Handbook of Byzantine Protocole and Ceremonies

5) Provincial courts
Provincial courts were initially connected with the executive branch and were supervised by the Praefectus Praetorio.
In "protobyzantine" times the Governors of provinces had also the title of Iudex and acted as local judges of first degree.
Governors judged cases in the Praetorium with the help of the concilarii (aka advisors) who were trained as lawyers. Governors were forbiden to interfere in cases outside their province, also they were empowered to judge appeals from community leaders courts (see below)
At the same time community leaders were empowered to judge minor cases and impose small fines while serious cases were refered to the Governors.
The role of Districr Attorney was filled by the Defensor Civitatis who were elected by the Governors or the communities but their election had to be ratified by the Praefectus Praetorio or else it was null and void.
The mission of Defensor Civitatis was to protect the city/province from any illegal actions and oversee court procedures.
If someone filled an appeal against a decision of a province Governor this appeal would be judged by either the Vicarius (head of group of provinces) or the Praefectus Praetorio (whoever was closer).
However Justinian decreed that the Vicarius's court would judge lesser cases in the second degree while more serious cases would be judged by the Praefectus Praetorio, because people were crowded in the Vicarius's courts since they could appeal the decision to the Praefectus Praetorio if they didnt liked the outcome or the Emperor while the Praefectus Praetorio court decision was final.
After the institution of the Theme System the courts of the Vicarius and and the Praefectus Praetorio were abolished and their powers passed to the Praetor of the Theme who judged all non-military cases and the Strategos who was the top judge of the Theme and supervised all courts in it.
In cases of crisis the Strategos could empower some experienced lawyers to judge cases in the first degree whose decision were subject to appeal to the Praetor and the Theme's judges.
After 11th century the fragmentation of the Themes and the reorganisation of Judicial system by Manuel I provincial courts of 2nd degree were abolished and their functions passed to the 4 new Courts founded in Constantinople (see above) and after Andronicus II passed to the 4 Universal Judges of the Romans and remained that way till the end of the Empire.
In small themes/cities and communities a new law enacted by Alexius I allowed Episcopal courts to judge cases of family and inheritance law in an effort to relieve Constantinople's courts from the burden of lesser cases.

I will conclude Chapter III about Social life of citizens tonight and post it tomorrow...
 
Where do the provincial Krites fit into this scheme?

Krites were assistants to the Praetor in judging lesser cases. They were created along with the theme system and this institution survived till the fall of the Empire with some adjustments.
Thanks for bringing this up... It seems that i have neglected to mention them as a lower court of the first degree...
 
Chapter III
Social Life of citizens


1) Private life
ERE citizens knew that they were christians and belonged to a universal Empire in which the Head (Emperor) and the Body (people) are God's chosens.
And for this reason religious identity played a major part in citizens public and private life.

A) Housing
A roman house was the centre of family life not only in cities but in villages and countryside also.
The type of the house (villa, apartment, house etc.) varied according to the owners fortune.
Houses were built either by bricks, plinths, or wood and the size varied from 1 floor till 5 floors.
In villages and countryside the most common type of housing was the 2 floors house with the ground floor acting as a stable and the 1st floor being the family's rooms.
The roof was covered with tiles (especially in mountain areas where they used convex tiles in order for the snow to fall in the ground and not stay upon the roof) while the floor was covered with colourful tiles or mosaics (in poorer houses they just smoothed the ground surface).
An average roman house had a main hall (triklinos), a kitchen, bedrooms and a bath.
During the night light could be provided by the use of lamps and candles.
In case the house didnt had any private bath, the citizens could use the public baths.

2) Food
The main food supplies of romans were mainly bread, oil, meat, fish, olives, cheese, milk, herbs, honey, fruits etc. and usually had 4 meals per day in the main hall (triklinos) either sitted in chairs around a round table or they lay in couches around the table (thats the nobles way)
a) Breakfast b) Lunch c) one meal by sunset and d) Supper.
As for drinking they prefered beer, wine, water or fruit juices.

3) Dressing
The way the citizens dressed was influenced not on only by their financial status but from their office or profession too.
Initially the grecoroman fashion of togas etc. was retained although modified.
Clothing was made from silk or linen if they were intended for nobles while poorer class would have to be satisfied with cotton and woolen clothes, as for colours the most usual colours were white, grey, yellow, black, red and purple or colourful.
It should be noted that some colours were distinctive of a certain office
like these examples:
Purple: Emperor
Purple belt: Senator
Green: Caesar
Red: Quaestor
Nobility had also the right to wear colours like gold, silver or adorned with gems.
As for shoes again they varied according to anyones financial status, office or profession.
However the most common type was the "Tsaggia" which was low "closed"
shoe used by all classes. Soldiers on the other hand used specially designed boots called "Trochadia" which were soft on the inside and allowed them to run without hurting their feets.

4) Everyday life
Except of working and the family meals everyday life differed from city to the countryside and varied accordingly to age and financial status.
People met in religious, social or state feasts plus private visits to houses of friends and kinsmen.
Cities offered more chances of fun and spending leisure time as someone could visit the Hippodrome and watch Chariot races or running races, see a theatrical play or a strip show or dances and songs, see some weird animals brought to the city. However work and Church covered most of the everyday life of the citizens and people could afford Hippodrome way much lesser time than he wished.
On the social aspect the free distribution of bread once a week, state support for poor and unemployed, many State and Church charity foundations and continuus help for those who suffer contained phenomena of starvation and major unemployment in the cities and in the countryside.
That explains the fact that during the 1100 years of its life the Empire never had a "social revolution" despite the uneven sharing of wealth between nobles who held almost all land and money and the growing number of surfs.
One main characteristic of the ERE society despite any financial, social, educational criterai was the citizens firm belief in God and that God himself protected the Empire one can see this reflected in the cheers for the Emperor after a victorious campaign (see Volume I).
In theory movement between classes was free, for instance a merchant could find his way into becoming a noble or a free farmer evolve to a small landowner and if he is lucky enough become big landowner. And since someone had at least hopes of evolving someday this created the idea to the citizens that the state isnt responsible for their status but someone should rely on himself in order to evolve and the state will always be there to reward him if he succeeds. Also Church was accepting wealth but only the wealth amassed with legal ways and hard work and used in charity and good works.
So the ERE citizen had complete concience of his own personal responsibility for his financial and social state, didnt blamed the state for that and didnt had tensions for social revolution which was contained only in trying to raise his financial future and secure a future for his children in the context of his profession and through potential given by the state, public administration, the army and the Church.

