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Hetaireiarches
The ( grc-gre, ἑταιρειάρχης), sometimes anglicized as Hetaeriarch, was a high-ranking Byzantine officer, in command of the imperial bodyguard, the . In the 9th–10th centuries there appear to have been several , each for one of the subdivisions of the , but in later times only the senior of them, the ( grc-gre, μέγας ἑταιρειάρχης) or Great Hetaeriarch survived, eventually becoming simply a high court rank in the 12th–15th centuries. History The Imperial (, ) was a bodyguard regiment of the Byzantine emperors in the 9th–11th centuries, originally recruited mainly from among foreigners. It is first mentioned in 812, as a bodyguard for the emperor on campaign, but its origin is obscure. The Imperial of the 9th–10th centuries was divided in several units: three or four according to the sources, distinguished by their epithets and each, at least originally, under is respective . Thus the commanded the 'Great ' (, ). He was the senior of the mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hetaireia
The ( grc-gre, Ἑταιρεία, Latinized as ''hetaeria'') was a term for a corps of bodyguards during the Byzantine Empire. Etymology and usage of the term means 'the Company', echoing the ancient Macedonian Companions and the Classical Greek aristocrats who attended . The most important such corps was the 'Imperial ' (, ), composed chiefly of foreigners, which formed part of the Byzantine professional standing army alongside the in the 9th–12th centuries. The term was also applied to the smaller bodyguards of thematic military commanders (), headed by a count (, ), and from the 13th century on, it was employed in a generic sense for the armed retinues of magnates, bound by oath to their master. Imperial The exact origin, role, and structure of the Imperial are unclear. The term first appears in the early 9th century, as the bodyguard of Emperor Leo V the Armenian () on campaign. It is unclear, however, whether the usage is technical, referring to a specific unit, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Palaiologos (megas Hetaireiarches)
George Palaiologos Doukas Komnenos ( gr, Γεώργιος Παλαιολόγος Δούκας Κομνηνός; –1167/68) was a high-ranking Byzantine aristocrat and diplomat of the 12th century. A kinsman of the ruling Komnenos dynasty, George Palaiologos held the rank of ''sebastos'' and the office of ''megas hetaireiarches''. His son Alexios was briefly heir-apparent to Emperor Alexios III Angelos, and his great-grandson Michael VIII Palaiologos founded the Palaiologan dynasty of Byzantine emperors. He led a number of diplomatic missions for Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, both within the Empire and abroad. Only his missions to Jerusalem and Hungary, as part of the emperor's marriage alliances with foreign rulers, are well attested. Apart from his diplomatic activities, George Palaiologos also founded a church and a monastery, which were lavishly decorated. Life Origin George Palaiologos was of distinguished descent. His father was Alexios Palaiologos, the third son of George Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stylianos Zaoutzes
Stylianos Zaoutzes ( el, ) was a high Byzantine official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I (reigned 867–886), he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), who had a close friendship and possibly an affair with Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina. Stylianos Zaoutzes was Leo's leading minister during the first half of his reign, and was awarded the unique title of ''basileopator''. His standing and influence declined after 895, but in 898, he became Leo's father-in-law when the Byzantine emperor married Zoe. He died in 899, in the same year as Zoe. Following an attempted coup by his relatives, the Zaoutzes clan was deprived of the considerable power it had amassed under Stylianos's tutelage. Biography Origins and early career Zaoutzes was of Armenian descent, and was born in the '' thema'' of Macedonia. It has been theorized by the historian Nicholas Adontz that Zaoutzes might be the son o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus ( gr, Χριστόφορος Λακαπηνός, Christóphoros Lakapenōs) was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos () and co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 921 until his death in 931. Christopher was given the position of ''megas hetaireiarches'' (commander of the palace guard) in spring 919, after Romanos assumed the position of ''basileopator''. Romanos, in order to give his family precedence over the Macedonian line, raised Christopher to co-emperor on 21 May 921. In 928 Christopher's father-in-law, Niketas, unsuccessfully attempted to incite Christopher to usurp his father, resulting in Niketas being banished. Christopher died in August 931, succeeded by his father and two brothers, Stephen Lekapenos and Constantine Lekapenos, and Constantine VII. In December 944 his brothers overthrew and exiled his father, but they themselves were exiled after attempting to oust Constantine VII. Life Christopher was the eldest so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komnenian Period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The ''Komnenian'' (also spelled ''Comnenian'') period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios I, John II Komnenos, John II, Manuel I Komnenos, Manuel I, Alexios II Komnenos, Alexios II and Andronikos I Komnenos, Andronikos I. It was a period of sustained, though ultimately incomplete, restoration of the military, territorial, economic and political position of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium under the Komnenoi played a key role in the history of the Crusades in the Holy Land, while also exerting enormous cultural and political influence in Europe, the Near East, and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The Komnenian emperors, particularly John and Manuel, exerted great influence over the Crusader states of Outremer, whilst Alexios I played a key role in the course of the First Crusade, which he helped bring about. Moreover, it was d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantine Empire, Byzantium and the History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterranean. His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire had seen a resurgence of its military and economic power and had enjoyed a cultural revival. Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with Pope Adrian IV and the resurgent Greek East and Latin West, West. He invaded the Normans, Norman Kingdom of Sicily, although unsuccessfully, being the last Eastern Roman emperor t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Droungarios Of The Watch
