The or (), Latinized as or , was a senior official in the

Byzantine 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 E ...

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

. The title means "first ", illustrating his position as the head of the order of the , the senior class of imperial notaries. The post evolved gradually. The first are attested from the 6th century, and several

Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople The following is a chronological list of Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, bishops and ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople. The historical data on the first 25 bishops is limited with modern scholars debating their authenticity. The ...

and one emperor, Anastasios II (), were drawn from their ranks. Aside from possibly anachronistic references to

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor (), also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christianity, Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a civil se ...

being a under Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

(), the earliest confirmed occurrence (as ) comes from the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'' for the year 756.. As head of the imperial chancery (the effective successor of the late Roman ), the position was highly influential: in the 899 '' Kletorologion'' of Philotheos, a list of court precedence of officials, he is placed seventh among the , the financial ministers of the state. From documents and

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, the holders of the office held the dignities of , and . Among others, the Patriarch Photios (858–867 and 877–886) held the post. His subordinates included not only the , but also the inferior class of the imperial , under their head, the , as well as the official known as , placed "in charge of the imperial papers" according to the ''

De Ceremoniis The or (fully ) is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of the Order of the Palace"), taken from the work' ...

'' of Emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, a ...

(). The seems also to have been in charge of preparing the imperial

chrysobull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

s. After 1106, however, he was moved from the chancery and assumed judicial duties, heading one of the highest courts of the Byzantine Empire, along with the , the , the , the , the , and the , who headed the court for fiscal affairs (). Although the class of the is not attested after the 12th century, the post of survived into the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire, officially known as the Roman Empire, was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its r ...

References

Sources

* * * {{Byzantine Empire topics Byzantine administrative offices