''Exousiastes'' ( el, εξουσιαστής, literally, "one who executes authority") was a

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

applied in the

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 ...

to some sovereign foreign rulers, considered higher in rank than an ordinary

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

. The term was in currency in the 10th and 11th centuries because, at that time, the term ''

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

'' ("king") was reserved for the Byzantine monarch only. A chapter from ''

De Ceremoniis The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...

'' of

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 ...

(), a Byzantine book of court protocols, lists a "renowned ''exousiastes'' of

Abasgia Abasgia may refer to: *Region inhabited by ancient Abasgoi tribes *Kingdom of Abkhazia, 778–1008 *Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, wa ...

" and a "most respected and noble ''exousiastes'' of the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

". The ruler of

Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans (proto-Ossetians) that flourished in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia–Alania, from its independence from th ...

is afforded a variant title, ''exousiokrator''. The address ''exousiastes'' of Abasgia is also found multiple times in ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'' of Constantine VII and the correspondence of

Nicholas I Mystikos Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus ( el, Νικόλαος Α΄ Μυστικός, ''Nikolaos I Mystikos''; 852 – 11 May 925) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 907 and from May 912 to his death ...

. Further, examples of occasional usage of the term include "''exousiastes'' of Babylon" for the Caliph of Baghdad by

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

, "Pankratios, ''exousiastes'' of Abasgia" for

Bagrat IV of Georgia Bagrat IV ( ka, ბაგრატ IV; 101824 November 1072), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereign ...

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

, also for

Simeon I of Bulgaria Tsar Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great ( cu, цѣсар҄ь Сѷмеѡ́нъ А҃ Вели́къ, cěsarĭ Sỳmeonŭ prĭvŭ Velikŭ bg, цар Симеон I Велики, Simeon I Veliki el, Συμεών Αʹ ὁ Μέγας, Sumeṓn prôto ...

in the letters of

Theodore Daphnopates Theodore Daphnopates ( el, Θεόδωρος Δαφνοπάτης) was a senior Byzantine official and author. He served as imperial secretary, and possibly ''protasekretis'', under three emperors, Romanos I Lekapenos, Constantine VII Porphyrogennet ...

, "Constantine, ''exousiastes'' of Diokleia and Serbia" on a seal belonging to

Constantine Bodin Constantine Bodin ( Bulgarian and sr, italic=no, Константин Бодин, ''Konstantin Bodin''; 1072–1101) was a medieval king and the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from 1081 to 1101, succee ...

Duklja Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Ri ...

, and "Theophobos, ''exousiastes'' of Persians" on a seal of the

Khurramite The Khurramites ( fa, خرمدینان ''Khorram-Dīnân'', meaning "those of the Joyful Religion") were an IranianW. Madelung, "Khurrammiya" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianchi, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P ...

leader

Theophobos Theophobos ( el, Θεόφοβος) or Theophobus, originally Nasir (), Nasr (), or Nusayr (), was an Iranian commander of the Khurramites who converted to Christianity and entered Byzantine service under Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–843). Raised t ...

References

{{reflist Byzantine titles and offices Greek words and phrases Foreign relations of the Byzantine Empire

See also

References