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Epi Tes Katastaseos
The ''epi tes katastaseos'' ( el, ἐπὶ τῆς καταστάσεως) was a court office of the Byzantine Empire, attested in the 9th–10th centuries. The origin and exact nature of the office are unclear. J. B. Bury translated the title as "master of ceremonies" since may be interpreted as "order", and derived its origin from the late Roman , the head of the , a department under the authority of the . George Ostrogorsky and Ernst Stein on the other hand pointed out that the ceases to be mentioned after 534, and suggested that the was a descendant of the , attested from the time of Justinian I (reigned 527–565) on. The mid-9th century ''Taktikon Uspensky'' is ambiguous as to its role, placing the office first among the civil officials (between the and the ) and then among the lower-ranking courtiers. The of 899 records the office as one of the "special dignities" (), and records that his staff comprised the orders () of , , , the , and the ("senators",which Bury sugge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypatos
''Hypatos'' ( gr, ὕπατος; plural: , ''hypatoi'') and the variant ''apo hypatōn'' (, "former ''hypatos''", literally: "from among the consuls") was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of Latin ''consul'' (the literal meaning of ''hypatos'' is "the supreme one," which reflects the office, but not the etymology of the Roman ''consul''). The dignity arose from the honorary consulships awarded in the late Roman Empire, 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 ''hypatus'' or ''ypatus'', and in Italian historiography one finds ''ipato''. The feminine form of the term was ''hypatissa'' (). The creation of ordinary consuls in Late Antiquity 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 effectively honorar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Palace Offices
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Ceremoniis
The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') 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's preface, or ("On the Order of the Palace"). In non-specialist English sources, it tends to be called the ''Book of Ceremonies of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos'' (variably spelt), a formula used by writers including David Talbot Rice and the modern English translation. History and Sources It was written or at least commissioned by Emperor Constantine VII (reigned 913-959), probably around 956-959. The compilation of Rep. I 17 (Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek) was partially revised later under Nikephoros II (963-969), perhaps under the supervision of Basil Lekapenos, the imperial ''parakoimomenos'', and it also contains earlier descriptions of the 6th century."De Ceremoniis" in ''The Ox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratelatai
''Stratēlatēs'' ( el, στρατηλάτης, "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 7t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silentiarius
''Silentiarius'', Hellenized to ''silentiarios'' ( el, σιλεντιάριος) and Anglicized to silentiary, was the Latin title given to a class of courtiers in the Byzantine imperial court, responsible for order and silence ( la, silentium) in the Great Palace of Constantinople. In the middle Byzantine period (8th–11th centuries), it was transformed into an honorific court title. History and functions An imperial edict dated to 326 or 328 provides the earliest attestation of the title.. The '' schola'' of the ''silentiarii'' was supervised by the ''praepositus sacri cubiculi'' and its members belonged to the jurisdiction of the ''magister officiorum''. Their function in the palace was to keep order during imperial audiences and to call the meeting of the emperor's privy council, the ''consistorium'' (an act called "''silentium nuntiare''").. Four ''silentiarii'' were detailed to the service of the empress. The ''silentiarii'' were chosen from the senatorial class, but freed fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestitor
The , Hellenization, Hellenized as ( el, βεστήτωρ) was a lowly Byzantine Empire, Byzantine palace position and rank. As their name suggests, the were originally officials of the imperial wardrobe ( la, vestiarium, adopted into Greek as ), and are first attested as such in the 6th century. By the 9th century, the title had also become an honorary dignity (, ) intended for "bearded men" (i.e. non-eunuchs), marked in the ''Kletorologion, Klētorologion'' of 899 as the third-lowest of the imperial hierarchy, coming between the and the (both also classes of palace officials). Its distinctive insignia was a , a cloak fastened by a fibula (brooch), fibula brooch. According to the ''Klētorologion'', together with the , the were under the command of the court official known as the . The later ''De Ceremoniis'' of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos () indicates that they assisted the in dressing the emperor, while the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor calls them wardens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kletorologion
The ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos ( el, Κλητορολόγιον), 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magister Officiorum
The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magistros'' (μάγιστρος), until it disappeared in the 12th century. History and functions Late Roman Empire Although some scholars have supported its creation under Emperor Diocletian (), the office can first be definitely traced to the year 320, during the reign of Roman emperor Constantine the Great (), but was probably created sometime soon after 312–13, probably as part of an effort to limit the power of the praetorian prefect (''praefectus praetorio'') the Roman emperor's chief administrative official. The ''magister'' was first given command of the palace guard, the ''Scholae Palatinae''. He was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same root as words such as monarch and hierarchy. Ancient Greece In the early literary period of ancient Greece the chief magistrates of various Greek city states were called ''archontes''. The term was also used throughout Greek history in a more general sense, ranging from "club leader" to "master of the tables" at '' syssitia'' to "Roman governor". In Athens, a system of three concurrent archons evolved, the three office holders being known as ''archon eponymos'' (), the ''polemarch'' (), and the ''archon basileus'' (). According to Aristotle's '' Constitution of the Athenians'', the power of the king first devolved to the archons, and these offices were filled from the aristocracy by el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cursus Publicus
The ''cursus publicus'' (Latin: "the public way"; grc, δημόσιος δρόμος, ''dēmósios drómos'') was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, later inherited by the Eastern Roman Empire. It was a system based on obligations placed on private persons by the Roman State. As contractors, called ''mancipes'', they provided the equipment, animals, and wagons. In the Early Empire compensation had to be paid but this had fallen into abeyance in Late Antiquity when maintenance was charged to the inhabitants along the routes. The service contained only those personnel necessary for administration and operation. These included veterinarians, wagon-wrights, and grooms. The couriers and wagon drivers did not belong to the service: whether public servants or private individuals, they used facilities requisitioned from local individuals and communities. The costs in Late Antiquity were charged to the provincials as part of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
