Excubitors
Excubitors | |
---|---|
Active | c. 460 CE – c. 1081 |
Country | Byzantine Empire |
Type | Imperial guard (mid-5th – 7th centuries), heavy cavalry (mid-8th – 11th centuries) |
Garrison/HQ | Constantinople (5th–8th centuries), Bithynia and Thrace (8th–11th centuries), provincial detachments at least in Longobardia and Hellas (10th–11th centuries) |
Engagements | Maurice's Balkan campaigns of 582-602
Battle of Acheloos, Battle of Azaz (1030), Battle of Dyrrhachium (1081) |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Justin I, Marcellus, Tiberius II Constantine, Maurice, Philippicus, Priscus, Nicetas, Valentinus, Michael II, Constantine Opos |
The Excubitors (
In the later part of the 7th century the Excubitors appear to have morphed into a parade-ground formation, and they fade from the record as a corps. Individual seals of office suggest that the title of excubitor became an honorific dignity rather than an active military appointment during the early part of the 8th century. This changed c. 760, when the Emperor
History
Early period: Imperial bodyguard
The Excubitors were founded by
The unit was headed by the count of the Excubitors (
By the late 6th century, the count of the Excubitors held the highest court ranks, of
The participation of the Excubitors in campaigns is well attested, such as in 598, when Emperor Maurice took them to defend the Anastasian Wall against the Avars.[16] They served with Heraclius (r. 610–641) against the Sasanian Persians, and c. 650 some Excubitors appear as guards to Pope Martin I.[17] During the later 7th century, like the Scholae before them, the Excubitors degenerated to a parade-ground unit that saw no active service.[18] Indeed, it appears that during the 7th and early 8th centuries, the titles of excubitor and scribon were awarded as court dignities, paralleling the development of similar formerly military titles such as candidatus. This is evidenced by a large number of seals naming individual excubitors during this time, in stark contrast to the periods before and after, when the Excubitors are attested as an active military unit. Furthermore, in many of these seals, individual excubitores—as well as scribones—are shown to have conjointly held bureaucratic offices, while at least one seal is known of a certain George, who was both excubitor and a scholarius (a member of the Scholae).[19]
Later period: Elite regiment
After being mentioned in a letter by
Nevertheless, the possibly first commander of the tagma, Strategios Podopagouros, was among the leaders of a failed plot against Constantine V's life in 765, and was executed after its discovery. This initiated a purge of the new units from suspected opponents of the Emperor's policies.[28][29] By the 780s, following years of imperial favour and military victories under Constantine V and his son Leo IV the Khazar (r. 775–780), the tagmata had become firm adherents to the iconoclast cause.[25][30] Within less than two months of Leo V's death in 780, Empress-regent Irene of Athens had to foil an attempt spearheaded by the Domestic of the Excubitors to place Constantine V's exiled second son, Nikephoros, on the throne,[31] and in 785/86 Irene forcibly disarmed them and exiled some 1,500 tagmatic soldiers due to their resistance to the restoration of the icons.[32][33][34]
At the same time, the tagmata were extensively employed in campaigns during this period: their participation is attested at least for Constantine V's 773 campaign against the Bulgars, and during the Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor in 782.[27] Indeed, the historian John Haldon remarks that the retention of the tagmata by Irene, despite their iconoclastic bias, is testament to their effectiveness as a field force.[34] The Scholae and the Excubitors nevertheless continued to play an active political role in the events of the following decades: in 792, they attempted to overthrow Irene's son, Constantine VI (r. 780–797), after the disastrous Battle of Marcellae against the Bulgars, and in 797, their support was crucial for Irene's overthrowing her own son and replacing him as sole ruler; and again, the two tagmata were crucial in the deposition of Irene herself in 802.[35]
The Excubitors took part in the disastrous
The Excubitors took part in the failed
Structure
Part of a series on the |
Byzantine army |
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Structural history |
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Campaign history |
