GLOSSARY (INCLUDING SOME PROPER NAMES)∗

A: Arabic G: Greek I: Italian L: Latin P: Persian S: Slavonic Tc: Turkic Tsh: Turkish Abbasids Muslim dynasty which replaced the Umayyads in 750, with their capital in Baghdad Abkhazians people in western Caucasia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea; subjugated by Justinian, but gained virtual autonomy after Arab invasions of Caucasus; unified with the kingdom of K’art’li in the late tenth century to form Georgia Achaemenids Persian dynasty which ruled the largest empire of the ancient world (stretching from Central Asia to the Aegean and Egypt) from the sixth to fourth centuries bc Aghlabids ninth-century dynasty of amirs who ruled northern Africa for the Abbasid caliphs akrit ¯ es (s.), akritai (pl.) smallholding Byzantine soldiers in frontier zone, usually exempt from taxation on condition of military service akt ¯ emon (s.), akt ¯ emones (pl.) ‘without property’: fiscal term for a peasant who possessed no draught animals and little or no property, but who might own a small plot and other livestock Alans warlike nomadic pastoralists speaking a form of Iranian, based in the mountains of the northern Caucasus and on the steppes; by the eleventh century Alans were serving as Byzantine mercenaries amir [A; P; Tsh] ‘commander’: originally military, but later applied to local or regional rulers of rank lower than a sultan; ruler over an emirate Anatolikoi one of the earliest (and most important) themes, named after army of the East (L: Orientales); based in central Anatolia with headquarters at Amorion angelology theological doctrine of angels or its study aniconism worship connected with simple material symbols of a deity, such as a pillar or block, not shaped into an image of human form annona (s.), annonae (pl.) [L] army and civil service rations raised by taxation in kind; state-run shipment of corn from Egypt to supply the population of Constantinople (see also syn ¯on ¯ e ) Antes Slavic-speaking people, based to the north of the Black Sea by the mid-sixth century, of whom we know little anthypatos civilian governor of province (L: proconsul); high-ranking dignity Antiochene of Antioch, a style of theology laying stress on the humanity of Christ and on the literal and historical sense of the Bible antiphon verses from the Psalter sung alternately by two choirs in the liturgy and the offices aphthartodocetism an extreme form of monophysitism propounded by Julian, bishop of Halicarnassus (d. c. 527); followers also known as Julianists apl ¯ ekton military staging-post; obligation to provide troop accommodation aporos (s.), aporoi (pl.) fiscal term for those without land or means apoth ¯ ek ¯ e (s.), apoth ¯ ekai (pl.) a state depot for grain and other goods; in the seventh and earlier eighth centuries the depot, and the district in which it was situated, was supervised by a kommerkarios appanage (1) term taken from western practice to describe an almost independent territory granted by the emperor to a junior ruling family member, giving him his own court, administration and fiscal system; common in Byzantium from the thirteenth century on; (2) any imperial grant of a large demesne arch ¯ on (s.), archontes (pl.) ruler (other than the basileus); holder of imperial title or office; member(s) of the provincial land-holding elite which dominated the towns Arians followers of a heresy (named after its main proponent, the thirdcentury theologian Arius) which denied the full divinity of Jesus Christ Arithmos ‘number’: (1) one of the elite tagmata, also known as the Watch (Vigla), partly responsible for the policing of Constantinople; (2) middle Byzantine fiscal term referring to the specific number of paroikos families granted by the emperor to an individual or ecclesiastical corporation Armeniakoi one of the earliest themes; based in northern Anatolia with headquarters at Euchaita Arsacids [P; Armenian; Arshakuni] junior branch of the Parthian royal house which ruled in Armenia until the early fifth century atabey [Tsh] ‘father of the prince’: the bey acting as the guardian of an infant ruler; governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a Muslim monarch augustus (m.), augusta (f.) senior emperor within a group of coemperors, or within a single family; honorary title usually bestowed on the wife of the reigning emperor autocephalous (from autos ‘self’ and kephal ¯ e ‘head’): a completely autonomous ecclesiastical diocese, no longer