It should be noted that citizens private life and their potentials in the public life differed from times to times and they were influenced by several conditions like the decline or the eight of the Empire etc.
For instance in times of financial crisis like in the times of Justinian's successors or after 642 or at the end of 12th century and 15th century the citizens private life was tested severely by the political and social unrest. Of course during the height of the Empire all citizens participated and enjoyed the goods of this height and social peace.
As we said above people could nove freely between classes and between the nobles and the peasants there was a middle class of of political/army officers, landlords, merchants etc. and the only criterion for moving between classes was only wealth since there was no such thing as "Bloodline".
Many distinguished generals or high officers of the state came from poor backgrounds and vice versa aka many nobles were impoverished and fell to lower classes but always they could be readmited if they were capable enough. There were many examples of people who inherited a fortune then spent it mindlessly thus losing their status as nobles, the most capable of them were able to rebuilt what they lost by either entering the bureaucracy and evolved or by joining the army.

4) Family
This was the nucleus of the citizens private life as it was modelled by christian teaching and the severe supervision of the Church and was depicted in legislation and justice.
Family was under the protection of the State and the Church and that explains Church's interference in the formation of Family Law especially in the laws concerning marriage and divorce.
Family life varied according to someone's financial status which determined the quality of life. Of course the poor house of a surf or a free farmer cannot be compared with a noble's villa but there were some goods that everyone was entitled to, like clothing for instance. Of course poor classes couldnt afford to buy plenty of expensive clothing but they were able to have one good set of clothes for festive occasions.
However despite social inequality there was always the Church in whose eyes (at least in theory) everyone was equal and this was very important since parish life was an essential part of the citizens private life.

The main axis of the family life was always the mother, who preserve the family's internal cohessiona nd determined directly or indirectly the family potentials.
The fact that women before becoming wives and mothers had several limitations in their lives highlights even more the role of the mother inside the family with the discreet help of the Church since it was the mother that took over entirely the upbringing of children thus gaining a unique respect from the ERE citizens for her efforts towards the family.
It was the mother that took the initiative in order to program the childrens education and many times she had to scrifice her own needs for this reason. Besides that a mother's role never stopped on her children's wedding, as she continued to work in preserving the-now extended-family's cohession.

Thats for now... I ll continue later with Chapter IV about the Church (in a more detailed form than Volume I)
 
Chapter IV
Church


After the prevalation of christianity in 4th century people's favour turned definetley to the "new" religion thus a large number of citizens abandoned paganism especially after christianity's recognition as a State religion by Theodosius I.
However it was Justinian who incorporated Canon Law into Civil Law end enacted close cooperation between Church and State.
Ecclesiastical administration followed the pattern of the "Patriarchal system" aka with the Patriarch be the Head of the Church but he would act as "Primus inter pares" along with the Patriarchal Synod and the other Bishops.
In Provincial level we have the Metropolitan Bishops who oversaw a whole province (again acting as Primus inter pares with the help of his province's Bishops), while on a city level we have the local Bishops and the parishes.
See Volume I for a complete list of Bishoprics in ERE.

However claims in prestige and administration was often the cause of friction between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople, and these claims wounded Church's unity from the very beginning and worried the Empire.

The nucleus of ERE's spiritual life was participation in worship and especially in participating in the celebration of Divine Liturgy and that makes clear to us that parish clergy was influenting constantly the society.
For someone to enter the clergy (even parish clergy were married ppriests were allowed) qualifications required were very high thus making it difficult to cover needs, especially in small, far away or poor parishes.
But parish clergy besides influenting society (positive or negative it depends on who is in charge) couldnt do anything abou the ecclessiastical (or political) problems of this age since the Church's Synodical system confined discussion and solution of these problems to Bishops only while on the same time monasticism became the leader during faith confilcts and herecies.
So parish clergy virtually superseded by Bishops and Monks stayed aside handling only parish problems and needs and also influenting people according to "orders".

Every month an officer of the Bishopric called "Oikonomos" (aka Steward) sent the parishes an amount of money in order to cover their expenses.
This amount of money was deducted from the general income of the Bishopric.
A Bishopric's income came from:
A) From Church lands the Bishopric owned
B) From the monthly donations of the faithfulls according to Justinian's law
C) From money given to priests by faithfuls as a gift after the celebration of a sacrament etc. (Note: The money must be given freely by the faithful to the priest without the priest asking for money... If he asks for money its Simony)
D) From extra donations the people made to the Church freely.
It should be noted that priests serving in prestigious or large parishes had a large source of income which made these parishes to be wanted by every priest.

1. Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Originally a suffragan Bishop to the Metropolitan Bishop of Heraclea it was raised into an Archbishopric in 4th century and into a Patriarchate in 5th century while Canon 3 of II Ecumenical Council and Canon 28 of IV Ecumenical Council granted it equality with the Church of Elder Rome.
Constantinople wasnt a successor of Rome it was just an extension of it to the East so in the same manner the Patriarch of Constantinople was considered as an equal to the Pope of Rome because he was Rome's renewed extension to the East.
Its true that the both Elder and New Romes were participating equally to the governing of the Empire by having 2 Emperors set 1 in Rome and 1 Constantinople.
So the same principal was implemented in Church with 2 Patriarchs ruling jointly.
Originally the Patriarch was elected by a popular vote and he had to be concecrated as Bishop by the Metropolitan Bishops of Heraclea and Nicomedeia plus any other Bishops who happened to be in the city coincidentally (who formed a primitive form of Synod) but this right was abolished quite early in 4th century and the right to elect the Patriarch passed to the Synod of Bishops with the Emperor having something to say over the matter (actually in most cases the Emperor imposed his own candidate to the throne) and the only custom from this ancient practice that survived till today is that wen the Patriarch-elect is not yet a Bishop then he must be concecrated as such by the Metropolitan Bishop of Heraclea.
As we said above II Ecumenical Council recognised Constantinople as equal to Rome but it didnt gave the city a place after Rome in precedence since they didnt want to demote the patriarchates of Alexandreia, Antioch and Jerusalem which were more ancient than Constantinople.
During 449 Pseudocouncil in Ephesus the monophysite Patriarch of Alexandria granted Constantinople the 5th place in precedence (an act that enrage even Pope Leo I) but 2 years later IV Ecumenical Council reversed that by granting 1st place to both Rome and Constantinople
by proposition of the Legati sent by Leo I.

