Theophilos Erotikos ( gr, Θεόφιλος Ἐρωτικός, ) was a 10th-century

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 ...

jurist and official.

Life

His origin and family are unknown, except that he was a relative by marriage of a certain ''

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 ...

'' Nikephoros, who was appointed by

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

(r. 945–959) as teacher of

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

at the

University of Constantinople The Imperial University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the Palace Hall of Magnaura ( el, Πανδιδακτήριον τῆς Μαγναύρας), was an Eastern Roman educational institution that could trace its corporat ...

. He is first mentioned in 945 as the

Eparch of Constantinople The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

, having evidently occupied the office already under

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

(r. 920–944). In the aftermath of an earthquake in 945/6 he was charged with caring for the citizens whose homes were destroyed, but his officials, especially a certain Zonaras, wasted the allocated funds. Nevertheless, soon after (before March 947), he was promoted successively to the senior legal office of ''

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

'' and the rank of ''patrikios''. He was generally recognized as an excellent

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and administrator. As ''quaestor'', he was possibly the successor of the ''

magistros 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 ...

'' Kosmas. The date of his death is unknown, however he is mentioned as being dead in a law of 961. He was succeeded in his office as ''quaestor'' by

Theodore Dekapolites Theodore of Dekapolis or Theodore Dekapolites ( el, Θεόδωρος ὁ Δεκαπολίτης, ) was a 10th-century Byzantine jurist and official. He is best known from the pieces of agrarian legislation that he composed. Life His origin and f ...

. He may have been a maternal ancestor of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, founder of the

Komnenian 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� ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erotikos, Theophilos 10th-century deaths 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine officials Patricii Urban prefects of Constantinople Byzantine jurists Year of birth unknown 10th-century jurists