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[German version] (δισύπατος; dis(h)ýpatos). Middle-ranking administrator within the Byzantine bureaucracy, first recorded in 804 [1. 153*, 39]. The title of a dishypatus was given to judges and administrators. Of frequent occurrence from the 12th cent. on; after 1178 exclusively as a family name. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography 1 G. Fatouros, Theodori Studitae epistulae, I, 1992. J. Bury, The Imperial Administrative System, 1911, 27 R. Guilland, Recherches sur les Institutions byzantines, II, 1967, 79-81 W. Seibt, Die byz. Bleisiegel in Österreich, I, 197…

[German version] Brief local chronicle, original version from the 10th cent. AD. Mainly concerned with Patras, it tells of the founding of Monemvasia (southeastern Peloponnese) as a retreat settlement, of the conquest of western and central Peloponnese by the Avars and Slavs, and finally of their subjugation from the east at the beginning of the 9th cent., which introduced a period of rehellenization. The author may be the learned bishop Arethas of Caesarea, who came from Patras. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography Edition: I. Dujčev (ed.), Chronaca di Monemvasia, 1976. bibliogra…

[German version] (ἀλληλέγγυον; allēléngyon). Mutual liability ἀλληλεγγύη ( allēlengýē) of all taxpayers in a village community (e.g. transfer of fallow land with tax liabilities to be fulfilled by the neighbours) assured the Byzantine treasury of revenues in the 9th and 10th cents. However, owners of large estates were largely able to detach themselves from the community and also from liability. Emperor Romanus III abolished the allelengyon in 1028, not in the least because of ecclesiastical pressure. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography M. Kaplan, Les hommes et la terre…

(ἀναγνώστης; anagnṓstēs). [German version] [1] see  Lector Makris, Georgios (Bochum) [German version] [2] Lector, member of the lower byzantine Clerus The anagnostes ( lector), in the Byzantine period, a member of the lower clergy, had the task of reading from biblical texts during the liturgy from the ambon: Julian, among others, before his rejection of Christianity, as well as the patriarch Iohannes VII. Grammaticus and Photius (both 9th cent.) in early years all had the status of an anagnostes. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography J. Darrouzès, Recherches sur les ΟΦΦΙΚΙΑ …

[German version] (ἔκθεσις πίστεως; ékthesis písteōs). A decree of faith issued by Emperor Heraclius in AD 638, probably written by the Patriarch Sergius, with the objective of stopping the christological controversies (regarding the nature and energy of Christ). The Ekthesis pisteos forbade further discussion of the one- or two-energy theories and instead assumed two natures and one will of Christ. However, a reconciliation was not effected. Rather, it created the monotheletic doctrine ( Monotheletis…

[German version] Title of the collection of the entire Christian hagiographical corpus. 68 volumes ordered according to the calendar (1 Jan. - 10 Nov.), as well as several supplementary volumes, have been published in the Acta Sanctorum (AS) in Antwerp and Brussels since 1643. The term AS for genuine hagiographical sources ( Martyrs and  Saints' lives ) is derived from the title while praise oratory and sermons are included among homiletics. Acts of the Martyrs were initially written beginning in …

[German version] High ecclesiastical office, one of the five or six deacons responsible for the administration of the patriarchate of Constantinople. As an archivist and librarian, the C. was as a rule highly cultured; he had access to forbidden writings and administrated the library of the patriarchate, which was probably the most important collection of ancient Greek writings during the high Middle Ages. Georgios  Choiroboskos -- besides other 8th-10th cent. incumbents -- rendered outstanding services to the conservation of the cultural heritage of the ancient world. Makris, Ge…

[German version] Followers of a doctrine, taught by the half-legendary priest Bogumil (Greek ‘Theophilus’, ‘loved by God’ [1]), that spread through Bulgaria in the 10th cent. and later swept the whole of the Balkans. They totally rejected ritual and the church hierarchy and sought salvation in humility, continual prayer, abstinence and civil disobedience with respect to property and civil authority. Only gradually do they seem to have acquired dualistic attitudes and myths of creation. Emperor Ale…

[German version] The Middle Greek counterparts of the chronica minora of late antiquity offer hardly any possibility of distinguishing between an original breviarium, a summary of a more substantial historical work ( epitomḗ) and a short chronicle (e.g. [1]). No  annals in the strict sense of the word have come down to us from the Greek world. From the late Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods in particular, however, we have sequences of concise, precisely dated entries, the so-called Byzantine short chronicles. They contain i…

[German version] (ἀνθύπατος; anthýpatos). Translation of Latin proconsul or consularis, initially an official title of provincial governors, later of the heads of the civilian administration in military themes, and after the 9th cent. a high, non-purchasable court title without office. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography R. Guilland, Recherches sur les institutions byzantines II, 1967, 68-79 R. J. Lilie, s. v. A., LMA 1, 702.

