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Epi tou eidikou

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Theepi tou eidikou(Greek:ἐπὶ τοῦ εἰδικοῦ [λόγου],lit. 'in charge of the special [department]'), also known simply as the[e]idikos,meaning 'Special Secretary', or, from the 11th century on, as thelogothetestou eidikou,was an official of theByzantine Empirewho controlled the department known aseidikon,a specialtreasuryandstorehouse.[1][2][3][4]

History and functions

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The origin of the office is disputed: the department is first attested in the reign of EmperorTheophilos(r. 829–842), but some scholars (e.g.Rodolphe Guilland) derive the etymology of theeidikondepartment from the wordidikos,lit. 'private',indicating a continuation of the Late Roman office ofcomes rerum privatarum.[1][3][5]This view is rejected by others, notablyJ. B. Bury,who see it as a wholly separate institution, juxtaposing the 'special' department of theeidikonwith the 'general' department orgenikon,and consider it as originating in the military departments of the Late Romanpraetorian prefectures.[6]Ernst Stein,on the other hand, connected it to the wordeidos(meaning 'ware'), and regarded theeidikonas the treasury for revenue paid in kind rather than coin.[3][7]

Theeidikonfulfilled the dual function of imperial treasury and storehouse. As a treasury, it stored various precious materials such assilkorgold,and was responsible for the payment of the annual salaries (rogai) of officials of senatorial rank.[3]As a storehouse, theeidikoncontrolled the state factories producing military equipment (the Late Romanfabricae) and was responsible for supplying the necessarymatérielfor expeditions, ranging from weapons to "sails,ropes,hides,axes,wax,tin,lead,casks"for the fleet or evenArab clothingfor imperial spies.[3][2][8]For expeditions in which the emperor himself took part, theeidikosaccompanied the army at the head of his own baggage train of 46 pack-horses carrying everything "fromshoestocandlesticks",as well as large sums of gold and silver coinage for the emperor's use.[8][9]

The department is still attested as late as 1081, but was probably abolished some time after; Rodolphe Guilland suggested that thelogothesionof theoikeiakoi('household men') took over its functions (cf.logothetes ton oikeiakon).[3][10]

Staff

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As with all Byzantine department heads, theeidikoshad a number of subordinate officials:

  • Thebasilikoi notarioi(βασιλικοί νοτάριοι,'imperial notaries'), as in all fiscal departments, usually ofspathariosrank or lower; aprotonotarios('first notary') is attested at their head in theKomnenian period(1081–1185).[11][12]
  • Thearchonteston ergodosion(ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐργοδοσίων,'masters of the factories') andmeizoteroi ton ergodosion(μειζότεροι τῶν ἐργοδοσίων,'overseers/foremen of the factories'). As their name indicates, they supervised individual state factories for silk, jewelry, weapons, etc. They are well attested in seals from the 7th century on, and from the 9th century on they are frequently calledkouratores.[11][13][12]
  • Thehebdomadarioi tou eidikou(ἑβδομαδάριοι τοῦ εἰδικοῦ), palace servants.[11][12]

The seat of theeidikonwas in a special building within theGreat Palace of Constantinople,which tradition ascribed toConstantine the Great(r. 306–337). It was situated between the great halls of the Triconchos and the Lausiakos, near the imperial audience hall of theChrysotriklinos.[12]

References

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  1. ^abBury 1911,p. 98.
  2. ^abLouth 2005,p. 305.
  3. ^abcdefODB,"Eidikon" (A. Kazhdan), p. 681.
  4. ^Guilland 1971,pp. 85–95.
  5. ^Guilland 1971,pp. 85ff., esp. 89.
  6. ^Bury 1911,pp. 98–99.
  7. ^Guilland 1971,p. 89.
  8. ^abBury 1911,p. 99.
  9. ^Guilland 1971,p. 91.
  10. ^Guilland 1971,pp. 95–96.
  11. ^abcBury 1911,p. 100.
  12. ^abcdGuilland 1971,p. 94.
  13. ^ODB,"Archontes ton ergodosion" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 160–161.

Sources

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  • 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.
  • Guilland, Rodolphe(1971)."Les Logothètes: Etudes sur l'histoire administrative de l'Empire byzantin".Revue des études byzantines(in French).29(29): 5–115.doi:10.3406/rebyz.1971.1441.
  • Kazhdan, Alexander,ed. (1991).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-504652-8.
  • Louth, Andrew (2005). "The Byzantine Empire in the Seventh Century". InFouracre, Paul(ed.).The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 1, c.500–c.700.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-13905393-8.
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