Byzantine Bureaucracy And Aristocracy

Through the 5th century Hellenistic political systems, philosophies and theocratic Christian-Eastern concepts had gained power in the eastern Greek-speaking Mediterranean due to the intervention of Important religious figures there such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Origen of Alexandria who had been key to the constant Christianized world of late antiquity.

By the 6th century they had already influenced the definitive power of the monarch as the representative of God on earth and his kingdom as an imitation of God's holy realm. The Byzantine empire was a monarchic theocracy, adopting, following and applying the Hellenistic political systems and philosophies. The monarch was the incarnation of the law ''nomos empsychos'', and his power was immeasurable and divine in origin. He was the ultimate benefactor, carer and saviour of his people, '' Evergétis'', '' Philanthrōpía'' and '' Sōtēr''.

They in turn were his ''paroikoi'' (subjects). He was the sole administrator and lawgiver of the holy '' Basileia'' and ''Oikoumene'' (Commonwealth), with sole power over the state, the land and his subjects, which he through God's appointment of him as king had achieved. This opened a new stage of deification in which Hellenistic and Eastern court ceremonies such as proskynesis highlighted the divinity of the ruler and became standardized and very often mandatory. In practice, this power was exercised as administration was simplified and centralized through viceroys such as the '' Exarchos'', ''Douk'', ''Katepánō'', '' Kephalai'' and the ''Strategoi'' who enjoyed the same omnipotence and divinity in their respective governorships.

Such concentrations of power proved to be both a great internal weakness and the cause of various coups and rebellions in which viceroys with provincial armies and, sometimes, entire themes would often challenge imperial power with claims of their own. It was in this way that emperors such as Nikephoros II Phokas and Heraclius had achieved royal power of their own.

There were no codified laws on the imperial succession, and the Roman Republic was never formally abolished. Theoretically, the Emperor was still to be elected, formally, by both the Senate (Synkletos) and the Army. In practice, however, the Senate had lost all of its former powers and was mostly reduced to a ceremonial role filled with relatives or close aristocrats to the Emperor, while the Army practically had a monopoly regarding elections. Emperors usually managed to secure succession for their children by indirect means, such as appointing them as co-Emperors, and thus introducing various dynasties. The absence of codified succession laws and procedures, as well as the militarized state of the Empire, led to numerous coups and revolts, leading to several disastrous results, such as defeat at Manzikert.

Applying the Hellenistic political schemes, the monarch's household and personal property was the kingdom '' Oikonomia'', and he was its owner and good manager ''Oikonomos'', which meant that no individual or institution through the history of the empire truly owned any land. Beneath the emperor, a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the empire's administrative machinery who were all directly chosen by the emperor or one of his representatives. State officials acted not as magistrates and elected public legates, but as representatives, deputies and viceroys of the monarch in his different domains throughout the kingdom. In addition to those officials, a large number of honorific titles existed, which the emperor awarded to his subjects or to friendly foreign rulers.

Over the more than a thousand years of the empire's existence, different titles were adopted and discarded, and many lost or gained prestige. At first, the various titles of the empire were the same as those of the late Roman Empire. However, by the time that Heraclius was emperor in (), many of the titles had become obsolete. By the time of Alexios I (), many of the positions were either new or drastically changed. However, from that time on, they remained essentially the same until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

Background history

In the early Byzantine period (4th to late 6th century) the system of government followed the model established in late Roman times under Diocletian and Constantine the Great, with a strict separation between civil and military offices and a scale of titles corresponding to office, where membership or not in the Senate was the major distinguishing characteristic.Kazhdan (1991), p. 623 Following the transformation of the Byzantine state during the 7th century on account of massive territorial loss to the Muslim conquests, this system had vanished to be replaced by the thematic military system whose functions had been simplified and specialized in the rapid creation of provincial armies. As established by the Hellenistic political systems and philosophies, power had been secluded in military leaders, the various Strategoi, Katepan, Douk, Kephalai or Exarch who acted as viceroys in their respective "'' thémata''" or governorships, all being appointed by the emperor himself. These governors being the direct representatives of the monarch himself, also enjoyed their omnipotence and divine attributes in their respective districts whose primary tasks around the different "''théma''" focussed on the collection of taxes from the different communities "''Chora''", "''Komai''" and from the different land owners estates "''proasteion''" and monasteries as well as the management of fast and flexible provincial armies.

