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Chrysaphius
Chrysaphius ( el, Χρυσάφιος) was a eunuch in the Eastern Roman court who became the chief minister of Theodosius II (r. 402–450). Having a great influence on the rule of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement towards the Huns, which cost the empire far more gold than any military campaign, while amassing a vast fortune in bribes himself. He is depicted as a sinister figure in all the ancient accounts. Life and policies The Byzantine historians give us a considerable amount of information on Chrysaphius. His real name was Taiouma ( Theophanes 151) or Tumna (Cedrenus I 601) or Tzoumas (Patria II 182; George Codinus 47) or even Ztommas (Malalas 363–6). Chrysaphius exercised a considerable influence on Theodosius II at the end of his reign. According to Malalas, Theodosius II loved Chrysaphius for his beauty (Malalas id and 368). He seems to have risen from among the ranks: according to Malalas, he was a mere ''cubicularius'' (servant of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father Arcadius in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great Christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism. Early life Theodosius was born on 10 April 401 as the only son of Emperor Arcadius and his wife Aelia Eudoxia.''PLRE'' 2, p. iarchive:prosopography-later-roman-empire/PLRE-II/page/1100/mode/2up, 1100 On 10 January 402, at the age of 9 months, he was proclaimed co-a''ugustus'' by his father, thus becoming the youngest to bear the imperial title Michael III, up to that point. On 1 May 408, his father died and the seven-year-old boy became emperor of the Eastern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulcheria
Aelia Pulcheria (; grc-gre, Πουλχερία; 19 January 398 or 399 – July 453) was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453. She was the second (and oldest surviving) child of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius and Empress Aelia Eudoxia. In 414, the fifteen-year old Pulcheria became the guardian of her younger brother Theodosius II and was also proclaimed Augusta. Through her religious devotion and involvement in the contemporary ecclesiastical scene, Pulcheria had significant, though changing, influence and political power during her brother's reign. When Theodosius II died on 26 July 450, Pulcheria married Marcian on 25 November 450, while simultaneously not violating her vow of virginity. She died three years later, in July 453. Pulcheria influenced the Christian Church and its theological development by being involved in the Council of Ephesu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been 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 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, for espionage or clandestine operations, castrato singers, concubines, or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants. Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spatharios
The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: la, spatharius; el, σπαθάριος, literally "spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire. History Originally, the term was probably applied to both private and imperial bodyguards.. The original imperial ''spatharioi'' were probably or later became also the eunuch '' cubicularii'' (Greek: ''koubikoularioi''), members of the ''sacrum cubiculum'' (the imperial "sacred chamber") charged with military duties. They are attested from the reign of Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408–450), where the eunuch Chrysaphius held the post. The existence of the specific title of ''spatharokoubikoularios'' for eunuchs in 532 probably suggests the existence by then of other, non-eunuch, ''spatharioi'' in imperial service. The various generals and provincial governors also maintained military attendants calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeno (consul 448)
Flavius Zeno (''floruit'' 447–451) was an influential general and politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, of Isaurian origin, who served as ''magister militum per Orientem'', and became consul and '' patricius''. Biography Zeno was of Isaurian originJordanes, 333; Evagrius, ii.15. and had a brother, who died before 448. Between 447 and 451 he was ''magister militum per Orientem''. In 447 he was put at the head of an Isaurian unit and entrusted with the defence of Constantinople from Attila. By this time, he was already ''magister militum per Orientem'' (Commander-in-chief of the Eastern army) and was called to defend the capital because all of the other ''magistri'' were far away, fighting against the Huns. As a reward for the successful defence of Constantinople, he was appointed consul for the year 448. In 449 and in 450 he opposed the powerful eunuch Chrysaphius, ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' at court, who wanted to obtain Attila's favour. He opposed the marriage of Att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edeco
Edeco also ''Edeko'', ''Edekon'', ''Edicon'', ''Ediko'', ''Edica'', ''Ethico'' (died 469) was a prominent Hun ambassador and the father of Odoacer. Biography According to sources of the time, he distinguished himself for courage and skill in the battles of Naissus and the Uthus river, during the invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire, thus becoming part of Attila's circle of favorite advisors, so much so that he put him in charge of a diplomatic mission in Constantinople, where the court treasurer, Chrysaphius, tried to bribe him to assassinate his king. Edeco seemed to agree, but as soon as he reached Attila's court he informed him of the plan and the Hun monarch unmasked the Roman ambassador. He played a part in the plot to kill Attila's brother, Bleda. Edeco also participated in the campaign in Gaul and in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields. He also fought at the Battle of Bolia, in which he apparently perished. In 476, Edeco's son, Odoacer, deposed the emperor Romulus Au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archbishop Flavian Of Constantinople
