|
Domestikos
''Domestikos'' (; el, δομέστικος, from the la, domesticus, , of the household), in English sometimes heDomestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Military usage The ''domestikoi'' trace their ancestry to the '' protectores domestici'' guard unit of the Late Roman army, established in the late 3rd century. These were a corps of men that served as a staff to the Roman emperors, while also functioning as an officer school. These continued in existence in the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire until the late 6th century. In the Byzantine army, the old ''protectores domestici'' had vanished by the 7th century, and the name only remained as a title associated with certain guard units. Following the creation of the '' tagmata'' in the mid-8th century, four of them, the '' Scholai'', the ''Exkoubitoi'', the '' Hikanatoi'' and the '' Noumeroi'', as well as, uniquely, the '' thema'' of the Optimatoi, were led by a '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Domestic
The title of grand domestic ( grc-gre, μέγας δομέστικος, ''mégas doméstikos'') was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earlier office of the domestic of the Schools, and came to rank as one of the senior dignities in the Byzantine state during the last centuries of its existence. From Byzantium, it was also adopted by the breakaway Empire of Trebizond, as well as by the 14th-century Serbian Empire. History and evolution The title of the grand domestic is first mentioned in the 9th century, and most likely derives from the older office of ''domestikos tōn scholōn'' (" Domestic of the Schools"), with the epithet ''megas'' added to connote the supreme authority of its holder, following contemporary practice evident in other offices as well. Both titles appear to have co-existed for a time, with the grand domestic being a more exalted variant of the plain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Of The Schools
The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the ''Scholai'', the senior of the elite '' tagmata'' regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its holders essentially occupied the position of commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, next to the Emperor. The office was eclipsed in the 12th century by that of the Grand Domestic, and in the Palaiologan period (13th–15th centuries), it was reduced to a purely honorary, mid-level court dignity. History The first holder of the office of Domestic of the Schools first appears in the sources (the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor) for the year 767, shortly after the creation of the . These were elite cavalry regiments stationed in or around the capital Constantinople, commande ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikanatoi
The ''Hikanatoi'' ( gr, Ἱκανάτοι, 3=The Able Ones), sometimes Latinized as ''Hicanati'', were one of the Byzantine '' tagmata'', the elite guard units based near the imperial capital of Constantinople. Founded in the early 9th century, it survived until the late 11th century. History The exact date of the unit's establishment is uncertain: the ''Vita Ignatii'', a hagiographic account of the life of Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, records that the unit was said to have been established by Emperor Nikephoros I (). A brief notice in the '' Chronicle of 811'' fragment also records that in his ninth regnal year (which began on 1 November 810) Nikephoros I, in preparation for a campaign against the Bulgars, created a bodyguard for his son and heir Staurakios, recruiting into it the sons of the aristocracy. This date is generally accepted, although sigillographic evidence as to its establishment is vague, and could support a late 8th-century establishment. According to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excubitors
The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike mountain tribe of the Isaurians, replaced the older as the main imperial bodyguard. The Excubitors remained an active military unit for the next two centuries, although, as imperial bodyguards, they did not often go on campaign. Their commander, the count of the Excubitors (, ), soon acquired great influence. Justin I was able to use this position to rise to the throne in 518, and henceforth the counts of the Excubitors were among the main political power-holders of their day; two more, Tiberius II Constantine and Maurice, rose to become emperors in the late 6th century. In the late 7th century, the Excubitors appear to have degenerated into a parade-ground formation, and fade from the record as a corps. Individual seals of office attest to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scholae Palatinae
The ''Scholae Palatinae'' (literally "Palatine Schools", in gr, Σχολαί, Scholai) were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the ''equites singulares Augusti'', the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard. The ''Scholae'' survived in Roman and later Byzantine service until they disappeared in the late 11th century, during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos. 4th–7th centuries: imperial guards History and structure During the early 4th century, ''Caesar'' Flavius Valerius Severus attempted to disband the remaining units of the Praetorian Guard on the orders of Galerius. In response, the Praetorians turned to Maxentius, the son of the retired emperor Maximian, and proclaimed him their emperor on 28 October 306. When Constantine the Great (), launching an invasion of Italy in 312, forced a final confrontation at the Milvian Bridge, the Praetorian cohorts made up the most prominent element of Maxentius' ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Aristocracy And Bureaucracy
Through the 5th century Hellenistic political systems, philosophies and theocratic Christian-Eastern concepts had gained power in the eastern Greek-speaking Mediterranean due to the intervention of Important religious figures there such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Origen of Alexandria who had been key to the constant Christianized world of late antiquity. By the 6th century they had already influenced the definitive power of the monarch as the representative of God on earth and his kingdom as an imitation of God's holy realm. The Byzantine empire was a monarchic theocracy, adopting, following and applying the Hellenistic political systems and philosophies. The monarch was the incarnation of the law '' nomos empsychos'', and his power was immeasurable and divine in origin. He was the ultimate benefactor, carer and saviour of his people, '' Evergétis'', '' Philanthrōpía'' and '' Sōtēr''. They in turn were his '' paroikoi'' (subjects). He was the sole administrator a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epi Tes Trapezes
