Quaestor sacri palatii

The ''quaestor sacri palatii'' ( gr, κοιαίστωρ/κυαίστωρ τοῦ ἱεροῦ παλατίου, usually simply ), in English: Quaestor of the Sacred Palace, was the senior legal authority in the late Roman Empire and early Byzantium, responsible for drafting laws. In the later Byzantine Empire, the office of the ''quaestor'' was altered and it became a senior judicial official for the imperial capital, Constantinople. The post survived until the 14th century, albeit only as an honorary title.

Late Roman ''quaestor sacri palatii''

The office was created by Emperor Constantine I (), with the duties of drafting of laws and the answering of petitions addressed to the emperor. Although he functioned as the chief legal advisor of the emperor and hence came to exercise great influence, his actual judicial rights were very limited.. Thus from 440 he presided, jointly with the praetorian prefect of the East, over the supreme tribunal in Constantinople which heard appeals (the so-called ''causae sacrae'', since these cases were originally heard by the emperor) from the courts of the diocesan '' vicarii'' and the senior provincial governors of '' spectabilis'' rank.

According to the ''Notitia Dignitatum'', the ''quaestor'' held the rank of '' vir illustris'' and did not have a staff (''officium'') of his own, but was attached a number of aides (''adiutores'') from the departments of the ''sacra scrinia''.''Notitia Dignitatum'', ''Pars Orient.'' XII and ''Pars Occident.'' X. In the mid-6th century, by law their number was fixed at 26 ''adiutores'': twelve from the ''scrinium memoriae'' and seven each from the ''scrinium epistolarum'' and the ''scrinium libellorum'', although in practice these numbers were often exceeded.

Perhaps the most notable ''quaestor'' was Tribonian, who contributed decisively to the codification of Roman law under Emperor Justinian I (). The office continued in Italy even after the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, as first Odoacer and then the Ostrogothic kings retained the position, which was occupied by members of the Roman senatorial aristocracy like Cassiodorus.

Byzantine ''quaestor''

As part of his reforms, in 539 Emperor Justinian I created another office named ''quaestor'' or alternatively '' quaesitor'' (Greek: κυαισίτωρ) who was given police and judicial powers in Constantinople, and also tasked with the supervision of new arrivals to the imperial capital. By the turn of the 9th century, the original ''quaestor'' had lost most of his former duties to other officials, chiefly the '' logothetēs tou dromou'' and the '' epi tōn deēseōn''. The functions of the middle Byzantine ''quaestor'' were essentially those of the ''quaesitor'': he was one of the ''kritai'' ("judges") of Constantinople. However, as John B. Bury notes, an examination of his subordinate staff, and the fact that it could be held by a eunuch, shows that the later office was the direct continuation of the ''quaestor sacri palatii''.

His duties involved: the supervision of travellers and men from the Byzantine provinces who visited Constantinople; the supervision of beggars; jurisdiction on complaints from tenants against their landlords; the supervision of the capital's magistrates; jurisdiction over cases of forgery. Finally, he had an extensive jurisdiction over wills: wills were sealed with the ''quaestors seal, opened in his presence, and their execution supervised by him. The 9th-century ''quaestor'' ranked immediately after the '' logothetēs tou genikou'' in the lists of precedence (34th in Philotheos's '' Klētorologion'' of 899). The post survived into the late Byzantine period, although by the 14th century, nothing had remained of the office save the title, which was conferred as an honorary dignity, ranking 45th in the imperial hierarchy.

Subordinate officials

Unlike the late Roman official, the middle Byzantine ''quaestor'' had an extensive staff:

*The ''antigrapheis'' (, "copyists"), the successors of the old ''magistri scriniorum'', the heads of the ''sacra scrinia'' under the ''magister officiorum''. The term ''antigrapheus'' was used for these officials already in Late Antiquity, and they are explicitly associated with the ''quaestor'' in the preparation of legislation in the '' Ecloga'' (circa 740). Otherwise, their functions in the ''quaestors office are unknown. John B. Bury suggests that the ''magister memoriae'', who ''inter alia'' had the task of replying to petitions to the Byzantine emperor, evolved into the ''epi tōn deēseōn'', while the ''magister libellorum'' and the ''magister epistolarum'' became the (two?) ''antigrapheis''.
*The ''skribas'' (σκρίβας), the direct successor of the '' scriba'', a notary attached to the late antique official known as ''magister census'', who was responsible for wills. When the ''quaestor'' absorbed the latter office, the ''skribas'' came under his control. It is known from legislation that the ''skribas'' represented the ''quaestor'' in supervising the provisions of wills as regards minors.
*The ''skeptōr'' (σκέπτωρ), evidently a corruption of the Latin term ''exceptor'', hence also the direct continuation of the ''exceptores'', a class of officials of the ''sacra scrinia''.
*The ''libelisios'' (λιβελίσιος), again deriving from the ''libellenses'' of the ''sacra scrinia''.
*A number of ''kankellarioi'' (καγκελλάριοι, from Latin ''cancellarii'') under a ''prōtokankellarios'' (πρωτοκαγκελλάριος).

See also

* Roman finance

References

Sources

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Ancient Roman titles
Byzantine judicial offices
Roman Empire in late antiquity
Roman law
Administration of Constantinople