(; : , ) and the variant (; ) was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

(the literal meaning of is 'the supreme one', which reflects the office, but not the etymology of ''). The dignity arose from the honorary consulships awarded in the late

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and survived until the early 12th century. It was often conferred upon the rulers of the south Italian principalities. In Italian documents the term was sometimes Latinised as or , and in Italian historiography one finds . The feminine form of the term was (). The creation of ordinary consuls in

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

was irregular, and after their division in 395, the two halves of the Roman Empire tended to divide the two consulships between them; the office, which had become both purely honorary and quite expensive to hold, sometimes lay vacant for years. The emperors were often ordinary consuls, and after 541, with the exception of the emperor, who assumed the office on his accession, no ordinary consuls were appointed. From that point on, only honorary consulships were granted, and the title declined much in prestige.. Throughout the 6th to 9th centuries there is ample

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 o ...

evidence of functionaries bearing the title, usually attached to mid-level administrative and fiscal posts. In the late 9th-century hierarchy, however, as related by the ''

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 ot ...

'' of Philotheos, it was one of the lower dignities intended for "bearded men" (i.e. non-

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

s), ranking between the and the . Its badge of office (), whose award also conferred the dignity, was a diploma. In the ''

Escorial Taktikon The ''Escorial Taktikon'' (other spellings: ''Escurial Taktikon'', ''Escorial Tacticon'', ''Escurial Tacticon''), also known as the ''Taktikon Oikonomides'' after Nicolas Oikonomides who first edited it, is a list of Byzantine Empire, Byzantine of ...

'', written , the appears to be a regular office instead of an honorary dignity, endowed with judicial duties according to

Nicolas Oikonomides Nikolaos or Nikos Oikonomides (, 14 February 1934 – 31 May 2000) was a Greeks, Greek Byzantinist, and one of the leading experts in the field of Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy, Byzantine administration. Biography Oikonomides was born i ...

. In the 11th century, the title rose again in importance, apparently outranking the , but disappeared entirely by the mid-12th century. The title was often conferred to the rulers of south Italian city-states of the Tyrrhenian coast, which recognised Byzantine authority in the 9th through 11th centuries. Eventually, with the waning of Byzantine power in the region, these rulers took on more familiar Latin titles like and , modern

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. The most famous were those of

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

. John I of Gaeta won the title from the Byzantine emperor, as a reward for defeating the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s. In Gaeta, the feminine title () was replaced by () during the reign of

Docibilis II of Gaeta Docibilis II (; 880 – c. 954) was the List of Hypati and Dukes of Gaeta, ruler of Gaeta, in one capacity or another, from 906 until his death. He was the son of the hypatus John I of Gaeta, John I, who made him co-ruler in 906 or thereabouts. Do ...

and his wife Orania, in the first half of the 10th century. The title was the root of the titles (, the original translation of ) and (), as well as the office of (, ), a title given to the head of the imperial university of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in the 11th-14th centuries.

References

Sources

* * {{Byzantine Empire topics, state=collapsed Byzantine court titles Roman consuls