The ( gr, ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης, , the one in charge of the table) was a Byzantine court post, responsible for the imperial banquets. History The office, more fully known as the (, ' Domestic of the imperial table'), () or (, 'the one in charge of the lord's table'), is first mentioned as extant in the mid-7th century, but the source, a hagiography of Maximus the Confessor, is of much later date. It is, however, amply attested in seals from the 8th century on, often holding the offices of or as well.. The was responsible for introducing guests to the imperial banquets, waiting to the Byzantine emperor along with the , and carrying dishes from the imperial table to the guests. Historical sources, however, show that some holders of the post were entrusted with leading troops or various other special assignments. Like many palace posts involving close access to the Byzantine emperor, it was restricted to eunuchs. There was also the (, 'in charge of the table of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optimatoi
The ''Optimatoi'' ( gr, Ὀπτιμάτοι, from la, Optimates, "the Best Men") were initially formed as an elite Byzantine military unit. In the mid-8th century, however, they were downgraded to a supply and logistics corps and assigned a province ('' thema'') in north-western Asia Minor, which was named after them. As an administrative unit, the Theme of the ''Optimatoi'' (, ''thema Optimatōn'') survived until the Ottoman conquest in the first decades of the 14th century. History The ''Optimates'' were first set up in the late 6th century (c. 575), by Emperor Tiberius II Constantine (r. 574–582). According to the '' Strategikon'' of Emperor Maurice, the ''Optimates'' were an elite regiment of '' Foederati'', most likely of Gothic origin.. They were a cavalry corps, somewhere between one and five thousand strong, and formed part of the central reserve army, their commander bearing the then unique title of ''taxiarchēs''. The presence of descendants of these men, called '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noumeroi
The ''Noumeroi'' ( el, �ἱΝούμεροι, masculine plural) or ''Noumera'' ( �ὰNούμερα, neuter plural, from the Latin ''numerus'', "number" in the sense of "regiment") were a Byzantine infantry garrison unit for the imperial capital, Constantinople. Their main task involved the protection of the Great Palace of Constantinople and of the Noumera, one of the city's prisons. History and functions The origin and date of establishment of the ''Noumeroi'' is unknown.Guilland (1969), p. 48 They are first securely attested during the reign of Michael III (r. 842–867): the unit is mentioned in the '' Taktikon Uspensky'' of 842/843, and the name of one of its commanders, Leo Lalakon, also survives from the same period.Bury (1911), p. 65Kazhdan (1991), p. 641 J.B. Bury considered a seal of the 7th–8th centuries mentioning a "'' droungarios tou nou erou?'" as an indication of a predecessor of the 9th-century unit, and based on the nomenclature of its subaltern officers hypo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tagma (military)
The tagma ( el, τάγμα, ) is a military unit of battalion or regiment size, especially the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries. History and role In its original sense, the term "tagma" (from the Greek τάσσειν, "to set in order") is attested from the 4th century and was used to refer to an infantry battalion of 200–400 men (also termed ''bandum'' or ''numerus'' in Latin, ''arithmos'' in Greek) in the contemporary East Roman army.Kazhdan (1991), p. 2007 In this sense, the term continues in use in the current Hellenic Armed Forces (''cf.'' Greek military ranks). Imperial guards, 8th–10th centuries In later usage, the term came to refer exclusively to the professional, standing troops, garrisoned in and around the capital of Constantinople.Bury (1911), p. 47 Most of them traced their origins to the Imperial guard units of the late antique Roman Empire. By the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immortals (Byzantine Empire)
The Immortals ( el, Ἀθάνατοι, ''Athanatoi'') were one of the elite '' tagmata'' military units of the Byzantine Empire, first raised during the late 10th century. The name derives from ''a-'' ("without") + ''thanatos'' ("death"). History The ''Athanatoi'' were a body of young men of noble status that was originally raised by John I Tzimiskes (r. 969-976) in 970 for his war with the Rus', where they played a decisive role in the battles before Preslav and during the Siege of Dorostolon. The unit was commanded by a ''domestikos'', as with most of the other '' tagmata'' (the professional standing regiments), and on campaign camped near the imperial bodyguard, the '' Hetaireia''. The contemporary historian Leo the Deacon describes the ''Athanatoi'' as heavily armoured shock cavalry, "sheathed in armour" or as "armed horsemen adorned with gold". Tzimiskes' unit was probably disbanded shortly after his death, since it does not appear again in the sources. The name of the ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caesar (title)
Caesar ( English Caesars; Latin ''Caesares''; in Greek: ''Kaîsar'') is a title of imperial character. It derives from the '' cognomen'' of Julius Caesar, a Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to a title adopted by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio–Claudian dynasty. Origins The first known individual to bear the ''cognomen'' of "Caesar" was Sextus Julius Caesar, who is likewise believed to be the common ancestor of all subsequent Julii Caesares. Sextus' great-grandson was the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. After he seized control of the Roman Republic following his war against the Senate, he adopted the title of '' dictator perpetuo'' ("dictator in perpetuity"), a title he only held for about a month before he was assassinated in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's death did not lead to the restoration of the Republic, and instead led to the rise of the Second Triumvirate, composed by three dictators includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