[German version] Sophist and rhetorician from the school of Gaza in the 1st half of the 6th cent.; pupil and successor of Procopius of Gaza. Two enkṓmia to bishop Marcianus (Or. 1 and 2 Foerster/Richtsteig) incorporate ekphráseis of two churches inaugurated by the bishop, together with their paintings. Thus C. is first to apply the tools of pagan rhetoric to Christian objects. He made two further eulogies to prominent individuals, dux Aratios and the archon Stephanus (Or. 3) as well as general Summos (Or. 4); two wedding addresses to his pupil Zacharias (Or. 5) as wel…

[German version] (ἀριθμός; arithmós). A middle Byzantine military technical term for basic military units (also called vigla, tagma and bandon   bandum ). In technical fiscal terms the arithmos was the officially fixed number of   paroikoi in imperial land grants. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography T. Kolias, s. v. Heer, LMA 4, 2002-2004 G. Ostrogorsky, Quelques problèmes d'histoire de la paysannerie byzantine, 1956, 27-31.

[German version] (Ἐπαναγωγή; Epanagōgḗ). A law book in 40 titles promulgated under the Macedonian dynasty in the year AD 886 with the goal of invalidating the so-called  Ecloge, a codification of law enacted in the year 741 under the Isaurian emperors. In addition to civil and criminal provisions, it also contains state theoretical parts probably inspired by  Photius, which assume the patriarch to be of equal rank with the emperor. The work, whose original title is ‘Eisagōge’ (Εἰσαγωγή, ‘introduction’) [1. 12-14], instituted the Basilika, a large-scale codification based on the Corp…

[German version] (Ἀρέθας; Aréthas). Bibliophile commentator on classical MSS, editor of theological-exegetical writings, and polemicist. A. was born shortly after 850 in Patras, became a student of  Photius and was initially active as a scholar in Constantinople. Important MSS of the works of Plato (Bodl. Clark 39, Vatic. gr. 1, Paris. gr. 1807) and Aristotle (Vatic. Urb. 35) were produced by his editorial initiatives or at least copied on his commission. Other MSS were also transliterated from maj…

[German version] (τὸ βάνδον; tò bándon). Originally the description of the colours of small military units, bandum was used for the units themselves from the 6th cent. In the 10th cent., a bandum consisted of 50-100 heavily or 200-400 lightly armed soldiers. The bandum was commanded by a   comes ; five to seven banda formed a turma. The term remained in use until the 14th cent. Makris, Georgios (Bochum) Bibliography J. Haldon, Byzantine Praetorians, 1984, 172-173, 276-277 T. Kolias, s.v. Heer, LMA 4, 1989, 2002-2004.

[German version] The late ancient Latin version of the Apollonius romance [1] was translated into Italian in the 14th cent. Based on a Tuscan prose translation a free, rhymeless Greek reworking in 857 quinzaines (Διήγησις πολυπαθοῦς ᾿Απολλωνίου τοῦ Τύρου; Diḗgēsis polypathoûs Apollōníou toû Týrou [2]) was created; it emphasizes the Christian element adding pious, late medieval viewpoints. The Cretan Gabriel Akontianos produced another Greek version (Ριμάδα τοῦ ᾿Απολλωνίου τοῦ Τύρου; Rimáda toû Apollōníou toû Týrou) in 1894 quinzaines rhyming in couplets in the very la…

[German version] (δεσπότης; despótēs, Classical: ‘lord, master’). Byzantine term initially for God, Christ, the emperor and high clerics and nobles, despotes was from the 12th cent. onwards the highest title bestowed by the emperor in the Byzantine ranking system. In the late Byzantine period despótai ─ the sons-in-law, afterwards also the brothers and younger sons of the emperors ─ who did not have a right to the imperial title. Often they administered semi-autonomous parts of the empire (e.g. the Peloponnese or Morea); their insignia, c…

This item can be found on the following maps: Social Wars | Socii (Roman confederation) | | Rome | Rome (Βάρις; Báris). Peucetian harbour town (Βάριον, Atbaris: schol. Hor. Sat. 1,5,97; Beroes: It. Burd. 609,15; cf. Liv. 40,18; Str. 5,3,8), founded by Illyrians (Plin. HN 3,102) or by emigrants from Barra (Fest. s.v.), at the junction of the via Traiana and the coastal road (Hor. Sat. 1,5,96-97), modern Bari. Flourished between the 6th and 4th cents. BC (cf. the rich necropolis outside the town to the south, close to the coast). Municipium of the tribus Claudia (inscriptions: IG XIV 687; C…

