Vigla (tagma)

The ''Vigla'' ( gr, Βίγλα, "guard watch", from la, vigilia), also known as the ''Arithmos'' ( gr, Ἀριθμός, "Number") and in English as the Watch, was one of the elite '' tagmata'' of the Byzantine army. It was established in the latter half of the 8th century, and survived until the late 11th century. Along with the ''Noumeroi'' regiment, the ''Vigla'' formed the guard of the imperial palace in Constantinople, and was responsible for the Byzantine emperor's safety on expeditions.

History and functions

The ''Vigla'' or ''Arithmos'' was the third of the imperial ''tagmata'' to be established, with its commander attested for the first time in 791.. Both names derive from the Latin terminology of the Late Roman army: the term ''vigilia'' was applied from the 4th century onto any kind of guard detachment, while ''arithmos'' is the Greek translation of the Latin '' numerus'', both titles being used in a generic sense for "regiment". In literary sources, ''Vigla'' is more commonly used than ''Arithmos'', and is also the title used in the seals of its commanders.

Its exact date of creation is contested among modern historians of the Byzantine army: Byzantinist John Haldon considers that the ''Vigla'' was established as a ''tagma'' by the Empress Irene in the 780s out of a provincial brigade, but Warren Treadgold supports its creation along with the first two ''tagmata'', the ''Scholai'' ("Schools") and ''Exkoubitoi'' ("Excubitors"), by Emperor Constantine V () in the mid-8th century. If the former hypothesis is true, then the establishment of the ''Vigla'' by Irene may have been intended to counterbalance the two older ''tagmata'', which remained loyal to iconoclasm and resented Irene's iconophile policies. The provincial parent unit, in turn, appears to have been of considerable ancestry: the presence of archaic Late Roman titles for its officers points to an origin, possibly as a cavalry vexillation, in the old East Roman army before the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. John B. Bury has traced a hypothetical lineage to the early 5th-century '' vexillationes palatinae'' of the ''Comites Arcadiaci'', the ''Comites Honoriaci'' and the ''Equites Theodosiaci''.

As the name indicates, the ''Vigla'' was tasked with guard duties, both in the imperial palace and on campaign. Unlike the other cavalry ''tagmata'', which were mostly garrisoned outside Constantinople in Thrace and Bithynia, the ''Vigla'' had a significant presence in the capital. There, its task was guarding the imperial palace, along with the less prestigious infantry ''tagmata'' of the ''Noumeroi'' (responsible also for the palace prisons) and the ''Teicheiōtai'' (guarding the city walls). More specifically, within Constantinople, the ''Vigla'' guarded the most exposed western, city-ward perimeter of the palace precinct, and kept a permanent garrison at the Covered Hippodrome, which was left in place even when the rest of the unit was on campaign, and secured the safety of the emperor while he was outside the Palace. As the regimental commander, the ''droungarios tēs viglas'' () was always in attendance to the emperor, the ''Vigla'' could go on campaign without him, in which case it came under the orders of the Domestic of the Schools. On expeditions led by the emperor himself, the ''droungarios'' was responsible for the safety of the camp and especially the night watch, relaying the emperor's orders, the advance, rear and flank guards during marches, and guarding prisoners of war.

In comparison to the other three "classical" ''tagmata'' of the ''Scholai'', ''Exkoubitoi'', and ''Hikanatoi'', the ''Vigla'' is mentioned infrequently in the historical sources of the 9th–10th centuries. This is possibly due to the peculiar duties and role of the regiment on campaign, as it was responsible for the internal security of the imperial camp, rather than a battle-line formation; the regiment may also have been numerically much smaller than the other ''tagmata''. Members of the unit are recorded as participating in a campaign to southern Italy in 935 and in the Cretan expedition of 949, but the sources are silent about its subsequent history and eventual disbandment.

Organisation

As with the other ''tagmata'', the issue of the unit's size is a matter of controversy. Warren Treadgold considers the ''tagmata'' to have numbered a standard 4,000 men each, while other scholars, notably John Haldon, argue in favour of a much lower size of men. The structure of the imperial ''tagmata'', however, was uniform and is well-attested, with minor variations, mostly in titulature, reflecting the different origins of the units.

Uniquely among the ''tagmata'', and perhaps a reflection of its ancestry, since it was more common in the 6th century, the commander of the ''Vigla'' bore the title of ''droungarios'', in English sometimes rendered as "Drungary of the Watch". The first known holder of the office was Alexios Mosele in 791. Due to his proximity to the emperor, the ''droungarios'' was usually a close and trusted aide, as well as one of the senior military officers of the state. In the 10th century, the office was given to some of the most distinguished scions of the Byzantine military aristocracy, but from circa 1030 on, it was transformed into a civil office with judicial responsibilities. In this capacity, it survived well beyond the regiment's demise and unto the end of the Palaiologan period.

Under the ''droungarios'' were one or two ''topotērētai'' (sing. '' topotērētēs'', τοποτηρητής, lit. "placeholder, lieutenant"), a ''chartoularios'' () as head of the commander's secretariat, and the ''akolouthos'', a title unique to the ''Vigla'' but corresponding to similar subaltern officers, the ''proximos'' of the ''Scholai'' and the '' prōtomandatōr'' of the ''Exkoubitoi''.; ; . The unit was divided into twenty ''banda'' (sing. '' bandon'', βάνδον, from la, bandum, "banner"), each of theoretically 50 men, commanded by a '' komēs'' (, "count f the ''arithmos''). In turn, each of these commanded five ''kentarchoi'' (sing. ''kentarchos'', κένταρχος, "centurion").

Among the lower ranks within each ''tagma'' were two further classes of subaltern officers, the ''bandophoroi'' (βανδοφόροι, "banner-bearers") and the ''mandatores'' (μανδάτορες, "messengers"). Each ''tagma'' numbered forty of the ''bandophoroi'', divided into four different classes of ten, with differing titles in each unit. For the ''Vigla'' in particular, these titles can be traced to the standard Roman cavalry ranks of the 5th–6th centuries. These were: the ''bandophoroi'', the ''labourisioi'' (λαβουρίσιοι, a corruption of 6th-century ''labarēsioi'', "carriers of the ''labarum''"), the ''sēmeiophoroi'' (σημειοφόροι, "bearers of an insigne", cf. the Late Roman ''semafori''), and the ''doukiniatores'' (δουκινιάτορες, again a corruption of the Latin ''ducenarii'' of the Late Roman military). The ''Vigla'' also was unique in having several ranks of messengers: along with the ordinary ''mandatores'' present in the other units, it included ''legatarioi'' (λεγατάριοι, "legatees"), ''thyrōroi'' (θυρωροί, "doorkeepers"), ''skoutarioi'' (σκουτάριοι, "shield-bearers") and ''diatrechontes'' (διατρέχοντες, "runners"). Only a handful of subaltern officers of the ''Vigla'' are known, from their lead seals of office.

References

Sources

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Military units and formations established in the 8th century
Cavalry units and formations
Guards units of the Byzantine Empire