In 5th century the first frictions between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople appeared when Rome accused Constantinople that they didnt have authority to intervene to matters outside their Diocese and only Churches who had "Petrine Primacy" had the right to do that (aka Rome, Alexandreia and Antioch).
However Petrine Primacy was never accepted in the East and remained as an idea only in the West.
(For further information on the structure of the Church see Volume I)

After settling the dispute with Rome about precedence (which in reality was never ended or settled) and the recognition of Constantinople's right to concecrate Bishops in barbarian lands the Patriarchate undertook and coordianted missionary work and sent missionaries to Goths, the tribes living in Pontus, Ethiopia and Persia (although missionaries were there since 4th century, their presence was renewed after IV Ecumenical Council) and despite movements of tribes from Central Asia Constantinople had a successfull misionary work expanded from Aimus mountains till Caspian Sea, an area which later was marked as Patriarchate's of Constantinople territory.
Appearance of Slavic tribes in 7th century combined with Arab conquests in the East and South of the Empire redefined Constantinople's missionary work who now undertook missions to Croats and slavic tribes in Cherson.
However Iconoclasm stalled missionaries as they were embroidered in fierce religious debate among them and only few monks worked toward missionairsm when Iconoclasm ended.
By the end of Iconoclasm Constantinople resumed missions and this time expanded to Russia, Khazaria, Moravia, Bulgaria and Serbia, with Cyril and Methodius writing down a new alphabet for Slavic use.
Missions continue unstopped till 12th century when after the fall of the city to the crusaders and the disorganisation of the Patriarchate they were stopped.
Some limited efforts happened in 13th century and after but it was to late by then.

Patriarchate's jurisdiction over provinces was proven by official documents called "Taktika" and they were issued by Emperors or Bishops empowered by the Emperor for this task.
The oldest one is from 7th century wittten by Epiphanius of Cyprus and mentions 33 Metropolitan Bishops, 34 Archbishops and 352 Bishops and after them we have:
Leo's III Taktikon with 51 Metropolitan Bishops 40 Archbishops and 608 Bishops
Leo's VI Taktikon with 51 Metropolitan Bishops 51 Archbishops and 552 Bishops
Constantine's VII Taktikon with 54 Metropolitan Bishops 49 Archbishops and 509 Bishops
John I Taktikon with 56 Metropolitan Bishops 50 Archbishops and 502 Bishops
Alexius I Taktikon with 80 Metropolitan Bishops 39 Archbishops and 456 Bishops
Michael VIII Taktikon with 100 Metropolitan Bishops 40 Archbishops and 380 Bishops
Andronicus III Taktikon with 112 Metropolitan Bishops 1 Archbishop and 285 Bishops
Manuel II Taktikon with 78 Metropolitan Bishops and 223 Bishops
John VIII Taktikon with 67 Metropolitan Bishops and 166 Bishops
It should be noted that when a nation initially under ERE and spiritually under the Patriarchate of Constantinople gained indepence its church too acquired an autonomous state too although in most cases Ecumenical Patriarch acted as an overseer of the new church and retained the right to concencrate its Archbishop/Patriarch.
A fair example of that is the Bulgarian Church which after initially swinging between East and West it end up under Constantinople (with a little Imperial push though).
Initially it developed as a Metropolitan Bishopric of the Patriarchate of Constantinople it constantly asked for administrative autonomy and in 927 after pressures the Metropolitan Bishop of Sardica (Sofia) acquired the titular title of Patriarch but without any patriarchal prerogatives or authority only to lose it in 971thus reverting to its previous titles.
In 1020 Basil II with 3 Golden Bulls granted "patriarchal authority" to the Archbishopric of Ochrid over slavs and Bulgars (with the consent of the Patriarch of Constantinople of course) but he added a clause by which the Archbishop of Ochrid must be elected by the Emperor from a shortlist of priests serving in Hagia Sophia and be consecrated as Bishop by the Patriarch of Constantinople thus ensuring that the spiritual leader of the Bulgars would always be his loyal subject.
When Secod Bulgarian state was formed in 1186 the Metropolitan Bishop of Turnovo was proclaimed autonomous and after a serie of diplomatic pressures Patriarch Germanus II finally recognised its indepedence in 1235 by giving the Archbishop the titular title of Patriarch (as it happened in 971). However when Turnovo was captured by Ottomans in 1393 and the death of Patriarch of Turnovo Euthimius in 1415 lead to the abolition of the Patriarchate and its readmission as a simple Metropolitan Bishopric under the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Thats for now... I ll continue later with the rest about the Church and the Education... (plus i ran out of cigarettes... :D:D:D)
 
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2. Monasticism
While monasticism existed in the inside the Roman Empire from 2nd-3rd century AD the movement folourished in 4th century as a movement whose followers abandoned and denied worldy affairs and pleasures devoting themselves completely to God.
The relax of Church's austerity towards sinners combined with the appearance of herecies and the "fall" of moral standards lead may people to join monasteries in order to worship God freely and live a life of pray and repentence.
The main representative of this tendency was St. Anthony the Great who became the symbol of ascetic life in the deserts of Egypt and his example was followed by numerous men and women thus creating the first organised monasteries in Roman Empire.
These monasteries in Egypt setted the base of monasticism and soon after monasticism expanded rapidly to Palestine, Syria, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Greece etc and defined a new way for salvation through constant prayers and repentance. Monks took up vows upon entering the monatery to live in poverty, be celibate, never acquire property and always obey the Elders and the Abbot. Persons accepted to a monastery were required to stay for 1-3 years as trainees in order to check if they could bear the monastic life.
If they were unable to follow the monastic life or deemed unworthy of it were allowed to live the monastery at any time.
If they completed the first circle then they were tonsured as novices and remained as such for 2-5 years.
After this stage the novice could proceed into the next level and would receive the "Mikro Schima" (aka Little Cassock) in a special ceremony and they would be considered as full (almost) monks.
Also there is the "Megalo Schima" or "Aggeliko Schima" (aka Great Cassock or Angelic Cassock) which is given to monks as a reward for achieving high spiritual height or they are on their deathbeds.