Lists of wars, revolts and civil wars, and battles |
Strategy and tactics |
Early period
The internal structure of the regiment during its first centuries is obscure.[43] Unlike the Scholae, which comprised several sub-units garrisoned throughout Bithynia (and occasionally in Thrace) as well as Constantinople,[44] the Excubitors were a small and elite unit that served in the imperial palace itself and was intended exclusively to protect the emperor.[45] From their foundation and throughout the early period of their existence, the Excubitors numbered 300 men.[2][4] Originally recruited exclusively from Isaurians, the unit was eventually opened up to other ethnicities, but it is unclear how the new recruits were chosen.[43] Based on the retention of late antique ranks in the middle Byzantine period, the Excubitors appear to have been structured similarly to the Scholae.[46] Their arms and equipment are unknown, other than that they are recorded as carrying maces. Since they were a bodyguard unit intended to serve in the palace, they were most likely infantry.[46]
The presence of officers called scribones in the corps has been controversial:
Later period
In its later incarnation as a tagma, the regiment (often called collectively τὸ ἐξκούβιτον, to exkoubiton or τὰ ἐξκούβιτα, ta exkoubita) was structured along the same standardized lines followed by the other tagmata, with a few variations in the titles of its officers.[48][49][50]
Commander
The regimental commander, the domestic of the Excubitors (often also shortened to "the Excubitor", ὁ ἐξκουβίτωρ/ἐξκούβιτος),
The Escorial Taktikon, written c. 971/75, records the existence of a "Domestic of the Excubitors of the East" (δομέστικος τῶν ἐξκουβίτων τῆς ἀνατολῆς), and a "Domestic of the Excubitors of the West" (δομέστικος τῶν ἐξκουβίτων τῆς δύσεως), as well as a subaltern "Domestic of the Excubitors".[51] This has led to the suggestion that, probably under Romanos II (r. 959–963), the regiment, like the senior Scholae, was split in two units, one for the West and one for the East, each headed by a respective domestic.[21][54] However, unlike the Scholae, these designations no longer appear in any later source, and they may have been of brief existence.[51] The subaltern domestic of the Excubitors may either by a copyist error, or, according to Vera von Falkenhausen, indicate a subordinate official in charge of Excubitors stationed in the provinces; indeed such provincial detachments are attested, albeit only for the themes of Longobardia in southern Italy and of Hellas in Greece.[55]
Other officers
The fact that the unit did not partake in campaigns during the 7th century preserved it from the reforms that affected the field army during this period, so that the late antique terminology for its junior officers remained relatively intact.[56] The domestic was assisted by a topotērētēs (τοποτηρητής, lit. 'placeholder', 'lieutenant') and a chartoularios (χαρτουλάριος, 'secretary').[50][57] The topotērētēs was of relatively low-to-middle court rank (originally stratōr, 'groom' or spatharios, later spatharokandidatos). He may have commanded provincial detachments of the regiment, and there may have been more than one topotērētai at the same time, for each of these detachments.[57]
Based on a reference from the hagiography of St. Joannicius the Great (762–846), who was himself recruited into the regiment and served there until deserting it following the Battle of Marcellae,[58] in 773 the regiment itself was divided into at least eighteen banda, probably each commanded by a skribōn (σκρίβων), showing the retention of the role of the earlier scribones as the main subaltern officers of the regiment.[48][59][60] Each bandon was further divided into sub-units headed by a drakonarios (δρακονάριος, deriving from the late Roman draconarius). The post was originally that of a standard-bearer, but after Constantine V's reform of the unit into a tagma, the drakonarioi probably functioned as junior officers. The junior officers also included the skeuophoroi (σκευοφόροι, 'standard carriers'), signophoroi (σιγνοφόροι, i.e. signifers) and sinatores (σινάτορες, from the late Roman rank of senator, now much reduced in prominence).[61][62][63] There were also the usual messengers (μανδάτορες, mandatores) under a prōtomandatōr, some of whom were also termed legatarioi (λεγατάριοι), possibly entrusted with police duties.[61][63]
Strength