The Strategos or any other military governor was assisted by several deputies, chief among them the "'' tourmarchēs"'' or "'' merarchēs"'' to a lesser degree also referred as ''eparch'', who equally held military and administrative responsibilities as the main provincial governors within the main sub-division inside a thema, a "''tourma''", or an deputy or representative of the Strategos and any other military governor, variously termed but generally called ''Ek prosopou'', second to them the ''Krites'' or ''Praitor'' who were responsible for the civic matters inside a Theme, although their range of tasks was neither fixed nor dogmatic since they are also shown assisting in various military campaigns or on occasions replacing the Strategos and his military duties.

Due to the lack of action or large-scale battles in the thematas of mainland Greece, most of these provinces came to be governed directly by the Megas doux, under him the Krites or Archons of the various coastal cities. The province now made up of several "'' Archontates''" was accommodated and repurposed solely for the income and maintenance of the Byzantine navy, fulfilling a supporting role largely in contrast from the more active and military themas of Strategos and Katepans focussed in Asia Minor. The duties of said governors were largely limited to the collection of the various maritime taxes of their governorships, the management of the various large urban centers such as Athens, Corinth or Thebes as well as the basic level of protection for its provinces against pirates and any other parties.

During the "classic" or middle period of the Byzantine state (8th-late 11th centuries), a new, court-centered system emerged. In this, the new titles derived from older, now obsolete, public offices, and dignities of a certain level were awarded with each office. A senatorial class remained in place, which incorporated a large part of the upper officialdom as every official from the rank of ''protospatharios'' (Literally "first sword-bearer"; originally the head of the Emperor's bodyguards) was considered a member of it. During this period, many families remained important for several centuries, and several Emperors rose from the aristocracy. Two groups can be distinguished: a metropolitan civil nobility and a provincial military one, the latter remaining regionally based and having large land-holdings, but apparently no military forces of their own, in contrast to contemporary Western Europe.

The backbone of Byzantine administration and economy until the fall of Constantinople, relied on the Hellenistic joint tax liability system of the different towns and villages, ''chora'' and ''komai'' inside a '' théma,'' duties which were carried out by provincial officials such as the epoptes, exisotes and praktores. A Theme itself was made up of several individuals and institutions such as the various lands that the many monasteries owned ''episkepsis'', the soldiers farming lands ''stratiotai,'' the estates "''proasteion"'' of the land owners '' dynatoi'' and the peasants ''geōrgikē'', the later making most of a village or town c''hora'', ''komai'' which were the main source of constant and rapid revenue which ultimately derived from the Hellenistic fiscal and administrative principle of "''epibole''", that had served as an accessible tool for the Hellenistic kingdoms for the simple income and rapid collection of taxes in the war-time Hellenistic period, being adopted and adapted in the late Roman and early Byzantine province of Egypt which had kept its own former fixed fiscal system, indirectly, a consequence of the multiple wars and invasions that Byzantium had to deal throughout its history.

After the reforms of Alexios I however, the system underwent various changes in which, due to the desperate state of the empire and the urgent need for income to finance its military campaigns and strengthen its borders, several simplifications and concessions were made. The theme system established under the Komnenoi would remain the administrative basis of the Byzantine state until its final fall in 1453, differing in few key aspects from its administrative predecessors, it highlighted a greater centralization of power. The various Themes had been divided in smaller districts called " ''Katepanakia''" which in turn were made up of the various towns and villages "''chora''", the monastic estates "''episkpesis"'', the estates of the dynatoi "''proasteion"'', and the various '' pronoia'' grants. The Themes were ruled by a "''Douk"'', who were positioned by the emperor directly, especially a relative of his or a close aristocrat to the Basileus, and the Katepanakia inside the Theme were ruled by a deputie of the Douk called "''Praktor"'' or ''"Energon"'' appointed either by the monarch or the Douk himself, its primary task was the collection of taxes and as the second role, the maintenance of basic order, administration and justice in his district.