In Palestine Abbot St. Pachomius revised the monastic rules and created the "Communal System" by issuing the "Canon" a set of rules about monasteries and monks where the monks lived together and all needs were dealt by all monks together while the Abbot was responsible for the firm implemention of the rules as an opposite to the Egyptian ascetism were the monks lived by themselves in seclusion.
St. Basil Archbishop of Caesareia revised the monastic rules again and incorporated in the Canon traditions and regulations from the monasteries of Kappadocia which he founded thus codifiyng the monastic laws in a single book and adjusted them to current times.
As we said above monasticism was spread quickly throughout the Eastern parts of the Empire in both systems (Egyptian and Communal) but with some notable difference between them like for instance monks who followed the Egyptian system focused mainly in isolation and constant praying alone while monks who followed the Basilian rules focused mainly on common prayers and community services/works.
With the spread of monasticism its influence began to grow and it became apparent during III and IV Ecumenical Councils were zealot monks took the task of guarding Nicene/Chalkedonian Christianity against monophysites (however the rule applied and vice versa too leading to bloody clashes between monks).
All these religious "riots" forced IV Ecumenical Council (under pressure of the Emperor who had enough of a headache with all this mess) to stipulate that monks were to be confined in their monasteries which monasteries were placed under the direct spiritual control of their local Bishop and the monks couldnt leave the vicinity of the monastery without the expressed permission of both the Abbot and the Bishop.

During Iconoclasm the vast majority of the monks sided with the Iconophiles and payed a heavy price for this decision especially after the Iconoclastic Council of Hiereia and Imperial troops dissoluted many monasteries that resisted Iconoclastic decrees (sometimes by brute force) confiscated teir lands, foced them to laicization or even mutilated them and execute them.
Despite harsh persecution though monasticism was renewed for one more time and many monasteries flourished and became big religious or educational centres like the Imperial Monastery of St. John in Stoudio or the monasteries of Mt. Olympus in Bithynia (which was dubbed as 1st Mt. Athos for its holiness) etc.
The Abbot of Stoudios Monastery Theodoros renewed and modernised the monastic rules but also instituted severe austerity and more ascetism to the monks.
He also stipulated that monks should not only be working in the fields, flocks etc. but also exercise spiritual work too by copying books, writing new ones, painting icons, exercising in caliggraphy erc., a decision which transformed Stoudios monastey not only to one of the largest educational centres of the Empire but also the owner of the largest Library of the middle ages with extremely rare books (or even books that west considered lost). Unfortunately Stoudios library was burnt down by Crusaders in 1204 and all books were lost for good.
With the final conviction of Iconoclasm it was allowed to private (wealthy) citizens to found new monasteries and many more of them were founded and Church's lands were increased drastically in the expense of smaller landowners.
Emperors Romanus I and Nicephorus II tried to contain this situation by taxiing the Church lands and encourage the monks to found the monasteries in barren lands in order to save fertile lands for smaller landowners and free farmers.
Nicephorus II despite being an admirer of monastic life he encouraged smaller landowners to buy Church lands for a small fee (in the form of a Church donnation). Also Nicephorus II was co-founder of M. Lavra monastery in Mt. Athos along with St. Athanasius and wished to abdicate the throne and become a monk there (however his lust for Theophano and his subsequent assassination cancelled these plans).
Nicephorus II drafted the canons for Mt. Athos along with St. Athanasius but his unexpected death lead to the revision of these rules from John I in which every Imperial Monastery in Mt. Athos would be independent and their Abbot is elected for life. However the Emperor retains the right to elect the "Protos" (aka the First-One a monk who acts as the Emperor's regent in Mt. Athos) who would be elected for life and receive his office by the Patriarch.
Around the same time monasticism spreads further in Balkans and up until 1204 new monasteries pop around everywhere.
This spread was followed by a relax in monastic austerity which in turn lead to the creation of a 3rd monastic system the "Idiorrythmon" (aka each for himself) where the monks entered a monastery but they didnt leved together (each had its own cell and they were scattered around) and they were met only in Sundays to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and receive provisions from the next week.
It should be noted that monasteries following this system had no Abbot but a commitee of an odd number of monks presided by the most senior one (who is called Dikaios aka the Just) runs day to day business.

Thats for now... Next Chapter V Education...
 
Because of some personal problems and work problems (yeah i need vacations lol) i ve decided to pause Volume II for some time... I ll resume writing however as soon as possible.
 
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Ι had just completed and wrote Chapter V about education and i was ready to press "submit reply" when my browser crashed... I am too tired and way too PISSED OFF to write it again so i ll skip it for the time being and i ll proceed to Chapter VI "description of Robes of Office of various officials"

STUPID PIECE OF JUNK!!!!
 
Ι had just completed and wrote Chapter V about education and i was ready to press "submit reply" when my browser crashed... I am too tired and way too PISSED OFF to write it again so i ll skip it for the time being and i ll proceed to Chapter VI "description of Robes of Office of various officials"

STUPID PIECE OF JUNK!!!!
My condolences. :p

I will appreciate if you write it up again in the near future. Byzantine education is one of the most interesting topics IMO.
 
Chapter VI Descriptions of Robes of Office of barious officials

Officials in ERE wore distinctive robes of office according to their rank as specific laws stipulated so. These robes were either given to them by the Emperor upon their creation or (in a few cases like when a new Quaestor is appointed) are acquired privately. We will examine them one by one.
Note: When i say crown i refer to something more like a diadem (something like the crowns heraldry uses to sistinguish the ranks of the nobles) and not an actual crown which is reserved only for the Emperor.