subordinate to a patriarchate, whose suffragans had the right to elect its ‘head’; e.g. Cyprus, Bulgaria, Serbia and Sinai autokrat ¯ or (L: imperator) emperor; used from seventh century on to affirm the emperor’s self-willed and God-granted rule automata devices powered by compressed air from bellows or by water, performing in the Magnaura Avars Turkic-speaking nomadic warriors who appeared in the north Black Sea steppe in the sixth century, installing themselves in Pannonia; destroyed as an independent power by Charlemagne in the 790s bailo (s.), baili (pl.) [I]‘bailiff’: general term for administrator; head of the Venetian colony in Constantinople and ambassador to the Byzantine court in the Palaiologan period; there was also a Venetian bailo in Euboea ban [Tc] title of Bosnian and Hungarian rulers bandon (s.), banda (pl.) (L: bandum) originally a battle standard; later a small troop fighting under such a standard in the themes or tagmata; the territorial district where such a troop was settled basileia (L: imperium) empire; realm; majesty basileus (m.), basilissa (f.) main formal designation of the Byzantine emperor from the seventh century on basilikos (s.), basilikoi (pl.) ‘imperial’: general term for official specially trusted by the emperor, who carried out diverse missions within the empire or abroad Berbers name given to several ethnic groups indigenous to north-west Africa; known in Arab sources as the Barbar, and to the Byzantines as Mauri (Moors) beylerbey [Tsh] ‘the bey of the beys’: commander-in-chief of the Seljuq army, in charge of organising the sultanate’s frontier zone defences bey [Tsh] ruler or military commander (Turkish equivalent of Arabic amir) billon alloy containing silver and copper in a Byzantine coin Bogomilism dualist heresy most probably named after the tenth-century Bulgarian priest Bogomil, which spread from the Balkans to Constantinople and Asia Minor boidatos (s.), boidatoi (pl.) fiscal term for a peasant possessing a boidion, equivalent to owning an ox (bous) Boukellarioi theme formed in the later eighth century in north-west Asia Minor, taking its name from the old Roman regiment, the Bucellarii boullot ¯ es assistant to the eparch who controlled the quality of products by affixing a seal (boulla) Bulgars Turkic-speaking people from Eurasian steppes; by the late seventh century, groups of Bulgars were based on the middle Volga, the Sea of Azov (the ‘Black Bulgars’, semi-autonomous within the Khazar khaganate) and close to theDanube delta; the latter gave rise to modern Bulgaria bull (L: bulla; G: boulla, ‘locket’) seal attached to a document (see also chrysobull) cadaster record of properties and related details, e.g. owners’ names and amount of tax payable, used by tax officials caesar title given to a junior emperor or – from the eleventh century onwards – to imperial relatives or high court officials Caesaropapism system whereby the monarch exercised unfettered control over the church in his dominions, even in matters of doctrine caliph (A: khalifa) ‘successor’ of the Prophet Muhammad and so head of the Muslim community (A: ummah) or of the Islamic state caliphate realm of the caliph castello (s.), castelli (pl.) [I] private strongholds, generally castles, but also fortified villages castrum (s.), castra (pl.) [L] see kastron Catalan Company mercenaries from north-eastern Spain, who were employed by Andronikos II but turned against Byzantium and went on to establish themselves in the duchy of Athens, ruling it for much of the fourteenth century catechumen a person preparing for baptism catholic (from katholikos, ‘whole’) the undivided church, denoting Chalcedonian Christians in east and west in the early middle ages; later applied exclusively to the western (i.e. Roman catholic) church catholicos (s.), catholicoi (pl.) head of the Armenian church cenobitic (from koinos, ‘shared’) monastic life in which monks live and pray together in a group, normally in a monastery (opposite of eremitic) Chalcedonianism from the council of Chalcedon (451): the belief that there are two natures (physeis) in the person of Christ, the human and the divine, and that they are joined inseparably; this became the official teaching of the orthodox church, as against monophysitism Chalke the Bronze Gate: main ceremonial entrance into the Great Palace of Constantinople, through which the emperor passed to go to St Sophia chartolarate (s.), chartolarates (pl.) administrative unit in the