Alexios fiscal reforms allowed an institution or individual to catalog and group their land domains and through it, their fiscal obligations in a document referred as ''praktikon''. The new reform essentially broke with the integrity of the "''chora''" or village tax, its new purpose was the collection of the various taxes regardless of whether it was by an institution, individual or the village itself, essentially offering it to the highest bidder. Although a simplification, it was not an improvement as it pushed a great variety of villages and towns to be eventually added to the different ''episkpesis'' of the adjoining monasteries which would become responsible, both, for the fiscal obligations of the various towns and villages in their domain and for their fiscal obligations as monastic institutions, or of the various well-resourced '' dynatoi'' landowners who would also pay and be held responsible for both, the tax of the various villages in their domain and their own individual fiscal obligations. This trend culminated in the eventual disappearance of the fiscal individuality that each commune or town had enjoyed and which emperors like Basil II had fought and delayed with special taxes such as the allelengyon in the face of their growing power, becoming one of several towns within the estates of the different institutions and individuals of the time, which in part was a unbearable phenomenon for many communes due to the various fiscal tolerances that the '' basileus'' offered to the different monastic institutions and their estates, further accelerating the disappearance of the fiscal individuality of the villages and towns.

The 10th and 11th centuries saw a rise in importance of the aristocracy, and an increased number of new families entering it. The catastrophic losses in the latter 11th century again prompted a reorganization of the imperial administrative system, at the hands of the new Komnenos dynasty: the older offices and titles fell gradually into disuse, while an array of new honorifics emerged, which signified primarily the closeness of their recipient's familial relationship to the Emperor. The Komnenian-led Empire, and later their Palaiologan successors, were based primarily on the landed aristocracy, keeping the governance of state tightly controlled by a limited number of intermarrying aristocratic families. In the 11th and 12th century for instance, some 80 civil and 64 military noble families have been identified, a very small number for so large a state. Finally, in the Palaiologan system as reported by pseudo-Kodinos one can discern the accumulated nomenclature of centuries, with formerly high ranks having been devalued and others taken their place, and the old distinction between office and dignity had vanished.

Imperial titles

These were the highest titles, usually limited to members of the imperial family or to a few very select foreign rulers whose friendship the Emperor desired.

Titles used by the emperors

* '' Basileus'' (βασιλεύς) – the Greek word for " sovereign" which originally referred to any king in the Hellenistic period or in any Greek-speaking area of the Roman Empire. It also referred to the Shahs of Persia. Heraclius adopted it in 629, and it became the Greek word for "emperor." Heraclius also used the titles ''autokrator'' (αὐτοκράτωρ – "autocrat," "self-ruler") and ''kyrios'' (κύριος – "lord"). The Byzantines reserved the term "''basileus''" among Christian rulers exclusively for the emperor in Constantinople, and referred to Western European kings as ''rēgas'', a Hellenized form of the Latin word '' rex'' ("king"). The feminine form ''basilissa'' referred to an empress. Empresses were addressed as ''eusebestatē avgousta'' ("Most Pious Augusta"), and were also called ''kyria'' ("Lady") or ''despoina'' (the female form of "despotes", see below). Primogeniture, nor indeed heredity, were never legally established in Byzantine imperial succession, because in principle the Roman Emperor was selected by common acclamation of the Senate, the People and the Army. This was rooted firmly in the Roman "republican" tradition, whereby hereditary kingship was rejected and the Emperor was nominally the convergence of several offices of the Republic onto one person. Many emperors, anxious to safeguard their firstborn son's right to the throne, had them crowned as co-emperors when they were still children, thus assuring that upon their own death the throne would not be even momentarily vacant. In such a case the need for an imperial selection never arose. In several cases, the new Emperor ascended the throne after marrying the previous Emperor's widow, or indeed after forcing the previous Emperor to abdicate and become a monk. Several emperors were also deposed because of perceived inadequacy, ''e.g.'', after a military defeat, and some were murdered.
* '' Porphyrogennētos'' (πορφυρογέννητος) – "born in the purple": Derived from Hellenistic bureaucracy, emperors wanting to emphasize the legitimacy of their ascent to the throne appended this title to their names, meaning they were born in the delivery room of the imperial palace (called the ''Porphyra'' because it was paneled with slabs of the reddish-purple stone porphyry), to a reigning emperor, and were therefore legitimate beyond any claim to the contrary whatsoever.
* ''Autokratōr'' (αὐτοκράτωρ) – "self-ruler": this title was originally equivalent to '' imperator'', and was used by the emperors.
* ''Basileus Autokratōr'' () – was a combination of titles reserved for the senior of several ruling co-emperors (συμβασιλεῖς, ''symbasileis''), and denoted the person who held substantive political power.

