Epi tou eidikou
The epi tou eidikou (
History and functions
The origin of the office is disputed: the department is first attested in the reign of Emperor
The eidikon fulfilled the dual function of imperial treasury and storehouse. As a treasury, it stored various precious materials such as
The department is still attested as late as 1081, but was probably abolished some time after; Rodolphe Guilland suggested that the logothesion of the oikeiakoi ('household men') took over its functions (cf. logothetes ton oikeiakon).[3][10]
Staff
As with all Byzantine department heads, the eidikos had a number of subordinate officials:
- The basilikoi notarioi (βασιλικοί νοτάριοι, 'imperial notaries'), as in all fiscal departments, usually of
- The archontes ton ergodosion (ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐργοδοσίων, 'masters of the factories') and meizoteroi ton ergodosion (μειζότεροι τῶν ἐργοδοσίων ,'overseers/foremen of the factories'). As their name indicates, they supervised individual state factories for silk, jewelry, weapons, etc. They are well attested in seals from the 7th century on, and from the 9th century on they are frequently called kouratores.[11][13][12]
- The hebdomadarioi tou eidikou (ἑβδομαδάριοι τοῦ εἰδικοῦ), palace servants.[11][12]
The seat of the eidikon was in a special building within the Great Palace of Constantinople, which tradition ascribed to Constantine the Great (r. 306–337). It was situated between the great halls of the Triconchos and the Lausiakos, near the imperial audience hall of the Chrysotriklinos.[12]
References
- ^ a b Bury 1911, p. 98.
- ^ a b Louth 2005, p. 305.
- ^ a b c d e f ODB, "Eidikon" (A. Kazhdan), p. 681.
- ^ Guilland 1971, pp. 85–95.
- ^ Guilland 1971, pp. 85ff., esp. 89.
- ^ Bury 1911, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Guilland 1971, p. 89.
- ^ a b Bury 1911, p. 99.
- ^ Guilland 1971, p. 91.
- ^ Guilland 1971, pp. 95–96.
- ^ a b c Bury 1911, p. 100.
- ^ a b c d Guilland 1971, p. 94.
- ^ ODB, "Archontes ton ergodosion" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 160–161.
Sources
- Bury, John Bagnell (1911). The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century - With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos. London: Oxford University Press.
- .
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Louth, Andrew (2005). "The Byzantine Empire in the Seventh Century". In ISBN 978-1-13905393-8.