1) Emperor
The Emperor had many robes of office which were used in specifice times of the year but the main pattern was almost the same, however colours varied depending on the time of the year. For instance on Eastertide the Emperor wore a white-golden robe of office with a matching crown (More or less in the same colours the Pope wears on Eastertide), or in Christmas the colours changed to Purple-green. For now we will examine the most common robe of office, aka the one used for everyday jobs.
For everyday use the Emperor wore a simple Crown called "Skiadion olomargaron" aka Pearl Crown which had the name of the Emperor inscripted on its base smd it was adorned with a golden cross on top (see Hungary's crown. Its roughly similar). Also the crown was adorned with golden chains hanging on its side.
For ordinary use the Emperor wore a red "sagion" aka dalmatic adorned with gold floral imprints only. The Imperial Mantle was also red adorned with pearls. Protocole stipulated also that the Emperor should wear red shocks and white boots adorned with eagles in the fron just down of the knee and on his ankles.

When the Emperor rode on horse the saddle must be coloured whithe adorned with eagles on each one of the 4 corners. While the horse had a pom-pom on its head.
The fabric that would cover the saddle was coloured white also but it was adorned with red eagles in the 4 corners. Also if there was a tent over the Emperor's head protecting him from the sun or the rain while he rides his horse or walks in procession this must be coloured white and be adorned with red eagles.

When the Emperor is inside the Palace and doesnot participate in any official act in his capacity as Emperor then he is forbided from wearing the crown, but when the Emperor participates in official acts or when he is riding his horse (even when he does this in private) or he is walking outside the palace then he is obliged to wear his crown. An exemption is made when the Emperor is underaged and only then he can wear the crown when inside the palace and not participating in official acts.
When a certain feast or period of time requires a different colour or a different robe then the Emperor promptly changes to it. As we said above Eastertide required white-golden clothes. Also it should be noted that boots were changed to purple when celebrating a feast and the Crown was changed to a more elegant one (also the Emperor could opt to use his coronation crown if he wanted to).
See Volume I for changes in Emperor's clothing during various feasts.

2)Sevastokrator
This office was created by the Komneni dynasty and their robe of office was similar to the one used by the Emperor's sons-in-law previously.
It was consisted by a simple golden-red crown (significally lower than the Emperor's) with the same golden chains as the Emperor's hanging from each side, a red tunic and red-green mantle and socks. Boots were green adorned with red eagles in the same manner as the Emperor had. However it was possible that the Emperor could grant dispenstion to his sons-in-law to wear the same mantles and socks as the Emperor.

When riding their horses the saddle was coloured green covered with a green fabric adorned with red eagles in each of the 4 corners. If there was a tent abpve their heads to protect them from sun or rain this was coloured white adorned with green leaves.


3) Caesar
Caesars wore the same crown as Sevastokrator and roughly the same robes as the Sevastokrator, with the sole exceptance of the mantle that was coloured plain green.
When riding horses Caesar's saddle amd tent was identical to the Sevastokrator's but without the red eagles in the 4 corners.

4) Megas Domestikos (Grand Domesticus)
They wore crowns similar to the ones Caesars wore but the chains hanging on the side were significantly shorter. Domestici also held a staff of office adorned with golden knots. Their dalmatic was coloured red-gold depicting the Emperor crowned surrounded by 2 angels and adorned with pearls all around. The boots were green with no eagles.
Also note that roughly the same uniform was worn by the Emperor's nephews (they needed imperial dispensation for that however).
Saddles were the same as with the Sevastokrator.

5) Panhypersevastos
Same robes as with the Grand Domesticus with the exception of boots which were yellow and the mantle which was yellow also.
Saddles were the same as above but was coloured yellow too.

6) Protovestiarios (Master of the Robes)
Same robe as with the Sevastokrator with the exception of the staff of office which was gold-green without knots, the boots which were green and the mantle which was green also.
Saddles were identical with the Panhypersevastos.

7) Megas Doux (Grand Duke)
Grand Dukes wore golden-red crowns but without chains hanging from the sides. Their dalmatic was coloured red and depicted the Emperor standing in the front while in the back depicted the Emperor sitted in the throne. Boots were usually blue but holders of this office were free to choose any colour for their boots except purple, green, yellow and red
Their staff of office was identical to the staff of Grand Domesticus.

8) Protostrator
He wore the same robe of office as with the Grand Duke
The staff of office was identical to the staff held by the Grand domesticus with the sole exception that the first knot was gold while all the rest were silver.

9) Megas Logothetis
He wore the same uniform with the Protostrator but held no staff of office.

10) Megas Stratopedarches
Same robe of office as with Protostrator and Megas Logothetis with the exception that he held a staff of office which was the same as with the Grand domesticus except that the knots were all silver.

11) Megas Primicerius
Same robe of office as above with the exception that his dalmatic was coloured orange depicting the Emperor standing in the front and the Emperor sitted in the throne in the back.
His staff of office was wooden covered in golden leaves.

12) Megas Kontostavlos
Same robe of office as with the Megas Primicerius with the exception that he held no staff of office.

13) Protosevastos
Same robes as above with the exception that the crown was gold-green and he held no staff office.

14) Pigkernis (Cupbearer)
Same robes as with Megas Primicerius but without staff of office

15) Kouropalates
Same as above

16) Parakoimomenos
Same robes as with Megas Primicerius with the exception that his staff of office was wooden adorned with knots, with the first knot beign gold the second being of platinum the third gold the fourth platinum and so on.

17) Logothetes tou Genikou
He wears a white crown adorned with pearls, blue boots and golden-white dalmatic depicting the Emperor's face front and back and he holds no staff of office.

18) Domesticos tis Trapezis (Chief Butler)
Same robes as with Protovestiarius but without staff of office

19) Epi tis Trapezis (Responsible for the Emperor's kitchen)
Same as above with the exception that his staff of office was adorned with knots with the first being gold the second black and so on.

20) Megas Papias (Chief Doorkeeper)
Same robes as with the Domesticos tis Trapezis
Same staff as with the Parakoimomenos

21) City Praefect
Same as above but without a staff of office.