Titles used by the imperial family

* '' Despotēs'' (δεσπότης) – "Lord": this title was used by the emperors themselves since the time of Justinian I, and was an honorific address for the sons of reigning emperors. Hellenistic rulers had used extensively and during Byzantine times often featured in coins, in lieu of ''Basileus''. In the 12th century, Manuel I Komnenos made it a separate title, the highest "awarded" title after the emperor. The first such ''despotēs'' was actually a foreigner, Bela III of Hungary, signifying that Hungary was considered a Byzantine tributary state. In later times, a despot could be the holder of a despotate; for example, the Despotate of Morea, centred at Mistra, was held by the heir to the Byzantine throne after 1261. The feminine form, ''despoina'', referred to a female despot or the wife of a despot, but it was also used to address the Empress.
* '' Sebastokratōr'' (σεβαστοκράτωρ) – "Venerable Ruler": a title created by Alexios I Komnenos as a combination of ''autokratōr'' and ''sebastos'' (see below). The first ''sebastokratōr'' was Alexios' brother Isaakios. It was essentially a meaningless title, which signified only a close relationship with the Emperor, but ranked immediately after the ''despotēs''. The feminine form was ''sebastokratorissa''. The first foreigner to be called ''sebastokratōr'' was Stefan Nemanjić of Serbia, who was given the title in 1191. A Bulgarian aristocrat by the name Kaloyan also used the title.
* '' Kaisar'' () – "Caesar": originally, as in the late Roman Empire, it was used for a subordinate co-emperor or the heir apparent, and was first among the "awarded" dignities. The office enjoyed extensive privileges, great prestige and power. When Alexios I created ''sebastokratōr'', ''kaisar'' became third in importance, and fourth after Manuel I created ''despotēs''. The feminine form was ''kaisarissa''. It remained however an office of great importance, and was awarded to a few high-ranking and distinguished officials, and was only rarely awarded to foreigners. Justinian II named Tervel, khan of the Bulgars, ''kaisar'' in 705; the title then developed into the Slavic term tsar or czar (from Latin through Bulgarian and then into Russian, Serbian etc.). Title was also awarded to George II of Georgia. Andronikos II Palaiologos also named Roger de Flor, leader of the Catalan Grand Company, ''kaisar'' in 1304.
* ''Nobelissimos'' (νωβελίσσιμος) – from the Latin ''Nobilissimus'' ("most noble"): originally a title given to close relatives of the Emperor, subordinate only to the ''kaisar''. During the Komnenian period, the title was awarded to officials and foreign dignitaries, diluting its status. The title ''Prōtonobelissimos'' was created in its stead, until it too started to decline, only to be replaced by a further augmented form: ''Prōtonobelissimohypertatos''. By the late Palaiologan era, the former had vanished, while the latter was a provincial official.
* '' Kouropalatēs'' (κουροπαλάτης) – from the Latin ''cura palatii'', "charge of the palace": First attested in the time of Justinian I, it was the official in charge of the running of the imperial palace. However, the great authority and wealth deriving from this position, as well as the close proximity to the Emperor, meant that it accumulated great prestige. It was awarded to important members of the imperial family, but from the 11th century onwards, it declined, and was usually awarded to the vassal rulers of Armenia and Georgia.
* ''Sebastos'' (σεβαστός) – "August One": this title is the literal Greek translation of the Latin term ''Augustus'' or ''Augoustos'', was sometimes used by the emperors. As a separate title, it appeared in the latter half of the 11th century, and was extensively awarded by Alexios I Komnenos to his brothers and relations. The female version of the title was ''sebastē''. The special title Protosebastos ("First Venerable One") was created for Hadrianos, Alexios' second brother, and awarded also to the Doge of Venice and the Sultan of Iconium. During the 12th century, it remained in use for the Emperor's and the ''sebastokratōrs children, and senior foreign dignitaries. However, the parallel processes of proliferation and devaluation of titles during the 12th century resulted in the creation of a bewildering array of often ridiculously large variations, by using the prefixes ''pan'' ("all"), ''hyper'' ("above"), ''prōto'' ("first"): examples include Pansebastos and Panhypersebastos. Few of them actually survived past the 12th century, and all of them rapidly declined in importance.