Flavian ( la, Flavianus; grc-gre, Φλαβιανος, ''Phlabianos''; 11 August 449), sometimes Flavian I, was Archbishop of Constantinople from 446 to 449. He is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Consecration as archbishop and imperial dispute Flavian was a presbyter and the guardian of the sacred vessels of the great Church of Constantinople and, according to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, was reputed to lead a saintly life, when he was chosen to succeed Proclus as Archbishop of Constantinople. During his consecration, Roman Emperor Theodosius II was staying at Chalcedon. His eunuch Chrysaphius attempted to extort a present of gold to the Emperor but as he was unsuccessful, he began to plot against the new Archbishop by supporting the archimandrite Eutyches in his dispute with Flavian. Home Synod of Constantinople Flavian presided at a council of forty bishops at Constantinople on November 8, 448, to resolve a dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eutyches '', 1 Jan. 2022 was a and at . He first came to notice in 431 at the
Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of ConstantinopleEncyclopædia Britannica |
Parakoimomenos
The ''parakoimōmenos'' ( el, παρακοιμώμενος, literally "the one who sleeps beside he emperor's chamber) was a Byzantine court position, usually reserved for eunuchs. The position's proximity to the emperors guaranteed its holders influence and power, and many of them, especially in the 9th and 10th centuries, functioned as the Byzantine Empire's chief ministers. History and functions The title was used anachronistically by various Byzantine writers for prominent eunuch court officials of the distant past, including Euphratas under Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337), the notorious Chrysaphius under Theodosius II (), or an unnamed holder of the office under Emperor Maurice (). The position was probably created no later than the reign of Leo IV the Khazar (), when the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor mentions a "''koubikoularios'' and ''parakoimomenos”'' serving Leo. In the beginning, it was a modest office, given to those ''koubikoularioi'' (from Lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Praepositus Sacri Cubiculi
The ''praepositus sacri cubiculi'' (Latin: "provost of the sacred bedchamber", in gr, πραιπόσιτος τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου κοιτῶνος, praipositos tou eusebestatou koitōnos) was one of the senior palace offices in the Late Roman Empire. Its holder was usually a eunuch, and acted as the grand chamberlain of the palace, wielding considerable authority and influence. In the 7th or 8th century, the title was also given to an order of rank for eunuch palace servants. The title and office continued in use in the simplified form of ''praipositos'' (πραιπόσιτος) in the Byzantine Empire until the late 11th century. History and evolution The first securely identifiable holder of the office was Eusebius under Emperor Constantius II (), but the position may have been introduced already under Constantine the Great (), in replacement of the older ''a cubiculo''. He controlled the corps of the '' cubicularii'' (κουβικουλάριοι, ), also eunuchs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronicon Paschale
''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name comes from its system of chronology based on the Christian paschal cycle; its Greek author named it ''Epitome of the ages from Adam the first man to the 20th year of the reign of the most August Heraclius''. Structure The 'Chronicon Paschale' follows earlier chronicles. For the years 600 to 627 the author writes as a contemporary historian—that is, through the last years of emperor Maurice, the reign of Phocas, and the first seventeen years of the reign of Heraclius. Like many chroniclers, the author of this popular account relates anecdotes, physical descriptions of the chief personages (which at times are careful portraits), extraordinary events such as earthquakes and the appearance of comets, and links Church history with a suppose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Codinus
George Kodinos or Codinus ( el, Γεώργιος Κωδινός), also Pseudo-Kodinos, ''kouropalates'' in the Byzantine court, is the reputed 14th-century author of three extant works in late Byzantine literature. Their attribution to him is merely a matter of convenience, two of them being anonymous in the manuscripts. Οf Kodinos himself nothing is known; it is supposed that he lived towards the end of the 14th century. The works referred to are the following: #'' Patria'' (Πάτρια Κωνσταντινουπόλεως), treating of the history, topography, and monuments of Constantinople. It is divided into five sections: (a) the foundation of the city; (b) its situation, limits and topography; (c) its statues, works of art, and other notable sights; (d) its buildings; (e) and the construction of the Hagia Sophia. It was written in the reign of Basil II (976-1025), revised and rearranged under Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1118), and perhaps copied by Codinus, whose name it bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
