''Silentiarius'',

Hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...

to ''silentiarios'' ( el, σιλεντιάριος) and Anglicized to silentiary, was the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

title given to a class of courtiers in the

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 ...

imperial court, responsible for order and silence ( la, silentium) in the Great Palace of Constantinople. In the middle Byzantine period (8th–11th centuries), it was transformed into an honorific court title.

History and functions

An imperial edict dated to 326 or 328 provides the earliest attestation of the title.. The ''

schola Scholae ( el, Σχολαί) is a Latin word, literally meaning "schools" (from the singular ''schola'', ''school'' or ''group'') that was used in the late Roman Empire to signify a unit of Imperial Guards. The unit survived in the Byzantine Empire ...

'' of the ''silentiarii'' was supervised by the '' praepositus sacri cubiculi'' and its members belonged to the jurisdiction of the ''

magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centu ...

''. Their function in the palace was to keep order during imperial audiences and to call the meeting of the emperor's privy council, the '' consistorium'' (an act called "''silentium nuntiare''").. Four ''silentiarii'' were detailed to the service of the empress. The ''silentiarii'' were chosen from the senatorial class, but freed from the usual obligations of this class. A class of honorary ''silentiarii'', admittance into which could be purchased, also existed. By 437, the size of the actual ''schola'' had been set to thirty, with three '' decuriones'' ( el, δεκουρίωνες) placed in charge of it. Although initially low-ranking, their proximity to the imperial person occasioned the elevation of the ordinary members to the rank of ''

vir spectabilis The title ''vir illustris'' ('illustrious man') is used as a formal indication of standing in late antiquity to describe the highest ranks within the senates of Ancient Rome, Rome and Constantinople. All senators had the title ''vir clarissimus'' ...

'' in the 5th century and of the ''decuriones'' further to the rank of '' vir illustris'' in the 6th century. After the 6th century, the post became purely ceremonial. The title survived into the lists of offices of the 9th and 10th centuries as the second-lowest among the honorific dignities reserved for the "bearded men" (i.e. non-

eunuchs A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

). According to the ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos, their distinctive badge of office was a gold staff.

Peter the Patrician Peter the Patrician ( la, Petrus Patricius, el, , ''Petros ho Patrikios''; –565) was a senior Byzantine official, diplomat, and historian. A well-educated and successful lawyer, he was repeatedly sent as envoy to Ostrogothic Italy in the pr ...

records how the emperor himself would conduct the ceremony of their investiture with the staff. The last attested occurrence of the title is during the reign of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969), and like most of the middle Byzantine titles, it seems to have disappeared sometime in the 11th–12th centuries.

Notable ''silentiarii''

*Emperor Anastasius I (r. 491–518) was a ''decurio'' of the ''silentiarii'' before his accession to the throne. *

Paul the Silentiary Paul the Silentiary, also known as Paulus Silentiarius ( el, , died AD 575–580), was a Greek Byzantine poet and courtier to the emperor Justinian at Constantinople. Life What little we know of Paul's life comes largely from the contemporary ...

, 6th-century poet in the court of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(r. 527–565). * Gubazes II, client king of Lazica (r. 541–554), by birth a half-Roman, served as a ''silentiarius'' at the time of his accession. * John the Silentiary, in 751, attempted with

Pope Stephen II Pope Stephen II ( la, Stephanus II; 714 – 26 April 757) was born a Roman aristocrat and member of the Orsini family. Stephen was the bishop of Rome from 26 March 752 to his death. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzant ...

to negotiate the release of some territories seized by the Lombard King

Aistulf Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...

.Partner, Peter (1972). ''The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance''. University of California Press, pp.18-20

References

Sources

* * {{ODB , last=Kazhdan , first=Alexander , authorlink=Alexander Kazhdan , title = Silentiarios , page = 1896 Byzantine court titles Byzantine palace offices Historical management occupations Ceremonial occupations