander promptly dismissed most of Leo's advisers and appointees, including the admiral Himerios, the patriarch Euthymios, and the Empress Zoe Karbonopsina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Lazares
John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Epistle of John, often shortened to 2 John * Third Epistle of John, often shortened to 3 John People * John the Baptist (died c. AD 30), regarded as a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ * John the Apostle (lived c. AD 30), one of the twelve apostles of Jesus * John the Evangelist, assigned author of the Fourth Gospel, once identified with the Apostle * John of Patmos, also known as John the Divine or John the Revelator, the author of the Book of Revelation, once identified with the Apostle * John the Presbyter, a figure either identified with or distinguished from the Apostle, the Evangelist and John of Patmos Other people with the given name Religious figures * John, father of Andrew the Apostle and Saint Peter * Pope J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on court officials, especially of his finance minister Nikephoritzes, who increased taxation and luxury spending while not properly financing their army (which later mutinied). Under his reign, Bari was lost and his empire faced open revolt in the Balkans. Along with the advancing Seljuk Turks in the eastern front, Michael also had to contend with his mercenaries openly going against the empire. Michael stepped down as emperor in 1078 where he later retired to a monastery. Life Michael VII was born 1050 in Constantinople, the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa. He was probably associated with the throne around the end of 105 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikephoros III
Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates ( el, Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), was Byzantine emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, serving in the Pecheneg revolt of 1048–1053. His actions in guiding his forces away from the Pechenegs following the Battle of Zygos Pass, in which they suffered eleven days of harassment before finally reaching the Byzantine city of Adrianople, attracted the attention of fellow officers, and he received the title of ''magistros'' as a reward. Nikephoros served in the revolt of Isaac I Komnenos against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas, leading forces at the decisive Battle of Petroe. Under the Emperor Constantine X Doukas he was made '' doux'' of Thessalonica, where he remained until 1065, when he was reassigned as ''doux'' of Antioch. While ''doux'' of Antioch, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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