22) Megas Drougarios tis Viglas
He wears a golden-yellow dalmatic depicting the Emperor sitting on the throne in the front and the Emperor riding a horse in the back. The staff of office was adorned with knots with the first knot being gold while all the rest were red. Rest of the robe was similar to the Protovestiarios

23) Megas Etairiarches
Same as above with the exception of the staff of office which had the first knot gold while all the rest were green

24) Megas Chartoularios
Same as above but without staff of office

25) Logothetes tou Dromou
same as above with the exception that he doesnt wear a dalmatic but a tunic.

26) Protasekrites
He wears blue crown white boots, yellow mantle and tunic.

27) Domesticus Scholae
He wears a simple crown (uncoloured or silver) and the rest of his robes were identical to the Megas Etairiarches with the exception of the staff of office which was silver with one golden knot on top.

28) Megas Drougarios tou Stolou (Lord Admiral)
Same robes as Domesticus Scholae but without staff of office.

29) Protospatharios
Same robes as with the Domesticus Scholae with the exception of the staf of office which was identical to the one held by the Protovestiarios.

30) Praetor
Same robes as with the Domesticus Scholae with the exception of the staff of office which was plain wooden.

31) Quaestor
Same as Domesticus Scholae with the exception of a red belt .

32) Logothetis tou Stratiotikou
Usually wore a red tunic and held no staff of office.

33) Logothetis ton Agelon
Identical to the above

34) Protallagator (Chief Bodyguard)
Same robes with the Quaestor with the exception of eagle insignias patched on the left side of his belt and bears a silver bat coloured red on its base and gold in the middle

35) Dioikitis tou Allagiou (Commander of Bodyguards)
Same as above with the exception that instead of the bat he holds a wooden staff of office.

36) Orphaonotrophus
Same as above without the staff of office

37) Protonotarius
Same as above

38) Prokathimenos tou Koitonos (Chief servant of the Emperor)
He wore red crown, dalmatic and boots and held a wooden staff of office

39) Prokathimenos tou Vestiariou (Responsible for Emperor's wardrobe)
Same as above but without the staff of office

40) Etairiarches
Same as above with the exception of the staff of office which was identical to the staff held by the Megas Etairiarches

End of Part 1
Decided to split Chapter VI since it is big enough... Next ill write about various court functions (and some more descriptions of robes if i find any more)
 
I have decided to revive my old thread and add a few more things about several aspects of Byzantine life...

First of all due to some personal problems and accidental destruction of some papers i ll have to rewrite chapter V and chapter VI part 2... I ll do that later... I am really sorry for that... So i ll continue with chapter VII "Additions to previous chapters about Military"...


Chapter VII

Additions to previous chapters about Military



1. Qualities of a General (a "perilepsis" from different "Taktika")

A General must be wise in order not to be carried away by any desires and abandon thinking of his army and command.

He should be a chaste man since carnal desires can take a firm grasp over him and guide his thinking which should be undistracted.

A commanding officer should be sober all the time and quick so he can take any decision any time. Even at night when everyone else is sleeping he should go to sleep last after shaping the perfect decision in his mind.

He must not pursue luxuries and be content with the harsh military life in order to save valuable time and money for his army and mission.

He must endure pain and not be tired easily in order to give the example to his men not to seek rest but to be brave.

He must be intelligent to make the right move in the right time.

He must not be greedy nor accepting bribes because many officers are brave and valiant before the enemy but their soul turns black when they accept bribes. Being greedy is the worst trait for a general as it is the only thing that can neutralise a superb commanding officer.

A general must not be very young nor very old because if he is too young his inexperience will betray him on the most crucial moment and he wont take responsibilty for his actions blaming others instead while if he is too old he will have a feeble mind and/or infirm body so none near him will be safe.

He should be loved by his soldiers and not necessarily feared as if the soldiers love they follow his commands without delay and do not disobey at any order.

A general should be married with children although unmarried or childless people can become generals if they have what it takes for. A general who has children is more easily bond with his soldiers.

A general must have the gift of speech which is great for the troops morale. A commanding officer with such a gift will be able to lead his troops even to their death with none objecting to it.

He also must know how to console troops who did something wrong inadvertedly or the wounded from battles since the doctors may heal their wounds but the general must be able to heal their souls and make them braver and merrier.

A general must be a glorious man since no soldier will obey to someone insignificant.

A general shouldnt be extra rich nor poor although poor people can become generals if they have what it takes to become one. A rich general can have a great army because of his money but a poor general can be brave and valiant in battle which is better for the troops morale.

But a poor general should be very careful not to accept any bribes since that will turn an excellent general to a traitor and the Emperor should have to think twice when promoting a poor person to general.

A general mustnt be a cold "accountant" and becoming general only for the money and the prestige of the position.

He should have prestigious and glorious ancestors and be willing to become like them.

Even if has glorious ancestors but lacks on other virtues he mustnot be appointed a general

He must be a noble in manners and well educated sincethe soldiers wont tolerate an uneducated and harsh man.

A general must be strong having a fair body, brave, willing to take risks and above all he must fear God and be religious.

A general must be able to find out what the enemies are planning all the time.

A general should know how to reward his soldiers.

A general must not be carried away by flattering and useless speech by other generals or enemies.

He must spend money only to cover his needs and of his soldiers and nothing more.

He must not be too lenient and calm nor too tyrannical as his soldiers will hate him in both ways.

A general must be loyal to the Emperor who appointed him.

If he is a Captain/Admiral he must provide for the ship's/fleet's safety by hiring the necesary people for that.

In case of emergency a general may act on his own initiative but on all other cases he must take the advice of other generals accompanying him and of his subordinates. However these talks should be short and brief.

He must help those who suffer in the hands of the enemies.

A general must not ignore Imperial orders.



Military Councils

Before any action is taken a Military Council must be convoked (unless in cases of extreme emergency) since commanding without taking advices can be extremely dangerous.
The commanding general is obliged to call all other generals and subordinate officers in meeting in order to decide the order of battle or a siege or any other military issue.
Everyone is entitled to speak freely in the council without any fear even if there are political enemies inside the Council.
Private military meetings are forbidden aka not without the presence of all the generals. If classified informations are to be revealed in the Council then the general must make sure that the participants, the guards and those who record the reports for the Emperor wont leak any informations outside.
The place and time of Military Council will be decided by the senior general.
Decisions reached by Council are final and bind all present to follow them even if they disagree.