The size of the tagma of the Excubitors and its subdivisions can not be determined with certainty; as with the other tagmata, modern scholars are of differing opinions regarding its numerical strength. Drawing on the lists of officers and accounts of Arab geographers Ibn Khordadbeh and Qudamah, historian Warren Treadgold suggested an establishment strength of c. 4,000 men, which for the Scholae and the Excubitors rose to c. 6,000 with the division of the regiments in the mid-10th century.[64] Other scholars, most prominently John Haldon, based on a more conservative reading of sources, have provided estimates of around 1,000 men for each tagma.[65] For security reasons, both the Scholae and the Excubitors were scattered in garrisons in Thrace and Bithynia rather than being stationed within Constantinople, making it harder for them to be used in mounting a coup.[27][66][67]
Known commanders of the Excubitors
Name | Tenure | Notes |
---|---|---|
Counts of the Excubitors | ||
Justin I | 515–518 | Count of the Excubitors under Emperor Anastasius I, before becoming emperor. As count of the Excubitors, he took part in the suppression of the rebellion of Vitalian, leading the imperial fleet against the rebel navy.[68]
|
Priscus | 529 | A former secretary (notarius) of |
Theodore | 535–536 | As count of the Excubitors, he served with |
Marcellus | 541–552 | Count of the Excubitors, he is described by Procopius as an austere and incorruptible man, who took part in the discovery of the conspiracy of Artabanes. In 552, he was member of an embassy to Pope Vigilius.[71] |
Marinus | 561–562 | Count of the Excubitors, he was charged with suppressing racing faction violence in Constantinople, and in investigating the conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Justinian in November 562.[72] |
Tiberius II
|
565–574 | He was appointed count of the Excubitors during the reign of Justinian I, and was a protégé of Justin II. In c. 570 he led the campaign against the Pannonian Avars around Sirmium and Thrace. When Justin II became insane, as the most influential member of the court he was named Caesar and de facto regent.[73] |
Maurice | 574?–582? | A notarius of Tiberius, he was probably appointed count of the Excubitors as the latter's successor when Tiberius became Caesar. He likely held his post in tandem with the position of magister militum per Orientem (commander-in-chief of the East) against the Sasanian Empire, until he himself became Caesar in 582. By 577/78, he was also a patrikios.[74]
|
Philippicus | 582/584–603 | The husband of Maurice's sister Gordia, he was made count of the Excubitors sometime early in Maurice's reign, and held it until he retired to a monastery in 603. He also served at the same time as magister militum per Orientem against the Sasanians.[75] |
Priscus | 603?–612 | Already a distinguished general and patrikios before being appointed as count of the Excubitors, shortly after Phocas came to power. In 607 he married Asia Minor against the Sasanians, but was dismissed and forced to retire as a monk by Heraclius in December 612.[76]
|
Nicetas | 612–613 | A cousin of the Emperor Heraclius, he participated in the overthrow of Phocas and was named a patrikios. Named count of the Excubitors in succession to Priscus, he led Byzantine troops against the Sasanians around Antioch, before going to Egypt as governor.[77] |
Valentinus | 6th/7th century | Patrikios and "Count of the Imperial Exkoubiton" (komēs tou basilikou exkoubitou), known only from his seal of office.[78] |
Valentinus | 641 | An Armenian aristocrat, he enforced the coronation of |
Stephen | 7th century | "Count of the Divine Exkoubiton" (komēs tou theiou exkoubitou), known only from his seal of office.[80] |
Domestics of the Excubitors | ||
Sisinios | early 8th century | Patrikios, magistros, and domestic of the Excubitors, grandfather of Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople.[81]
|
Strategios Podopagouros | 765 | A spatharios (in one text variant patrikios) and domestic of the Excubitors (domestikos tōn ekskoubitōn [sic]), executed by Constantine V during his purge of iconophiles in 765.[82][83][84] |
Constantine | 780 | A spatharios of the vikarios and domestic of the Excubitors (domestikos tōn ekskoubitorōn [sic]), he participated in a conspiracy against Empress-regent Irene of Athens in favor of the Caesar Nikephoros, and finally was arrested and imprisoned in a monastery.[82][85][86] |
Niketas | 750/800 | Imperial prōtospatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, known only from his seal of office.[87][88][89] |
