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Stratelates
''Stratēlatēs'' (, "driver/leader of the army") was a Greek term designating a general, which also became an honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire. In the former sense, it was often applied to military saints, such as Theodore Stratelates. In the late Roman/early Byzantine Empire, the title was used, along with the old-established '' stratēgos'', to translate into Greek the office of ''magister militum'' ("master of the soldiers").. In the 6th century, however, Novel 90 of Emperor Justinian I () attests the existence of a middle-ranking honorific title of ''stratēlatēs'', which ranked alongside the ''apo eparchōn'' ("former prefect"). A ''prōtostratēlatēs'' ("first ''stratēlatēs''") Theopemptos is attested in a 7th-century seal, likely indicating the senior-most dignitary among the entire class of the ''stratēlatai''. This ''stratēlasia'' was a purely honorary dignity, attached to no office, and declined measurably in prestige during the 7th and 8th centuries: sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Stratelates
Theodore Stratelates (, ; ), also known as Theodore of Heraclea (; AD 281–319), was a martyr and warrior saint in the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches. There is much confusion as to whether he and St. Theodore of Amasea were the same person, as the stories about their lives later diverged into two separate traditions. Life Of Greek origin, Theodore was born in the city of Euchaita in Asia Minor. He killed a giant serpent living on a precipice in the outskirts of Euchaita. The serpent had terrorised the countryside. Theodore armed himself with a sword and vanquished it. According to some of the legends, because of his bravery, Theodore was appointed military-commander (''stratelates'') in the city of Heraclea Pontica, during the time the emperor Licinius (307–324) began a fierce persecution of Christians. Theodore invited Licinius to Heraclea, having promised to offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods. He requested that all the gold and silver statu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Aristocracy And Bureaucracy
Throughout the fifth century, Diadochi, Hellenistic-Eastern political systems, Ancient Greek philosophy, philosophies, and Theocracy, theocratic Christian concepts had gained power in the Greek-speaking Eastern Mediterranean due to the intervention of important religious figures there such as Eusebius, Eusebius of Caesarea () and Origen, Origen of Alexandria () who had been key to developing the constant Christianized worldview of late antiquity. By the 6th century, such ideas had already influenced the definitive power of the monarch as the Vicar of Christ, representative of God on earth and of his kingdom as an imitation of Kingdom of God (Christianity), God's holy realm. The Byzantine Empire was a multi-ethnic monarchy, monarchic theocracy adopting, following, and applying the Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox-Hellenistic kingdoms, Hellenistic political systems and Hellenistic philosophy, philosophies. The monarch was the incarnation of the law''nomos empsychos''and his power ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seal Of The Magistros, Vestes, And Stratelates Of The East Herve Frankopoulos
Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of authentication, on paper, wax, clay or another medium (the impression is also called a seal) * Seal (mechanical), a device which helps prevent leakage, contain pressure, or exclude contamination where two systems join ** Hermetic seal, an airtight mechanical seal * Security seals such as labels, tapes, bands, or ties affixed onto a container in order to prevent and detect tampering Arts, entertainment and media * ''Seal'' (1991 album), by Seal * ''Seal'' (1994 album), sometimes referred to as ''Seal II'', by Seal * '' Seal IV'', a 2003 album by Seal * ''Seal Online'', a 2003 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Law * Seal (contract law), a legal formality for contract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kletorologion
The ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos () is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence ('' Taktika'').. It was published in September 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912) by the otherwise unknown '' prōtospatharios'' and '' atriklinēs'' Philotheos. As ''atriklinēs'', Philotheos would have been responsible for receiving the guests for the imperial banquets (''klētοria'') and for conducting them to their proper seating places according to their place in the imperial hierarchy. In the preface to his work, he explicitly states that he compiled this treatise as a "precise exposé of the order of imperial banquets, of the name and value of each title, complied on the basis of ancient ''klētοrologia''", and recommends its adoption at the imperial table.. Sections Philotheos's work survives only as an appendix within the last chapters (52–54) of the second book of a later treatise on imperial ceremonies known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct continuation of the East Roman army, Eastern Roman army, shaping and developing itself on the legacy of the late Hellenistic armies, it maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization. It was among the most effective armies of western Eurasia for much of the Middle Ages. Over time the cavalry arm became more prominent in the Byzantine army as the Roman legion, legion system disappeared in the early 7th century. Later reforms reflected some Germanic peoples, Germanic and Asian people, Asian influences—rival forces frequently became sources of mercenary units, such as the Huns, Cumans, Alans and (following the Battle of Manzikert) Turkic peoples, Turks, meeting the Empire's demand for light cavalry Mercenary, mercenaries. Since much of the Byzantine military focused on the strategy and skill of generals utili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Court Titles
