Hikanatoi

The ''Hikanatoi'' ( gr, Ἱκανάτοι, 3=The Able Ones), sometimes Latinized as ''Hicanati'', were one of the Byzantine '' tagmata'', the elite guard units based near the imperial capital of Constantinople. Founded in the early 9th century, it survived until the late 11th century.

History

The exact date of the unit's establishment is uncertain: the ''Vita Ignatii'', a hagiographic account of the life of Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, records that the unit was said to have been established by Emperor Nikephoros I (). A brief notice in the '' Chronicle of 811'' fragment also records that in his ninth regnal year (which began on 1 November 810) Nikephoros I, in preparation for a campaign against the Bulgars, created a bodyguard for his son and heir Staurakios, recruiting into it the sons of the aristocracy. This date is generally accepted, although sigillographic evidence as to its establishment is vague, and could support a late 8th-century establishment. According to the ''Vita'', Niketas, the grandson of Nikephoros and future patriarch Ignatius, was appointed as the regiment's first commander.

The name of the unit derives from the Greek word , "able", and the Latin ending ''-atus''. The unit is well attested in the 9th through 10th centuries. The first battle the unit participated in was the disastrous Battle of Pliska on 26 July 811 against the Bulgars, where Emperor Nikephoros I was killed. The unit is often recorded under Basil I the Macedonian (), and participated in another defeat against the Bulgars, at the Battle of Acheloos in 917. In the Cretan expedition of 949, 456 soldiers of the unit from Bithynia, as well as an unspecified number of members garrisoned in the European themes of Thrace and Macedonia took part. The unit's continued existence in the 11th century can not be safely attested, as the few occurrences are either modern emendations or may refer to a family name "Hikanatos". Like most of the ''tagmata'', it probably ceased to exist sometime in the latter half of the 11th century.

Structure

According to John Haldon, the ''Hikanatoi'' were apparently modelled on the ''tagma'' of the '' Vigla''. The regiment was headed by a ''domestikos'' (, ''domestikos tōn Hikanatōn''), usually with the court rank of '' prōtospatharios'', although they could theoretically advance to the ranks of ''patrikios'' and ''anthypatos patrikios''.

His chief subordinate was the '' topotērētēs'' ("lieutenant"), of ''spatharokandidatos'' or ''spatharios'' rank, while the rest of the unit's officials were below the rank of ''spatharios''. Following the pattern of the ''Vigla'', there were a ''chartoularios'' (financial official), a number of ''komētes'' ("counts") and their subordinate '' kentarchoi'' commanding the ''banda'' into which the unit was divided, a '' prōtomandatōr'' (head messenger), and three classes of standard-bearers: the ''bandophoroi'', ''sēmeiophoroi'' and ''doukiniatores''.

As with the other ''tagmata'', the exact size of the unit and its subdivisions is a matter of debate, since it is chiefly based on Arab accounts, whose accuracy and veracity is open to question. Warren Treadgold, who accepts the Arab figures as accurate, considers the ''tagmata'' to have had a standard size of 4,000 men each, while Haldon, who considers their numbers inflated, considers a total of 4,000 for all ''tagmata'' more plausible. The lists of the Cretan expedition of 949, included in the ''De Ceremoniis'' of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (), include mention of 456 ''Hikanatoi'', but it is unclear what part of the unit's strength they represent.

Known commanders

* Niketas Rhangabe (the future Patriarch Ignatios),
* Peter, ''patrikios'' and previously '' domestikos tōn scholōn'', he served ''domestikos tōn hikanatōn'' under Nikephoros I and was captured at Pliska, later became a monk and saint
* Orestes, ''prōtospatharios'', attended the 869 Church council in Constantinople
* Nikephoros Tzourakes, ''prōtospatharios'', mid-9th/10th century, known only from his seal
* John Kourkouas (grandfather of the namesake 10th-century general), rebelled against Basil I
* Bardas, ''basilikos spatharios'', 9th century, known only from his seal
* Michael, ''basilikos prōtospatharios'', 9th century, known only from his seal
* Theoktistos or Theognostos, ''basilikos spatharios'', 9th century, known only from his seals; based on a better exemplar he may have actually been ''domestikos'' of the ''Optimatoi'' rather than of the ''Hikanatoi''
* Pankratoukas, under Leo VI the Wise ()
* Olbianos Maroules, commanded the regiment at Acheloos in 917
* Constantine Barymichael, defected from Leo Phokas the Elder to Romanos Lekapenos during their rivalry for the throne in 919
* John, ''basilikos prōtospatharios'', 9th/10th century, known only from his seal
* Leo, ''basilikos prōtospatharios'', late 9th/early 10th century, known only from his seal
* Constantine, ''basilikos prōtospatharios'', 10th century, known only from his seal
* Leo Sarakenopoulos, before 971
* Theodore, ''basilikos prōtospatharios'', 10th century, known only from his seal

References

Sources

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Further reading

*{{cite journal, last=Treadgold, first=Warren T., title=Notes on the Numbers and Organisation of the Ninth-Century Byzantine Army, journal=Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, volume=21, year=1980, location=Oxford, United Kingdom , pages=269–288

Cavalry units and formations
800s establishments in the Byzantine Empire
809 establishments
11th-century disestablishments in the Byzantine Empire
Guards units of the Byzantine Empire
Military units and formations established in the 9th century