Division of the army

The army can be divided into "tagmata" (aka regiments) which in turn they can be divided to "dekarchies" (aka groups of 10) and the general is free to appoint anyone he wishes from the ranks as commanding officer of these tagmata and dekarchies.

The general is the senior commanding officer of the army and after him come the "Merarchoi" (commanding flanks), the "Tourmarchai" (commanding groups of regiments), the Drougarioi (staff officers), Komites (aka Counts commanding regiments), "Kentarchoi" (aka Centurions commanders of companies of 100 men), "Dekarchoi" (aka Decurions commanders of groups of 10 soldiers) and "Pentarchoi" (commanders of groups of 5 soldiers).
The last person of the last line is the commander of the rear guard.

In every regiment there was a set numbers of standard bearers, flag bearers, trumpeteers, doctors, mandatores (aka couriers) and paraklitores, these paraklitores were entitled to shout the battle cries and hymns when the army charged to battle.

The commanding General bears the title of "Strategos" with the second in command bearing the title of "Hypostrategos" (aka "under the Strategos").
If the Emperor himself leads the campaign then he takes the title of Strategos and the actual Strategos is demoted to Hypostrategos.

Ranks of the army and other posts

Merarchos:See above.

Tourmarches: See above.

Komes: See above.

Kentarchos: See above.

Dekarchos: See above

Pentarchos: See above

Vandoforos: Standard bearer/flag bearer

Despotatoi: Carried the wounded off the battlefield while protecting them from enemies attacks.

Mandatores: Couriers carrying the orders from and to the Generals

Captains: Second in command in regiments

Sekoundos: Assistant to Captain

Ouragos: Commander of the rear guard

Cursores: First line of soldiers who first clash with the enemy by breaking the battle line and running towards them trying to weaken their ranks

Defensores: Second line of soldiers more heavily armed from Cursores they do not break army line nor running but attack the enemy after Cursores as a single body like a sledge hammer.

Minsores: Reserves

Anticencors: Scouts

Sculcatores: Spies

Plagiofylakes: Flank guards

Yperkerastai: Flank unit formed amidst battle by order of the General with the sole purpose of flanking and surrounding the enemy.

Enedroi: Soldiers entitled to hide and ambush a retreating enemy army or ambush an invading army inflicting casualties on them before battle.

I ll continue later...
 
Chapter VII part 2

The Varangian Guard

I ve decided to write about the Varangian Guard which was an elite military unit and was the Emperor's private guards.
The name Varangians (greek Βαραγγοι Varaggoi) derives from the ancient norwegian word "Vaeringjar" which means "Word of Honour" or "Oath of fealty" amd indeed in almost all cases the loyalty of the Varangian Guard to the Emperor justified their name as they never abandoned or betrayed any Emperor. Also Varangians were known to Byzantines as Ros since their neighbours the Finns used to call them "Ruotsi" which in Finnish means "rowers", There is a place in Sweden called "Roslagen" (aka country of Ros) till our days.

Varangians after failing twice to conquer Constantinople they signed a treaty with them in 911 and many of these warriors moved to Byzantine territory and they offered their services to the Emperor as mercenaries as an article of the newly signed peace treaty allowed them to join the Byzantine army either in extraordinary cases (aka war, invasion etc.) or in a permanent basis.

Emperor Constantine VII in his work "De administrando Imperii" is the first one to mention the existence of an elite unit consisted by 700 Varangians in Constantinople.
This unit participated in the campaign of Emperor Leo VI against the Arabs of Crete under the command of Admiral Himerios, however the campaign failed miserably when the Arabs surprised the fleet heading to Crete and destroyed 2/3 of it.

Next time we see them in 935 when they participated in the Byzantine campaign in Italy with 415 men and 7 ships. 14 years later again they participated in a campaign against Crete with 6 ships and 625 men under General Constantine Gongyles but this campaign failed too because of General Gongyles inexperience. In 961 however a small force of Varangians was proven an invaluable ally for General Nicephorus Phokas who successfully recaptured Crete.

Byzantines always used the Varangians in the first line of the battle as they were tall and very big let alone fiersome warriors and their view caused terror to the opponents.

Most scholars agree that the Varangians became the Emperor's personal guard in 988 AD.
In 987 General Bardas Skleros mutinied and joined forces with another rogue General Bardas Phokas and as their forces were large the imperial army was reluctant to face them in open field because most of them was occupied in Thrace fighting against Bulgars plus General Skleros had the support of the Arabs who had reinforced him with arab troops. By late 987 General Skleros had reached Chrysopolis just across Constantinople and Basil II was in a very difficult position when suddenly he remembered the 911 treaty with the Varangians where it said that the Varangians would help the Emperor in times of crisis.

So in early 988 Varangians heed the Emperor's call and an army of 6000 men arrived upon command of the Russian sovereign of Kiev Vladimir.
These men were incorporated in the Byzantine army and with a surprise move Basil II crushed the army of General Skleros in Chrysopolis and quickly turned south to relieve Abydos which was besieged by General Phokas for months.

In 13 April 989 the united Imperial-Varangian army annihilated the combined forces of Generals Skleros and Phokas while General Phokas died upon his horse from a massive heart attack after his crushing defeat.

After his triumph against the usurpers Basil II realised that he had to create a unit which would be completely loyal to the Emperor so he wouldnt be in danger in the future and after seeing how fiersome warriors the Varangians were in battle and how quickly they came after he called them he decided to bestow upon them the honour of being his personal guards.


The newly created Varangian Guard was mainly consisted by Viking warriors from Scandinavian lands, Ucraine and Russia and it is possible that people of slavic ancestry were among the Varangians as many scandinavians were married to russians.

A change happened around 1066 when William the Conqueror defeated Harold II and became King of England, then many Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Danish left England (especially after a series of harsh measures against them) and went to France and Germany hoping to a quick regime change so they could return.
However this didnt happen and most of them left for Byzantine Empire puesuing adventures and wealth.

