Vestiarion

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The vestiarion (

Byzantine emperor's private wardrobe, the oikeiakon vestiarion, which was headed by the prōtovestiarios
.

History and functions

The bureau of the sacrum vestiarium (

Pseudo-Kodinos, however, was apparently a distinct and independent office, which function as the paymaster of the naval ships and apparently corresponds to that of "prefect of the army" (ἔπαρχος τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ) attested in the 6th century as army paymasters.[5]

The vestiarion functioned parallel to the other state fiscal departments, the

Palaiologan period, when its chairman (prokathēmenos) was in charge of "revenue and expenditure".[1][6]

Organization

The information on the department's internal structure during the middle Byzantine period (late 7th-11th centuries) comes primarily from the Klētorologion of Philotheos, a list of offices compiled in 899. Under the department head, the chartoularios tou vestiariou entails:

  • A number of basilikoi notarioi of the sekreton (βασιλικοί νοτάριοι τοῦ σεκρέτου), imperial notaries at the head of sub-departments, corresponding to the late Roman primiscrinii.[7]
  • A
    kentarchos (Greek: κένταρχος τοῦ βεστιαρίου, "centurion of the vestiarion") and a legatarios (Greek: λεγατάριος), of unknown functions.[1][8]
  • An archon tēs charagēs (Greek: ἄρχων τῆς χαραγῆς, "master of the mint").[8][9] The same official is probably identifiable with the chrysoepsētēs attested elsewhere in Philotheos and in the earlier Taktikon Uspensky.[10]
  • The chartoularios in charge of the exartēsis, the imperial naval arsenal. Also known as the exartistēs (Greek: ἐξαρτιστῆς).[11]
  • A number of kouratores ("curators").[12]
  • A number of chosvaētai (Greek: χοσβαῆται), of unknown functions. Their strange title may be a corruption of vestiaritai ("men of the vestiarion").[12]
  • A number of
    prōtomandatōr.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e ODB, "Vestiarion" (A. Kazhdan), p. 2163.
  2. ^ Bury 1911, p. 95.
  3. ^ Haldon 1997, pp. 180–181, 191, 206.
  4. ^ Failler 1987, p. 201.
  5. ^ Failler 1987, pp. 199–202.
  6. ^ Laiou 2002, pp. 993, 1029.
  7. ^ Bury 1911, pp. 94, 96.
  8. ^ a b Bury 1911, p. 96.
  9. ^ ODB, "Charage" (A. Kazhdan), p. 410.
  10. ^ Laiou 2002, p. 913.
  11. ^ Bury 1911, pp. 96–97.
  12. ^ a b c Bury 1911, p. 97.

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.
  • Failler, Albert (1987). "L'éparque de l'armée et le bestiariou". Revue des études byzantines (in French). 45: 199–203. .
  • Haldon, John F. (1997). Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
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