Logothetes tou dromou
The logothetes tou dromou (
History and functions
The office of the logothetes tou dromou is explicitly attested for the first time in circa 762, but traces its origins to the officials supervising the
The office of the logothetes tou dromou does not appear in the surviving sources until the year 762, but must have come into existence earlier, as the once-wide ranging duties of the magister officiorum were gradually removed and the office itself practically abolished during the course of the 8th century. Among the various functions of the magister officiorum, the logothetes tou dromou assumed control not only the Public Post, but also of domestic security and the Empire's foreign affairs, handling collection of
Consequently, the incumbent of the office often served as the Empire's chief minister, although this ultimately depended on the reigning emperor. The Byzantines never formalized such a position, nor was it attached to a particular office, rather it was granted ad hoc on the basis of each emperor's favour towards a particular courtier, irrespective of rank or office. As Guilland points out, the senior officials of the imperial household—the
The 10th-century
Subordinate officials
The subordinates of the logothetes tou dromou were:
- The protonotarios tou dromou (πρωτονοτάριος τοῦ δρόμου), his senior deputy.[10]
- The chartoularioi tou [oxeos] dromou (χαρτουλάριοι τοῦ [ὀξέος] δρόμου), who were clerks with the rank of spatharios, combining the functions of the Roman curiosi per omnes provincias found in the Notitia Dignitatum and of the officials in charge of the scrinium barbarorum, the 'Bureau of Barbarians'.[10][4]
- A number of episkeptetai (ἐπισκεπτῆται), officials in charge of the various imperial estates (episkepseis).[12]
- Translators (ἑρμηνευταῖ, hermeneutai), also attested (as interpretes diversarum gentium) in the Notitia Dignitatum.[12][4]
- The kourator tou apokrisiareiou (κουράτωρ του ἀποκρισιαρείου), in charge of the apokrisiarieion, a building in Constantinople that housed foreign envoys.[12]
- Various inspectors, the diatrechontes (διατρέχοντες, the old Roman cursores) and messengers (μανδάτορες, mandatores).[12]
References
- ^ a b c ODB, "Logothetes tou dromou" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1247–1248.
- ^ Guilland 1971, pp. 31–32.
- ^ a b c Bury 1911, p. 91.
- ^ a b c Guilland 1971, p. 32.
- ^ Guilland 1971, pp. 32–33.
- ^ a b Guilland 1971, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Guilland 1971, p. 9.
- ^ Guilland 1971, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Guilland 1971, p. 35.
- ^ a b c Bury 1911, p. 92.
- ^ Magdalino 2002, p. 229.
- ^ a b c d Bury 1911, p. 93.
Sources
- OCLC 1046639111.
- .
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- ISBN 0-521-52653-1.
Further reading
- Le Léannec-Bavavéas, Marie-Thérèse (2002). "Jean, logothète du drome au 11e siècle". Revue des études byzantines (in French). 60: 215–220. . Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- Miller, D. A. (1966). "The Logothete of the Drome in the Middle Byzantine Period". Byzantion. 36: 438–470.