The ''Droungarios'' of the Watch ( el, δρουγγάριος τῆς βίγλης/βίγλας, ''droungarios tēs viglēs/viglas''), sometimes anglicized as "Drungary of the Watch", was originally a senior Byzantine military post. Attested since the late 8th century, the ''droungarios'' commanded the '' Vigla'' or "Watch", one of the elite professional cavalry regiments ('' tagmata'') of the middle Byzantine period, and was in charge of the Byzantine emperor's personal security. From , the office was disassociated from its military origin and was transformed into a senior judicial position, thereafter usually referred to as the Grand ''Droungarios'' of the Watch (μέγας δρουγγάριος τῆς βίγλης/βίγλας, ''megas droungarios tēs viglēs/viglas''). The office continued to exist as a mostly honorific court dignity in the Palaiologan era, until the very end of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Military office The ''Droungarios'' of the Watch wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papias (Byzantine Office)
The ( grc-gre, παπίας) was a eunuch official in the Byzantine court, responsible for the security and maintenance of the buildings of the imperial palaces in Constantinople. He commanded an extensive staff and performed in important role in palace ceremonies. In the Palaiologan period, the honorary title of ('grand ') was created and awarded to senior aristocrats. History and role The term is etymologically connected to or (). It is first attested in a seal dated to circa 550–650, and next recorded in the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor for the year 780.. There were three , all eunuchs: one for the Great Palace itself (, ), and two others for its adjuncts, the Magnaura and the palace of Daphne (the and ). The latter was created by Emperor Michael III (), while the former is attested only in Philotheos's ''Kletorologion'' of 899. The of the Great Palace was a very important official. Often styled 'grand ' (, ), and usually holding the rank of , he was the concier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos Lekapenos, born in Lakape (later Laqabin) between Melitene and Samosata (hence the name), was the son of an Armenian peasant with the remarkable name of Theophylact the Unbearable (Theophylaktos Abastaktos). However, according to the Byzantinist Anthony Kaldellis, Romanos is discussed in many Byzantine sources, but none of them calls him an Armenian. His father came from humble origin and that's the reason he was assumed to have been Armenian. This alleged ethnicity has been repeated so often in literature that it has acquired the status of a known fact, even though it is based on the most tenuous of indirect connections. Nevertheless, his father Theophylact, as a soldier, had rescued the Emperor Basil I from the enemy in battle at Tephr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratarchai
( el, στρατάρχης, pl. (archaic) or (modern)), means ''ruler of the army'' in Greek, and is a title associated with successful generals. In modern Greek usage, it corresponds to the rank of Field Marshal. Byzantine Empire The term originated in the Byzantine Empire, where, in the 9th to 11th centuries, the were a class of senior officials in charge of military finances and administration, including the (commander of the foreign imperial guards), the ''droungarios'' of the Fleet, the who supervised the army's horse-breeding farms, the (Count of the Stable) and the of the . By the late 11th century, this technical meaning was forgotten, and the term , along with variants such as ('grand ') and ('all-'), came to be used as an honorific epithet for important generals. In this use it is for instance used to describe the famed literary hero Digenis Akritas, or famous past commanders, such as Belisarius. Modern Greece In modern Greek history, the title (modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestiariou
The ( gr, βεστιαρῖται, singular: βεστιαρίτης) were a corps of imperial bodyguards and fiscal officials in the Byzantine Empire, attested from the 11th to the 15th centuries. History and functions The appear in the mid-11th century, with the first known , John Iberitzes, attested in 1049.. As their name indicates, they had a connection to the imperial wardrobe and treasury, the , probably initially raised as a guard detachment for it. From circa 1080 on, they were formally distinguished into two groups: the "inner" or "household" ( or ), attached to the emperor's private treasury (the or ) under a , and the "outer" () under a , who were probably under the public or state treasury (). Gradually, they replaced various other groups of armed guards that the Byzantine emperors had employed inside Constantinople itself, such as the or the , and became the exclusive corps of the emperor's confidential agents. As the princess and historian Anna Komnene writes, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logariastes Tes Aules
( gr, λογαριαστής, , accountant) was a type of financial official in the Byzantine Empire from the early 11th century onwards, with the task of controlling expenses. The post is attested for the first time in 1012, and existed both within the financial bureaux () of the central government such as those of the , the and the as well as in the provincial administration, in monasteries or in private estates. appear in the sources until the 15th century. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos () created the post of (, 'grand accountant'), first attested in 1094. Initially it shared the duty of general comptroller of the fisc with the , but soon replaced the latter office entirely. The post is attested until the 14th century. In the mid-14th century ''Book of Offices'' of pseudo-Kodinos 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 Byzant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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