The ( el, κανίκλειος), more formally or ( el, �αρτουλάριοςἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου) was one of the most senior offices 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 chancery.. Its holder was the keeper of the imperial inkstand, the ''kanikleion'', which was shaped as a little dog ( la, canicula) and contained the scarlet ink with which the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...

signed state documents. The office first appears in the 9th century, and was usually held in tandem with other government offices. In the '' Kletorologion'' of 899 it is ranked among the "special dignities" (, ), following the ''

synkellos ''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major import ...

'' and preceding the '' protostrator''. In the overall order of precedence, he ranked behind the '' chartoularios tou vestiariou'' and before the ''protostrator'', and is recorded as usually holding the rank of '' protospatharios''. His proximity to the imperial person and the nature of his task made the very influential, especially in formulating imperial

chrysobull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most notably by the Holy Roman Emperors. The term was originally coined for the golden seal (a '' bul ...

s. The office was often given to trusted aides by the emperors, who functioned as effective chief ministers: most notably Theoktistos under

Michael III Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...

(),

Nikephoros Ouranos Nikephoros Ouranos ( el, Νικηφόρος Οὐρανός; fl. c. 980 – c. 1010), Latinized as Nicephorus Uranus, was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). One of the emperor's clo ...

in the early reign of

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

(), the powerful

Theodore Styppeiotes Theodore Styppeiotes or Stypeiotes ( gr, Θεόδωρος Στυπ ��ιώτης, Theodōros Styp iōtēs) was a high-ranking bureaucrat of the Byzantine Empire and a member of the court of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (). A well-educated and capable ma ...

under

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...

(),

Nikephoros Alyates Nicephorus, Nikephoros, or Nikiforos ( el, Νικηφόρος) is a Greek male name, meaning "Bringer of Victory", which was commonly used among the Byzantine Empire's aristocracy. It may refer to: People Rulers * Nikephoros I Logothetes, Byzanti ...

under John III Vatatzes () and Michael VIII (), and the scholar

Nikephoros Choumnos Nikephoros Choumnos ( el, , 1250/55 – 1327) was a Byzantine scholar and official of the early Palaiologan period, one of the most important figures in the flowering of arts and letters of the so-called "Palaiologan Renaissance". He is notable ...

, who also held the post of prime minister ('' mesazōn''), under Andronikos II Palaiologos (). The last recorded holder of this office was Alexios Palaiologos Tzamplakon . In

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 (" ...

, there also was a quarter on the shore of the Golden Horn named ''ta Kanikleiou'', which took its name from the palatial residence built there by Theoktistos.

References

Sources

* * * * * *{{cite book, last=Talbot, first=Alice-Mary, author-link=Alice-Mary Talbot, title=Byzantine Defenders of Images: Eight Saints' Lives in English Translation, location=Washington, DC, publisher=Dumbarton Oaks , year=1998 , isbn=978-0-88402-259-6 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1xz0YkiFi4C Byzantine palace offices