The ''kritai katholikoi tōn Rhomaiōn'' ( el, κριταὶ καθολικοὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων, "universal judges of the Romans") were a supreme court during the late

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 ...

History

The court had its antecedent in a tribunal of 12 judges, composed of both secular (

senatorial A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...

) judges and of ecclesiastical members, created by

Andronikos II Palaiologos , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novembe ...

() in 1296. It functioned as a supreme court, and there was no

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

from its decisions. The tribunal was reduced to four members, at least one of whom had to be a bishop, by

Andronikos III Palaiologos , image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg , caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek. , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341 , coronation = ...

() in 1329, and received the name "''kritai katholikoi''". According to

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Μανουὴλ Παλαιολόγος, Manouēl Palaiológos; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the na ...

(), they had authority over all matters; received only written complaints; conducted the hearings, including expert testimony where deemed necessary; and deliberated in seclusion, with the judgement resulting from the majority of opinions. The first four judges were Joseph, Bishop of Apros, Gregory Kleidas, an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

and '' dikaiophylax'', the '' megas dioiketes'' Glabas, and Nicholas Matarangos, probably a scholar. They served until a major corruption scandal in 1336/7, of which the first three were found guilty. Besides the original tribunal resident in the capital

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 (" ...

, similar boards of judges appeared in the course of the 14th century in the Byzantine territories of the Despotate of the Morea, in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, and Lemnos, as well as in the Byzantine-influenced Serbian Empire and the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...

History

See also

References

Sources

Further reading