The ''dynatoi'' ( el, δυνατοί, sing. Δυνατός, ''Dynatos'' "the powerful") was a legal term in the

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 Constantinopl ...

, denoting the senior levels of civil, military and ecclesiastic (including monastic) officialdom, who usually, but not always, also commanded considerable fortunes and landed estates. Although such positions were not usually hereditary, by the late 10th and early 11th centuries they had started to become monopolized by a limited number of families who by the mid-11th century formed a hereditary aristocracy. Although the exact composition of the ''dynatoi'' class has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate (cf. Lemerle), in economic terms, it encompassed the wealthy land-owners as opposed to the middling and small landowners, the ''penetes'' (πένητες). The former were usually members of military families, who had been able to use their influence to grab up the extensive lands that had been abandoned, especially in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, as the result of the invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries. As the Empire's military position recovered from the 9th century on, these lands became profitable again, and major provincial magnate families began to appear. Among the main examples are the

Phokades Phokas ( grc-gre, Φωκᾶς, ''Phōkâs'') or Phocas (from Latin), feminine form Phokaina or Phocaina (, ''Phṓkaina''), was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high- ...

and the

Maleinoi Maleinos ( el, Μαλεΐνος) was the surname of a Byzantine Greek family, first attested in the 9th century, which rose to be amongst the most important and powerful members of the Anatolian aristocracy (the '' dynatoi'') in the 10th century, ...

, who almost monopolized the senior administrative and military posts in Asia Minor in the early and middle 10th century. The ''dynatoi'' were able to use their political and financial strength to enrich themselves at the expense of the ''penetes'', who had hitherto formed the main pillar of Byzantine society and economy. Consequently, several emperors from

Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine ...

(

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

ed 920–944) to

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

(r. 976–1025) enacted agrarian legislation to combat the activities of the ''dynatoi'', and to prevent their acquisition of the ''

stratiotika ktemata ''Strateia'' ( el, στρατεία) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire, which according to the ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' "signified enrollment into state (civil or military) or ecclesiastical service and the attendant obligations". Th ...

'', the military lands allocated to the maintenance of the thematic armies. Basil II in particular showed care to check the ''dynatoi'' through the imposition of the ''

allelengyon The ''allelengyon'' ( gr, ἀλληλέγγυον) was a tax established in 1002 by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, requiring the wealthiest landowners to pay the tax debts owed by their poorer neighbours. It relied on a concept long extant in Helle ...

'' ("mutual guarantee") tax, making them liable to pay the taxes of their poorer neighbours. In the event, these efforts failed due to the rise of the provincial aristocracy, represented by the

Komnenos dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

, to power: in the 12th century, large ''

latifundia A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious" and ''fundus'', "farm, estate") is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, o ...

'' spread throughout the countryside at the expense of smaller communities. The influence of the ''dynatoi'' reached its apogee in 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 ...

(1261–1453), and was marked by a concomitant decline in the authority of the central state government.

Notes

Bibliography

* *, esp. pp. 1074–82, 1087–1091 * * * * * * {{citation , last = Toynbee , first = Arnold , author-link = Arnold J. Toynbee , chapter = The Encroachments of the Δυνατοί on the Land-holdings of the Πένητες and the Emperors' Agrarian Legislation , title = Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World , year = 1973 , publisher = Oxford University Press , isbn = 0-19-215253-X , pages = 145–176 Economy of the Byzantine Empire Greek words and phrases Society of the Byzantine Empire