Court titles from the 8th to 11th centuries

In the 8th–11th centuries, according to information provided by the ''Taktikon Uspensky'', the '' Klētorologion'' of Philotheos (899) and the writings of Constantine Porphyrogennetos, below the imperial titles, the Byzantines distinguished two distinct categories of dignities (): the "dignities by award" (), which were purely honorific court titles and were conferred by the award of a symbol of rank, and the "dignities by proclamation" (), which were offices of the state and were conferred by imperial pronouncement. The former were further divided into three subcategories, depending on who was eligible for them: different sets of titles existed for the "Bearded Ones" (''βαρβάτοι'' from Latin ''barbati'', i.e. not eunuchs), the eunuchs () and women. State officials usually combined titles from both main categories, so that a high official would be both ''magistros'' (an "awarded" title) and ''logothetēs tou dromou'' (a "proclaimed" office).

Titles for the "bearded ones"

The "by award" titles for the "Bearded Ones" (non-eunuchs) were, in descending order of precedence:
* '' Proedros'' () – "president": Originally reserved for eunuchs (see below), it was opened up in the mid-11th century to "Bearded Ones" as well, especially military officials.
* '' Magistros'' () – in the early Byzantine state, the ''magister officiorum'' was one of the most senior officials, but as his duties were gradually relegated to other officials, by the 8th century, only the title was left. It remained a high honour, and only rarely awarded until the 10th century.Bury (1911), p. 21 By the early 10th century, there were 12, the first in precedence among them bearing the title of ''prōtomagistros''. Thereafter the number of its holders was inflated, and the office vanished sometime in the 12th century.Kazhdan (1991), p. 1267
* '' Vestarches'' () – "head of the vestai", adopted in the latter half of the 10th century for high-ranking eunuchs, it was awarded to "bearded" senior military officers and judicial officials of Constantinople from ca. 1050 on. It disappeared in the early 12th century.Kazhdan (1991), p. 2162
* '' Vestes'' () – senior honorific title, first attested under John I Tzimiskes. Awarded to both eunuchs and non-eunuchs, it survived until the early 12th century. The term is etymologically connected to the vestiarion, the imperial wardrobe, but despite earlier attempts to connect the vestai and the related title of vestarchēs, the head of the class of the vestai (see above), with the officials of the vestiarion (see below), no such relation appears to have existed.
* '' Anthypatos'' () – "proconsul": Originally the highest rank for provincial governors, it survived the creation of the Theme system, until, in the 9th century, it too became a purely honorific title. The variant ''prōtanthypatos'' was created in the 11th century to counter its decline in importance, but both disappeared by the end of the 12th century.
* ''Patrikios'' () – "patrician": Established as the highest title of nobility by Constantine the Great, it remained one of the highest dignities until its disappearance in the Komnenian period, awarded to high-ranking officials, including eunuchs, and foreign rulers. The spouses of patricians bore the title ''patrikia'' (not to be confused with ''zōstē patrikia'', see below).
* '' Prōtospatharios'' () – "first ''spatharios''". As its name signifies, it originally was the title borne by the leader of the ''spatharioi'' ("swordbearers," the Emperor's bodyguards.) For instance, in the 6th century Narses bore this title. It later became one of the most common high court titles, awarded to senior officials such as the ''logothetai'', the commanders of the imperial '' tagmata'' or the ''strategoi'' in charge of a theme. The title of ''prōtospatharios'' also signified admittance to the Senate. The office survived until the Palaiologan period, but had declined to the 35th place of the hierarchy.
* '' Dishypatos'' () – "twice consul". A very rare dignity, which originated possibly in the 8th century.Bury (1911), p. 27
* ''Spatharokandidatos'' () – a portmanteau

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