Decanus means "chief of ten" in Late Latin. The term originated in the Roman army and became used thereafter for subaltern officials in the Byzantine Empire, as well as for various positions in the Church, whence derives the English title "dean". It is unrelated to the position of deacon (Latin diaconus, Greek διάκονος).
The decanus was originally the leader of a 10-man contubernium , which consisted of the squad of eight legionaries who lived in the same tent, plus the two support units/servants of the contubernium. [1] The title must not be confused with the decurio , which was a title given to civic officials and to leaders of 30-strong squadrons ( turmae ) of cavalry. Decanus is equivalent to the rank of the dekarchos ("commander of ten") in Greek texts.
From the 4th century AD the term decanus became used for palace messengers, particularly those in the service of Roman empresses. Decani also apparently served as guards at gates, and in the 6th century, John Lydus equates them with the ancient lictors. [2] In the 899 Klētorologion of Philotheos, the decanus (transcribed into Greek as δεκανός, dekanos) was a mid-level functionary, serving under the protasekretis . According to the mid-10th century De Ceremoniis of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), a decanus was "in charge of the imperial papers" when the Byzantine emperor was on campaign. [3] Sigillographic evidence for the Byzantine dekanoi is relatively rare, although some are depicted in illuminated manuscripts, where their appearance varies considerably, in accord with their varying and changing functions. [2]
In the Christian Church, the term came into use in monasteries for heads of groups of ten other monks, for low-ranking subaltern officials of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and for the ecclesiastic fossores ("grave-diggers"). [2]
Hypatos and the variant apo hypatōn was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of Latin consul. The dignity arose from the honorary consulships awarded in the late Roman Empire, and survived until the early 12th century. It was often conferred upon the rulers of the south Italian principalities. In Italian documents the term was sometimes Latinised as hypatus or ypatus, and in Italian historiography one finds ipato. The feminine form of the term was hypatissa (ὑπάτισσα).
Kouropalatēs, Latinized as curopalates or curopalata and anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time of Emperor Justinian I to the Komnenian period in the 12th century. The female variant, held by the spouses of the kouropalatai, was kouropalatissa.
Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period, awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.
The spatharii or spatharioi were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire.
Nobilissimus, in Byzantine Greek nōbelissimos, was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was nobilissima.
Anthypatos is the translation in Greek of the Latin proconsul. In the Greek-speaking East, it was used to denote this office in Roman and early Byzantine times, surviving as an administrative office until the 9th century. Thereafter, and until the 11th century, it became a senior Byzantine court dignity.
The Klētorologion of Philotheos, is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence. It was published in September 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise by the otherwise unknown prōtospatharios and atriklinēs Philotheos. As atriklinēs, Philotheos would have been responsible for receiving the guests for the imperial banquets (klētοria) and for conducting them to their proper seating places according to their place in the imperial hierarchy. In the preface to his work, he explicitly states that he compiled this treatise as a "precise exposé of the order of imperial banquets, of the name and value of each title, complied on the basis of ancient klētοrologia", and recommends its adoption at the imperial table.
The vestiarion, sometimes with the adjectives basilikon ("imperial") or mega ("great"), was one of the major fiscal departments of the Byzantine bureaucracy. In English, it is often known as the department of the Public Wardrobe. Originating from the late Roman palace office of the sacrum vestiarium, it became an independent department in the 7th century under a chartoularios. By the late Byzantine period, it had become the state's sole treasury department. The public vestiarion must not be confused with the Byzantine emperor's private wardrobe, the oikeiakon vestiarion, which was headed by the prōtovestiarios.
The praepositus sacri cubiculi was one of the senior palace offices in the Late Roman Empire. Its holder was usually a eunuch, and acted as the grand chamberlain of the palace, wielding considerable authority and influence. In the 7th or 8th century, the title was also given to an order of rank for eunuch palace servants. The title and office continued in use in the simplified form of praipositos (πραιπόσιτος) in the Byzantine Empire until the late 11th century.
Silentiarius, Hellenized to silentiarios and Anglicized to silentiary, was the Latin title given to a class of courtiers in the Byzantine imperial court, responsible for order and silence in the Great Palace of Constantinople. In the middle Byzantine period, it was transformed into an honorific court title.
Stratēlatēs was a Greek term designating a general, which also became an honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire. In the former sense, it was often applied to military saints, such as Theodore Stratelates.
The protasekretis or protoasekretis, Latinized as protasecretis or protoasecretis, was a senior official in the Byzantine bureaucracy. The title means "first asekretis", illustrating his position as the head of the order of the asekretis, the senior class of imperial notaries.
The chartoularios or chartularius, Anglicized as chartulary, was a late Roman and Byzantine administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal duties, either as a subaltern official of a department or province or at the head of various independent bureaus.
The comes sacrarum largitionum was one of the senior fiscal officials of the late Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire.
The vestitor, Hellenized as vestētōr was a lowly Byzantine palace position and rank.
The mandatōr, deriving from the Latin word for "messenger", was a subaltern official in the middle Byzantine Empire.
The quaestor sacri palatii was the senior legal authority in the late Roman Empire and early Byzantium, responsible for drafting laws. In the later Byzantine Empire, the office of the quaestor was altered and it became a senior judicial official for the imperial capital, Constantinople. The post survived until the 14th century, albeit only as an honorary title.
The merarchēs, sometimes Anglicized as merarch, was a Byzantine military rank roughly equivalent to a divisional general.
The epi tōn deēseōn was a Byzantine office, whose holder was responsible for receiving and answering petitions to the Byzantine emperor and other Byzantine officials.
The atriklines was a Byzantine court official responsible for organizing feasts and banquets in the imperial palace. Along with maintaining order at imperial banquets, he was tasked with ensuring that guests were received in the correct order of precedence according to their court rank and office. The atriklines performed and fulfilled his duties by utilizing a list known as a kletorologion (κλητορολόγιον) containing the officials, dignitaries, and ministers who possessed the right to be entertained in the palace. The roster itself would undergo alterations in order to account for the establishment of new offices, the elimination of old offices, and changes made to the guest order of precedence. A prominent atriklines was a certain Philotheos, who in 899 held the imperial title of protospatharios and authored the only surviving example of a kletorologion. The office cannot be traced later than the 11th century.