We can see this change reflecting in the book of "Strategikon" writen by Alexios Kekaumenos (written around 1075-1078) who mentions Englishmen serving in Varangian Guard and he makes a parallel of the Varangian Guard with the Foederati of the Late Roman Empire. Especially for the English serving in Varangian Guard says "They come from the island of Britannia an old Roman province and these people were part of the Roman army since time immemorial"

Gradually Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Danish became the majority inside the Varangian Guard with the Viking and slavic people becoming a minority but after 1195 Vikings became a majority again after the Emperor sent embassies to the Kings of Norway, Sweden and Danemark asking at least for 1200 men to reinforce the Guard. This incident is mentioned in norwegian poetry in "Sverrirsaga"

In 1204 the Varangian Guard was consisted mostly by Viking and English guards as Villeaharduin and Robert de Clary mention. However after 1204 no more Vikings are mentioned and the Guard is consisted mainly by English.
In 1272 Emperor Michael VIII refers to the Guard as "Anglovaraggioi" (aka English Varangians) which proves that the overwhelming majority of the Guard were English. So by 13th century till the end of the Empire the Varangian Guard remained a unit which included English soldiers almost entirely.

Forgot to mention that by 11th century (and till the end of the Empire) the Varangian Guard had a small percentage of Bavarian soldiers who the Byzantines called "Nemitzoi".

When Basil II founded the Guard he restricted them to be foot soldiers only and gave their leader the title of "Proximus" thus placing them under the command of the "Drougarios tis Viglas" who was the supreme commander of all the Emperor's bodyguards.

When the Emperor was out of the Palace he was always escorted by the commander of the Varangian Guard and a detachment of Varangians bearing shields with the Imperial emblem and war axes.

Emperor Alexios I reformed the army and he merged all imperial bodyguard units to one large unit called "Etaireia" which was under the command of the "Megas Etairiarches". However the Varangian Guard retained some autonomy and their commander was appointed as second in command of the Megas Etairiarches and became his deputy.

We know some of the people who were commanders of the Varangian Guard

Rangvaldt was commander around early 11th century, between 1035-1044 the office was held by Harald Sigurdson (later became King of Norway as Harald Hardrada) and around 1080 Nambites (hellenised name) was commander. For other commanders we can only speculate as we dont have sufficient informations.

Another important office of the Varangian Guard was the office of "Megas Diermineftis" aka "Great Interprator". This office was filled only by Greeks and whoever was appointed to the post he must knew how to speak and write in Varangian languages perfectly. This office was the liaison between the Emperor and the Guard and supreme judge when differences and problems rose inside the Guard.

One of the common problems that rose between guard members were the salaries. Every guard wae receiving 10 or 12 or 15 gold coins every month, for instance in 911 the 700 Varangians who participated in the failed Cretan expedition received 7200 gold coins as payment which means 10 gold coins for each soldier (leaders received 10 gold coins and something extra).
But besides this wage Varangians received bonuses from the Emperor called "Roge", gifts during the Great Feasts (see chapter III volume 1) plus after a victorious campaign Varangians were given part of the spoils or they were free to loot a conquered area.
For instance after the battle of Kleidion where Basil II annihilated the Bulgarian army the spoils were divided like this: 1/3 was taken by the Emperor, 1/3 was given to the Imperial army and 1/3 was given to the Varangian Guard.

Scandinavian sagas make numerous mentions ti the wealth of the Byzantine Empire and the Imperial City of Constantinople and archaeologists have found thousands of Byzantine coins scattered all around Scandinavian lands.
One classical case is of Harald Sigurdson who was commander of the Guard. After he returned to Norway Harald used the wealth he had amassed in Constantinople to raise an army and take the throne of Norway.


Varangian Guard had their camp right next to the Imperial Palace in the old camp of the Excubitores Guard (which had been disbanded by then) and their sole mission was to protect the life of the Emperor who was the symbol of the Eastern Roman Empire and God's representative to Earth according to them and their oath.

Binded by this oath they were completely loyal to the Emperor and the only time they mutiny they had a really good excuse to do so like in the case of Emperor Michael V who decided to banish Empress Zoe causing a popular uprising. Then Varangians mutinied (as Zoe was a member of the Macedonian dynasty related by blood to their founder) and arrested Michael V.
Michael V was sentenced by Zoe to blinding and the penalty was carried out by the commander of Varangian Guard Harald Sigurdson.

Besides guarding the Emperor the Varangians were entrusted with the guard of the whole Palace and in cases of extreme necessity Constantinople's defence. It should be noted that when Crusaders captured the City in 1204 they were unable to capture the Palace as the Varangians defended it stubbornly and refused to surrender (despite the fact that Emperor Alexios V had abandoned the City fleeing), eventually after suffering many losses the Crusaders managed to capture the Palace only after all Varangians were dead.

Varangians weapon of choice was the war axe called "Tzikourion" named after a similar roman weapon called "securis" and they were decorated with runes.
Their secondary weapon was the Viking sword which was carried in their shoulder.

Also several chroniclers mention that Varangians could use lances and bows with the same ease they used axes and swords.

Their main defence was the shield which was round and wooden at the beginning but after 12th century influenced by Byzantines they adopted triangular shields while some of them prefered a rectangular shield influenced by the large russian shields.
Their shields were decorated with with runes, dragons, crows (symbol of Odin) or just flowery motives.

Their helmets were the typical Viking or slavic helmets depending their ancestry.

Initially Varangians didnt wear anything on their chests but by 11th century they decided to imitate the Byzantines and wore chainmails

Varangian Guard during battle had their own tactics which was forming a shield wall and moving slowly towards the enemy and thus they were protected from enemy arrows or sudden cavalry attacks.
When near the enemy they changed formation, formed a wedge started running towards them while on the same time drew their battle axes.
The hit and the shock from such an attack was so terrible that the enemy formation was taking huge gaps in their formation allowing ordinary troops to follow without much casualties

Many chroniclers mention that Varangians fought bravely and fiercely and that they soon fell to some sort of battle trance aka slaying and slaying without getting tired or even care if they were wounded or dying.

Thats for today... I ll continue tomorrow (also ran out of cigarettes)
 
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