Looking for info on the Byzantine imperial court and Household

Just like the title says. I'm looking for more info on the Imperial Court and Household of Byzantium. More specifically info on how both were organized, whether or not the Household had an official head (like the Grand Maître de France and Mayordomo mayor of Spain) and official name (ie Maison du Roi or Household of the Sovereign), how was it divided (id the various departments) and finally info on the Household troops (ie what regiments were personally in charge of the Emperor and his family's safety, like the Garde du Corps of France). Any help would be appreciated!
 
Well, you have at least for a time the continuation of Late Imperial "domesticity" thay you can find, in different shape and evolution, in contemporary Francia.

Of course the palatine dignity with ranks in court (axìa) changed a lot with time : quoting Louis Bréhier

Governemental management was attributed, depending on circumstances and sovereign's will either to private service agents (cubiculum) or financial public servants.

This lack of stability is actually one of the distinctive mark of byzantine administrative organisation. It happened that, with centuries, many fonctions were transformed in honorifying distinctions given as prizes. Offices of pure domesticity [koubouklion], as imperial changing room, became simple dignities attributed to civilian and military responsibles
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Roughly, you can distinguish several periods, for what I gathered, but the changing nature of the administration prevents, IMO, to really give a fixed hierarchy, and giving the spawn of the Byzantine Empire, chronologically...

Have you a particular period in mind? I'm more knowledgable about the first period, up to the VIIth, but I can try digging it out.

The Magister Officorum, replace praetorian prefects by the IVth, managing both the imperial house strictly speaking (with magistri scrinorium, originally modest managers of scrinia, offices, gaining in importance) but often get the leadership of scholae (palatine guard), public post (cursus publicus), agentes in rebus (sort of state police, roughly) and a lot of other political charges.

The Questor Sacrii Palatii, originally managing the imperial chancery proper, became a huge part of imperial judicial and legal power, having reponsability of imperial ordinances and managing legal matters.

You didn't have one financial organisation at this point, but you have comes and procuratores charged with somptuary expenses that eventually included public and imperial works and financing.

Private domain of the emperors, to not be confused with fiscus, public land, were managed by public servents of rei privatae (private matters), led by a comes with subservient magistrii.
The praepositus sacri cubiculi or parakimoenos, the ennuch charged with imperial domesticity became an important officer at this time (up to recieving public honors), as you can see with Eutropos, replacing matters so fat managed by comes rei privatae.
Castrensis managed up to the VIth century the imperial household proper and who compoded it, ministeriales that mixed both people as workers and tabularii (accountants).

I'm sorry I can't take the length of covering every period, but it would be a bit messy. As you can see, you had an imperial domesticity/public office mix, that neither phagocyted each other, but were more complementary.
 
info on the Household troops (ie what regiments were personally in charge of the Emperor and his family's safety, like the Garde du Corps of France). Any help would be appreciated!

As of the XII century, there was the Hetaireia (palace company), commanded by the Grand Hetaireiarch; the Varangian Guard commanded by the Akolouthos; and a Vardariot regiment commanded by their Primmikerios. There were also two similar groups of Vestariatai, one for each of the imperial treasuries.

The Vigla used to be a regiment specifically responsible for the Emperor's safety, but they lost the function in the Komnenoi era, their commander relegated to a judicial title. Don't know what period you're interested in.
 
I probably should have been more specific. I was mainly looking for info during the middle or Macedonian era and potentially the Komnenoi era as well.
 

nomisma

Donor
Just like the title says. I'm looking for more info on the Imperial Court and Household of Byzantium. More specifically info on how both were organized, whether or not the Household had an official head (like the Grand Maître de France and Mayordomo mayor of Spain) and official name (ie Maison du Roi or Household of the Sovereign), how was it divided (id the various departments) and finally info on the Household troops (ie what regiments were personally in charge of the Emperor and his family's safety, like the Garde du Corps of France). Any help would be appreciated!

If I remember correctly The Palgrave Atlas of Byzantine History have the chart for the administration during middle byzantine period.

PS. Figure 6.1 in the book
 
Oh, yeah. Totally forgot about this one (for once the scan would be useful).
It's simlified (the role of the paraikomenos seems to have been less important after the VIIth, from what I gathered), but quite good.

AGP7kLv.png
 
Ah thank you, very interesting. Out of curiosity what was the Court/Household called in Byzantium? The Great Household? Something similar? Also what was its name in Attic/Byzantine Greek for both of those entities?
 
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I think you'd do well to start with this venerable and very useful thread: HERE

It's not really localised in a particular time but it does cover a very wide amount of topics in some detail right here on the forum.
 
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