This item can be found on the following maps: Socii (Roman confederation) | Wine | | Coloniae | Commerce | Italy, languages | Pilgrimage | Punic Wars | Regio, regiones (Βρενδέσιον, Βρεντήσιον; Brendésion, Brentḗsion, modern Brindisi). Important Iapygian-Messapian harbour town (Hdt. 4,99) in agro Sallentino (Liv. per. 19), eastern terminus of the via Appia (cf. Hor. Sat. 1,5). [German version] A. Greek and Roman period Ancient historians assumed a connection between the name of the town and the Messapian βρένδον, ( bréndon, ‘deer’) or βρέντιον ( bréntion, ‘deer's head’), based on…

[German version] A. Roman period Roman double province (after Diocletian, 284-305, only Bithynia) with  Nicomedia as its capital. In 74 BC the death of Nicomedes IV [2;7]; M. Iunius Iuncus, proconsul Asiae, is given the task of securing the kingdom as a Roman province; in the autumn of 74 the province of Bithynia is conferred upon the incumbent consul M.  Aurelius Cotta and Asia and B. established as a unitary customs zone (SEG 39, 1180 = AE 1989, 681 [1;4]). The 3rd Mithridatic war began in early 73 [2; 4; 7; 8]; Mithridate…

[German version] (Καυκάσιον ὄρος; Kaukásion óros, Hdt. 3,97; Καύκασον ὄρος; Kaúkason óros, App. praef. 4, App. Mith. 103; καυκάσια ὄρη, Str. 11,2,1; Caucasii/Caucasei montes, Plin. HN 5,98; 6,47; Mela 1,15; 1,19; Geogr. Rav. 2,20). First mentioned at Aesch. PV 422; 719 (πόλισμα καυκάσου, καύκασον); the name has been retained until today. High mountain range (1,100 km long, up to 60 km wide) between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea that separated the world of the northern steppe peoples (Scythians, Sarmatians, Alania…

[German version] (Χαλκιδική; Chalkidikḗ). The name C., used today for the entire peninsula with its three extended fingers, in antiquity referred only to the area occupied by the Chalcidians on Sithonia and its hinterland, which they probably settled before the great period of Greek colonization (middle of the 8th cent. BC). The coastal towns are first mentioned by name at the time of Xerxes' march, and later, together with inland towns, as members of the Athenian League. In 432 the majority secede…

Makris, Georgios (Bochum) [German version] A. From 1453 to the 18th Cent. (CT) Soon after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman advance stimulated interest among the scholars of Central Europe in Byzantine historians as a source of the history of the Turks. Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580) had published historical works by Niketas Choniates and Nikephoros Gregoras with precisely this aspect in mind; he was also the first to recognise the intrinsic value of the Byzantine world, fixing its conventional ra…

[German version] A. Definition South-eastern extension of the Italian peninsula (Str. 6,3,1: its name possibly of indigenous origin; [1; 2. 32], for different view [5]), modern Salento. Καλαβρία ( Kalabría) is first attested for Rhinto (Hsch. s.v. K.), c. 300 BC; according to Str. 6,3,5, most authors used Kalabría synonymously with Ἰαπυγία ( Iapygía), Μεσσαπία ( Messapía) and Σαλεντίνη ( Salentínē) for the peninsula south of the isthmus of Tarentum -- Brundisium. The earliest mention of the tribe of that region as Καλαβροί ( Kalaboí) in Pol. 10.1; in Roman triumphs (of 280, 2…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Byzantium | Zenobia | | Hellenistic states | Pompeius | Patricius (Δορύλαιον , Δορύλλειον; Dorýlaion, Dorýlleion). Important city in the north of Phrygia (modern Eskişehir) between the river Tembris (Porsuk Çayı) and its tributary Bathys (called Hermus by Plin. HN 5,119; modern Sarısu). The ancient site is located on a hill (Şarhüyük, ‘Hill of the city’), that was inhabited already in the Hittite and Phrygian period (currently Turkish excavations); founded anew as a Greek city by…

[German version] [1] Deacon of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople Deacon of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, author of a speculum regum containing 72 acrostically arranged aphorisms for Justinian I (527-565). A. grants the Christian element an influential position in respect of the topic of the pagan ideology of the caesars; the ruler must above all else be a loyal servant and emulator of God. His main source was the paraenetic second speech of Isocrates to Nicocles. This short, naive text had a great influence on the speculum regum literature of the Greek Middle Ages and in the easte…

[German version] I. Republican Period The duty of the cura annonae (CA) lay in the organization of the food supply for the population of the city of Rome. In its fully developed form, the CA designates the collection of grain as a tax (predominantly in Egypt and Northern Africa), the transport of the grain to Rome as well as the storage and free distribution thereof to about 200,000 people in the city. Due to its strong population growth in the 2nd and 1st cents. BC, Rome became increasingly dependent upo…