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 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 Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine I () legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. 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, experienced recurring cycles of decline and recovery. It reached its greatest extent un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to include Thrace and Syria by warring with the Rus' under Sviatoslav I and the Fatimids respectively. Background John was born in present-day Çemişgezek in Tunceli Province. His father, son of Theophilos Kourkouas, was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the Anatolian military aristocracy by the early 10th century. His mother belonging to the Phokas family of unknown ethnicity, maybe Greek-Armenian origin. Scholars have speculated that "''Tzimiskes''" was derived either from the Armenian ''Chmushkik'' (Չմշկիկ), meaning "red boot", or from an Armenian word for "short stature", as explained by Leo the Deacon. A more favorable explanation is offered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Turkish Straits to the northwest, and the Black Sea to the north. The eastern and southeastern limits have been expanded either to the entirety of Asiatic Turkey or to an imprecise line from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Alexandretta. Topographically, the Sea of Marmara connects the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and separates Anatolia from Thrace in Southeast Europe. During the Neolithic, Anatolia was an early centre for the development of farming after it originated in the adjacent Fertile Crescent. Beginning around 9,000 years ago, there was a major migration of Anatolian Neolithic Farmers into Neolithic Europe, Europe, with their descendants coming to dominate the continent a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tagma (military)
The ''tagma'' (; : ''tagmata'', ) 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 ''tássein'', "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 or 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 7th century, these ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Of The Schools
The office of the Domestic of the Schools () 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, commanded by officers titled " Domestics" (δομέστικοι, ) and distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sigillographic
Sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the Sealing wax, wax, lead, clay, and other Seal (emblem), seals used to authenticate archive, archival documents. It investigates not only aspects of the artistic design and production of seals (both matrices and impressions), but also considers the legal, administrative and social contexts in which they were used. It has links to diplomatics, heraldry, social history, and the Art history, history of art, and is regarded as one of the auxiliary sciences of history. A student of seals is known as a ''sigillographer''. Etymology The word ''sigillography'' derives from the Latin word , meaning 'seal', and the Greek suffix , meaning 'description'. It was effectively coined in Italian (as ) by Anton Stefano Cartari in 1682. It entered English at a much later date: the earliest instances recorded by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' date from 1879 (''sigillography'') and 1882 ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kommerkiarios
The ''kommerkiarios'' (Greek: κομμερκιάριος) was a fiscal official of the Byzantine Empire charged with the collection of the imperial sales tax or ''kommerkion''. History and functions The ''kommerkiarios'' was perhaps the successor of the ''comes commerciorum'', which was a late Roman controller of trade on the frontier.. According to the late 4th-century ''Notitia Dignitatum'', there were three ''comites commerciorum'' under the control of the ''comes sacrarum largitionum'': one for Oriens and Egypt, one for Illyricum, and one for Moesia, Scythia Minor and Pontus (i.e. the Danube frontier and the Black Sea). The term ''kommerkiarios'' first appears in fragmentary inscriptions of a law issued by Emperor Anastasios I (r. 491–518). The ''kommerkiarioi'' were stationed in many areas of the frontier, as indicated by their seals, which appear to substantiate the statement made by the 6th-century historian Procopius about Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) installing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