Arsaber | 750/850 | Imperial prōtospatharios and "Domestic of the Exkoubiton" (domestikos tou exkoubitou), known only from his seal of office.[87][88] |
Anonymous | 811 | "Domestic of the Exkoubiton" (domestikos tou ekskoubitou [sic]), he was killed at the Battle of Pliska.[90] |
Michael II | 813–? | The future emperor Michael II was appointed to the post of exkoubitos by Leo V in 813, and held it for a number of years.[82][88][91] |
Anonymous | 829/842 | Exkoubitos and simultaneously dēmokratēs of the racing faction of the Greens, under Emperor Theophilos.[92] |
Constantine | c. 842 | An Armenian, he commanded the tagma in 842.[92] |
Leo | 869 | Patrikios and domestic of the Excubitors, he is recorded among the attendants at the 869 Church council in Constantinople.[92][93] |
Ashot | 896 | An Armenian nobleman, he was regimental commander (exarchōn) and fell at the Battle of Boulgarophygon in 896.[92] |
Paul | 9th century | Imperial prōtospatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, known only from his seal of office.[87][88][94] |
Sergios | 9th century | Patrikios, imperial prōtospatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, known only from his seal of office.[87][88] |
Symbatios | 850/900 | Patrikios, imperial prōtospatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, known only from his seal of office. Possibly to be identified with Symbatios the Armenian (fl. 860s).[87][88][95] |
Theophilos | 9th century | Imperial prōtospatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, known only from his seal of office.[87][88] |
Aetios | late 9th/early 10th century | Imperial prōtospatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, known only from his seal of office. Potentially identical with a namesake droungarios of the Vigla of the same name.[96]
|
John Grapson | 917 | He commanded the regiment and was killed at the Battle of Acheloos in 917. His father Maroules had been Domestic of the tagma of the Hikanatoi. John Skylitzes describes him as a valiant and distinguished warrior.[92][93][97]
|
Anonymous | 949 | Referred to simply as "the exkoubitor", he participated with over 700 men and his topotērētēs in the failed expedition to Crete in 949.[98] |
Pothos Argyros | c. 958/9 | He is mentioned as being a patrikios and domestic of the Excubitors when he defeated a |
Peter | 990 | Referred to as an excubitus, he was murdered in southern Italy.[100] |
Makrotheodoros | 997 | Referred to as an excubitus, he was murdered at Oria in southern Italy.[100] |
Theodore | 998 | Mentioned in a deed from southern Italy, possibly identical with the previous.[100] |
John (?) | 950/1050 | Imperial prōtospatharios, epi tou Chrysotriklinou (uncertain reading) and domestic of the Excubitors of the West, known only from his seal of office.[101] |
Nikolitzes Kekaumenos | turn of 10th/11th century | The grandfather of the military writer Kekaumenos, who records him as domestic of the Excubitors of Hellas.[100] |
Leo Patianos | 1017 | An excubitus who was killed during the revolt of Melus of Bari in southern Italy.[100] |
Leo Choirosphaktes | 1030 | Commanded the Excubitors during Romanos III's failed campaign into northern Syria.[100]
|
Constantine Opos | 1081 | Commanded the Excubitors during the Battle of Dyrrhachium against the Italo-Normans.[102] |
Martinos (possibly also Marianos or Adrianos) | 9th/11th century | Patrikios, imperial prōtospatharios and "Domestic of the Imperial Excubitors" (domestikos tōn basilikōn exkoubitōn), known only from his seal of office.[103] |
Notes
- ^ In the Roman army, excubiae were guard posts and excubitores the guards stationed there.[1].
References
- ^ Ng 2012.
- ^ a b Treadgold 1995, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 152.
- ^ a b c Whitby 2000, p. 291.
- ^ Evans 1996, pp. 11–12, 41.
- ^ a b Treadgold 1995, p. 92.
- ^ a b c d e f Haldon 1984, p. 136.
- ^ a b c Bury 1911, p. 57.
- ^ Evans 1996, pp. 11–13.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 218.
- ^ Evans 1996, pp. 264, 267.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 227.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 309–310.
- ^ Kaegi 1981, p. 174.
- ^ Haldon 1984, p. 164.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 136–137.
- ^ Haldon 1984, p. 162.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 121, 136, 161–162.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 162–164.
- ^ Haldon 1984, p. 161.
- ^ a b c Kazhdan 1991, pp. 646–647.
- ^ Haldon 1999, p. 78.
- ^ Bury 1911, p. 48.
