The ''Droungarios'' of the Watch ( el, δρουγγάριος τῆς βίγλης/βίγλας, ''
droungarios
A ''droungarios'', also spelled ''drungarios'' ( el, δρουγγάριος, la, drungarius) and sometimes anglicized as Drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine empires, signifying the commander of a formation known as ''drou ...
tēs viglēs/viglas''), sometimes
anglicized
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as "Drungary of the Watch", was originally a senior
Byzantine
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 Constantinopl ...
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
The Byzantine 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 recapture from the Latin Empire, founded ...
, until the very
end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century.
Military office
The ''Droungarios'' of the Watch was originally the commander of the ''
Vigla'' ("guard watch") or ''Arithmos'' ("number"), the third of the ''
tagmata'', professional cavalry regiments headquartered in and around
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, and distinct from the provincial or
thematic troops. The title of ''droungarios'' itself means "commander of a ''
droungos ''Droungos'' (Greek: , sometimes δρόγγος, ''drongos'') or ''drungus'' is a late Roman and Byzantine term for a battalion-sized military unit, and later for a local command guarding mountain districts. Its commander was a "" or "" (δρουγ ...
''", a term of
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...
origin which came to be used as a term for a kind of tactical cavalry formation in the
East Roman army
The Eastern Roman army refers to the army of the eastern section of the Roman Empire, from the empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7 ...
of
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
. The term ''droungarios'' (Greek: δρουγγάριος) is not documented before the early 7th century but might have been used as an informal or unofficial designation before that date. The office and the corresponding unit appear to have initially referred to ''
ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
'' arrangements, but during the early 7th century these were formalized, like much of the East Roman army's rank structure.
Judging from the unit's name and the peculiar titles of its officers, it also had a considerable ancestry, dating back to the East Roman army, but it is unknown exactly when it was constituted as a ''tagma''. The office of the ''Droungarios'' of the Watch at any rate is first attested , when
Alexios Mosele is recorded as "''
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 ho ...
'' and ''droungarios'' of the Watch". In contrast to the other ''tagmata'', the Watch and its commanders had special duties related to the safety of the Emperor and the imperial palace. Within Constantinople, the Watch provided guards for the
palace precinct, and kept a permanent garrison at the
Covered Hippodrome
The Covered Hippodrome ( el, ) was a covered courtyard that served as an antechamber to the Great Palace of Constantinople in Istanbul, Turkey. The French scholar Rodolphe Guilland also equated it with the emperors' private hippodrome. It lay on t ...
(which was also the ''droungarios''s seat).
As detailed in the ''
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 th ...
'', the ''Droungarios'' of the Watch always accompanied the Emperor and was a frequent participant in various imperial ceremonies, often accompanied by his principal aide, the ''
akolouthos
''Akolouthos'' ( gr, ἀκόλουθος, , follower, attendant) was a Byzantine office with varying functions over time. Originally a subaltern officer of the imperial guard regiment ('' tagma'') of the '' Vigla'', it was associated with the comm ...
''. His ceremonial dress is indicated as the ''
skaramangion'' tunic and a red ''
sagion
The sagum was a garment of note generally worn by members of the Roman military during both the Republic and early Empire. Regarded symbolically as one of war by the same tradition which embraced the toga as a garment of peace,{{cite encyclopedia ...
'' cloak, while on some occasions he bore a sword, a
mace and an axe. The latter weapon was highly unusual for a Byzantine officer, and the French scholar
Rodolphe Guilland Rodolphe Joseph Guilland (Lons-le-Saunier, 1888 – Saint-Marcellin, Isère, 5 October 1981) was a French Byzantinist.
Life
Born in 1888, he completed his thesis on Nikephoros Gregoras (a biography in 1926, and his edited correspondence in 1927), a ...
suggests that this was connected to his command of foreign troops via the ''akolouthos'' (who later notably became the commander of the axe-bearing
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...
). In the 10th century, when several holders of the post were scions of the most prominent families of the military aristocracy, including
Eustathios Argyros,
John Kourkouas
John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas, ), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the Ea ...
and
Manuel Kourtikes Manuel Kourtikes or Kourtikios () was a Byzantine official and military commander in the 940s.
Biography
The Kourtikios or Kourtikes family was Armenian in origin and entered Byzantine service under Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), when its ...
, the ''droungarios'' occupied the 36th place in the imperial hierarchy and usually held the senior court dignities of ''
anthypatos ''Anthypatos'' ( gr, ἀνθύπατος) is the translation in Greek of the Latin ''proconsul''. In the Greek-speaking East, it was used to denote this office in Roman and early Byzantine times, surviving as an administrative office until the 9th ...