(Ἐκλογή; eklogḗ, ‘excerpt’, ‘selection’). [German version] Ecloga [1] Varro (in Charisius, gramm. p. 154 B.) uses the foreign term in its literal meaning (‘selection’). It is unclear how the meaning has developed into the usage we encounter from the end of the 1st cent. AD on: Ecloga may refer to individual lyrical poems (Stat. Silv. 3, pr. 23 = 3,5; 4, pr. 21 = 4,8, later in a similar way Auson. 8 Peiper) and in the plural form Eclogae to the entire collection (Plin. Ep. 4,14,9). The term is used in particular for  Horatius (Suet. Vita: Epist. 2,1; Sid. Apoll. Epist. 9,1…

This item can be found on the following maps: Social Wars | Socii (Roman confederation) | Umbri, Umbria | | Coloniae | Commerce | Italy, languages | Regio, regiones Seaport in Picenum, named after its location in an elbow-shaped bay (Mela 2,64). Occupied from the Mycenaean period, a colony was founded there by  Syracusae in the 4th cent. BC (remains of walls and of a temple of Aphrodite on the acropolis; cf. Plin. HN 3,111). From the 2nd cent. BC, it was a Roman naval base. In 42 BC, it became a Roman colonia with   duoviri . Of the Roman town, the amphitheatre, public thermae, several   domus …

(Διόσκορος; Dióskoros). [German version] [1] Patriarch of Alexandria Patriarch of Alexandria (444-451). In terms of ecclesiastical politics, he aimed to achieve the highest standing for his patriarchy and in terms of theology he promoted the teaching of the pre-eminence of the divine nature of Christ (moderate  Monophysitism). When the radical Monophysite  Eutyches was sentenced in 448, D. took his side and, with the help of the Emperor Theodosius II, asserted his will at the ‘Robber Synod’ of Ephesus (…

( Constantinopolis). [German version] I. Site Imperial residence, founded in 324 by  Constantine [1] the Great on the site of  Byzantium. Bounded to the north by the Golden Horn, with the  Bosporus [1] to the east and the  Hellespont to the south, the city could only be attacked from one side by land. By virtue of its site it dominated trade and commerce between Europe and Asia, between the Aegean and the Black Sea ( Pontos Euxeinos; Hdn. 3,1,5; Pol. 4,38-45). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) [German version] II. Topography The city plan did not follow the customary imperial…

[German version] [I] Office (ἄρχοντες, ἄρχων; árchontes, árchōn). In general, the term applied to all holders of   archai . However, the term was frequently used as the title of a particular office, originally, at least, the highest office of the state. Archontes in this sense of the term are found in most states of central Greece, including Athens, and states dependent on or influenced by Athens. According to Aristot. Ath. Pol. 3, the kings were initially replaced by archons who were initially elected for life, later for a period of ten years, and finally for …

(Χερσόνησος; Chersónēsos). [German version] [1] Modern Peninsula Gallipoli The peninsula nowadays called Gallipoli (more than 900 km2); traces of prehistoric settlement, a strategically favourable position, and fertile. First mentioned in Hom. Il. 2,844f., as homeland of the Thracians Acamas and Peirous. Aeolian colonization in the 7th cent. BC (Alopekonnesos, Madytus, Sestus); Ionian (Cardia, Limnae by Miletus and Clazomenae, Elaeus by Teos) somewhat later. The powerful Thracian tribes (Apsinthi, Dolonci) lon…

(Ἀμώνιος; Ammónios). [German version] [1] Favourite of  Alexander [II 13] I (Balas), middle of the 2nd cent. BC Favourite of  Alexander [II 13] I (Balas); ruled in his place in Syria, executed relatives and followers of (the deceased) Demetrius I and oppressed the Antiochenes. When he attempted an attack on Ptolemy VI, certainly Alexander's most important supporter, and Ptolemy demanded that A. be handed over, Alexander actually declined to do this, so Ptolemy broke with Alexander: despite dressing as a woman, A…

(Δημήτριος; Dēmḗtrios). Well-known personalities: the Macedonian King D. [2] Poliorketes; the politician and writer D. [4] of Phalerum; the Jewish-Hellenistic chronographer D. [29]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] Officer under Alexander the Great Officer under Alexander [4], fought at Gaugamela as commander of a troop ( ile) of  Hetairoi and in India he commanded a hipparchy. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve 2, no. 256. [German version] [2] D. Poliorketes Son of  Antigonus [1], born 337/6 BC (Diod. Sic. 19,96,1). In 320 he m…