- ^ Haldon 1999, p. 132.
- ^ a b Whittow 1996, p. 168.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 231–232.
- ^ a b c Haldon 1984, p. 234.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 363–364.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 232–233.
- ^ Haldon 1984, p. 233.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 417.
- ^ Whittow 1996, pp. 168–170.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 419–420.
- ^ a b Haldon 1984, p. 235.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 242–245.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 428–429.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 433.
- ^ a b c Kühn 1991, p. 103.
- ^ Wortley 2010, p. 359.
- ^ Birkenmeier 2002, pp. 156–159.
- ^ Haldon 1999, pp. 91–93.
- ^ Treadgold 1995, p. 41.
- ^ a b c d e Haldon 1984, p. 137.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 125–126, 128.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 138–139.
- ^ a b c Haldon 1984, p. 138.
- ^ Bury 1911, p. 59.
- ^ a b Kühn 1991, p. 93.
- ^ Haldon 1984, p. 290.
- ^ a b c Bury 1911, p. 58.
- ^ a b c d Kühn 1991, p. 94.
- ^ Bury 1911, p. 105.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 258–271.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 494.
- ^ Kühn 1991, p. 95.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 121, 138.
- ^ a b Haldon 1984, p. 291.
- ^ PmbZ, Ioannikios (#3389/corr.).
- ^ Bury 1911, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 291–292.
- ^ a b Bury 1911, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Treadgold 1995, pp. 102, 104.
- ^ a b Haldon 1984, pp. 292–293.
- ^ Treadgold 1995, p. 103.
- ^ Haldon 1999, p. 102.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 359.
- ^ Kühn 1991, pp. 92, 93–94.
- ^ Martindale 1980, pp. 649–650, 1295.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1051, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1248, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 815–816, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 831, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1324–1325, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 856, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1022, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1052–1057, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 940–942, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1353, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1354–1355, 1510.
- ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1197, 1510.
- ^ PmbZ, Sisinnios (#6755).
- ^ a b c Kühn 1991, p. 96.
- ^ Haldon 1984, p. 355.
- ^ PmbZ, Strategios Podopaguros (#7130).
- ^ Haldon 1984, pp. 355–356.
- ^ PmbZ, Konstantinos (#3826).
- ^ a b c d e f Kühn 1991, p. 99.
- ^ a b c d e f g Haldon 1984, p. 356.
- ^ PmbZ, Niketas (#35427).
- ^ PmbZ, Anonymus (#11339).
- ^ PmbZ, Michael II. (#4990/corr.).
- ^ a b c d e f Kühn 1991, p. 97.
- ^ a b Haldon 1984, p. 357.
- ^ PmbZ, Paulos (#5863).
- ^ PmbZ, Symbatios (#7170).
- ^ PmbZ, Aëtios (#20144).
- ^ PmbZ, Ioannes Grapson (#22915).
- ^ PmbZ, Anonymus (#31259).
- ^ PmbZ, Pothos Argyros (#26730).
- ^ a b c d e f Kühn 1991, p. 98.
- ^ PmbZ, Ioannes (#23288).
- ^ Kühn 1991, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Kühn 1991, p. 100.
Sources
- OCLC 1046639111.
- Birkenmeier, John W. (2002). The Development of the Komnenian Army: 1081–1180. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11710-5.
- Evans, James Allan Stewart (1996). The Age of Justinian: The Circumstances of Imperial Power. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-02209-6.
- ISBN 3-7749-2004-4.
- ISBN 1-85728-495-X.
- ISBN 90-256-0902-3.
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Kühn, Hans-Joachim (1991). Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (in German). Vienna: Fassbaender Verlag. ISBN 3-9005-38-23-9.
- Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
- ISBN 0-521-20159-4.
- ISBN 0-521-20160-8.
- Ng, Michael (2012). "Excubiae". The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-4051-7935-5.
- ISBN 0-8047-3163-2.
- ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
- ISBN 9780521325912.
- ISBN 978-0-520-20496-6.
- Wortley, John, ed. (2010). John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7.
Further reading
- Croke, Brian (2005). "Leo I and the Palace Guard". Byzantion, Revue Internationale des Études Byzantines. 75: 117–151. JSTOR 44172993.