'', ''
patrikios
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
'' or ''
prōtospatharios''.
List of known holders
:''Note: the list does not include holders known only through their seals but otherwise unidentified, or anonymous holders.''
Judicial office
In , the office changed from military to purely judicial, and was further distinguished by acquiring the epithet "Grand" (''megas'') in the 1070s. It seems that the ''droungarios'' took over the Court of the Hippodrome, extant since the mid-9th century and so known after its location in the Covered Hippodrome (or, according to an alternative interpretation, in the substructures of the main
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...
). This was followed by the creation of new courts and the restructuring of the Byzantine judicial system, so that in the
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, Jo ...
(1081–1185), the Court of the Hippodrome or "Court of the ''Droungarios''" (τὸ δρουγγαρικὸν δικαστήριον, ''to droungarikon dikastērion'') was one of the seven superior civil courts, alongside those of the
Eparch of the City, the ''
dikaiodotēs'', the ''
koiaistōr'', the ''
epi tōn kriseōn'', the ''
prōtasēkrētis'' and the ''katholikos'', who headed the court for fiscal affairs (''dēmosiaka pragmata''). The ''droungarios'' also served as an
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
for the decisions of the ''epi tōn kriseōn''. The holders of the post belonged to some of the most distinguished families of the civil aristocracy, including such men as
Eustathios Rhomaios Eustathios Rhomaios ( el, Εὐστάθιος Ῥωμαῖος; ) was a senior judge and writer on law of the Byzantine Empire.
Rhomaios followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, becoming a judge at the imperial court. Over the course of his ca ...
,
John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...
and
Andronikos Kamateros Andronikos Doukas Kamateros ( el, ) was a Byzantine aristocrat, senior official under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and theologian, best known for his theological treatise ''Sacred Arsenal''.
Family and career
Born probably around 1110, Andronikos Ka ...
.
List of known holders
:''Note: the list does not include holders known only through their seals but otherwise unidentified, or anonymous holders.''
Palaiologan era
Following the
sack of Constantinople by the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
in 1204, the office's continuity was broken, and when it reappears in the sources of the
Palaiologan period
The Byzantine 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 recapture from the Latin Empire, founded ...
, it had lost any judicial functions and resembled more its original military character: according to 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 Byzantine literature.
Their attribution to him is mere ...
, the Grand ''Droungarios'' of the Watch was a subordinate of the
Grand Domestic
The title of grand domestic ( grc-gre, μέγας δομέστικος, ''mégas doméstikos'') was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earl ...
, charged with the night watch and with supervising the army's scouts. In reality, however, it had become more of a
sinecure
A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...
and was essentially a court dignity devoid of any but ceremonial duties.
In Pseudo-Kodinos' work, the Grand ''Droungarios'' of the Watch ranks 24th in the imperial hierarchy, between the
Eparch
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on t ...
and the ''
megas 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 su ...
''. The Grand ''Droungarios''s distinctive court dress, as reported by Pseudo-Kodinos, consisted of a gold-brocaded hat (''skiadion''), a plain silk ''
kabbadion
The ''kabbadion'' ( el, καββάδιον) was a caftan-like garment of oriental origin which became a standard part of court costume in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire.
The first known reference to the ''kabbadion'' occurs in the ''K ...
'' tunic and a staff (''dikanikion'') with a gilded knob on top, and covered with golden-red braid below. For ceremonies and festivities, he bore the domed ''skaranikon'', of yellow and golden silk and decorated with gold wire embroidery, and with a portrait of the emperor seated on a throne in front and another with the emperor on horseback on the rear.
The dignity survived until the
end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
of the Byzantine Empire. The historian
Sphrantzes
George Sphrantzes, also Phrantzes or Phrantza ( el, Γεώργιος Σφραντζής or Φραντζής; 1401 – c. 1478), was a late Roman (Byzantine) historian and Imperial courtier. He was an attendant to Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, ''p ...
equated the
Ottoman post of
Agha of the Janissaries
The Agha of the Janissaries or Janissary Agha () was a top Ottoman military official and courtier, and the commander of the Janissary corps. Apart from the commander-general of the entire corps, the title of "Agha of the Janissaries" was also bor ...
to the Grand ''Droungarios'' of the Watch.
List of known holders
:''Note: the list does not include holders known only through their seals but otherwise unidentified, or anonymous holders.''
References
Sources
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{{Byzantine Empire topics, state=collapsed
Byzantine judicial offices
Byzantine military offices
Byzantine court titles
Lists of office-holders in the Byzantine Empire