southwest Balkans chartophylax head of a church chancery (chartophylakion), especially of St Sophia (the patriarchal church) chartoularios (s.), chartoularioi (pl.) general term for lower-ranking official with fiscal and archival duties in various bureaus in both central and provincial administration; ecclesiastical office similar to chartophylax chelandion (s.), chelandia (pl.) Constantinople’s sleek warships, perhaps derived from the Greek word for ‘eel’ ch ¯ orion (s.), ch ¯ oria (pl.) a village; technical term for a fiscal unit Christology theological interpretation of the person and work of Christ chrysobull ‘golden bull’, from ‘gold’ (chrysos) and ‘seal’ (boulla): the imperial chancery’s most solemn document, usually dated, and bearing the emperor’s signature in purple ink and a golden boulla Chrysotriklinos ‘golden hall’, from ‘gold’ (chrysos) and ‘hall’ (triklinos): large reception hall in the Great Palace, built by Justin II circus factions associations that staged circus games; fervent supporters’ associations of one of the four factions to compete in chariot racing (the Blues, Greens, White and Reds); factional strife disappeared from the seventh century onwards, after chariot-racing and factions were restricted to Constantinople and its surrounds; in the middle empire, factions had a largely ceremonial role, still connected with the Hippodrome City, the Constantinople; polis (‘city’) came to be used primarily for it City prefect see eparch cog large, round, flat-bottomed ship with a single square sail; the workhorse of trading vessels from the fourteenth century on comes (s.), comites (pl.) [L] count; in the medieval west, a term for magnates, notionally holding public office with civil and military powers; in reality usually hereditary, belonging to local leading families; for use in Byzantium, see also kom¯ es consul head of government in the Roman republic, a nominal post maintained up to Justinian’s reign; thereafter a senior court title (see also hypatos) Copts Egyptian population who spoke the Coptic language; after Egypt’s mid-seventh-century conquest by the Arabs, a term for the monophysite Christian population count of the excubitors (see also L: comes) officer of the excubitors (see excubitors) Cumans (also Scyths, Qipchaqs, Polovtsy) confederation of Turkicspeaking peoples who dominated the Black Sea steppes from the mid-eleventh century, but who were subjugated by the Mongols in the mid-thirteenth century cura palatii [L] ‘care of the palace’: see kouropalat ¯ es curia central administration governing the Roman papacy custom (1) in thewest, customary service, or rent, paid in kind or in money, due to a landlord, feudal lord or ruler; (2) western code of conduct, commercial law-code Cyrilline Chalcedonianism pronouncements on Christ’s nature of Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria, endorsed by the council of Chalcedon (451) Danishmend (T: Danis¸mendo˘gulları) Turkoman dynasty that ruled over Cappadocia, Sebasteia and Melitene from late eleventh century, until conquered by the Seljuqs in 1178 Davidic of or pertaining to David, king of Israel, or to his family demesne western form of land tenure, referring to the lands retained by a lord for his own use (as against lands granted out); initially demesne lands were usually worked by villeins or serfs on the lord’s behalf, in fulfilment of their obligations, but this tended to be commuted to monetary payments despot (despot ¯ es) ‘lord, master’: high imperial title in the Palaiologan period, generally reserved for brothers or sons of the emperor; ruler of a semi-independent imperial territory diadem originally a head-band, then imperial Roman symbol of majesty from the fourth century on; replaced in the early Byzantine period by a more solid crown (stemma), but sometimes used of this crown dinar [A] (from d ¯ enarion; L: denarius) standard Islamic gold coin dioik ¯ et ¯ es (s.), dioik ¯ etai (pl.) administrator responsible for collecting land tax, usually in a single province dirham [A] (from drachma) standard Islamic silver coin dishypatos court title often conferred on judges and administrative officials domestic (domestikos; L: domesticus) senior official in the church or civil administration; senior military commander, especially of a tagma domestic of the Schools (domestikos t ¯ on schol ¯ on) commander of the Schools (crack unit of tagmata); commander-in-chief of the armies of the west and the east Dominante traditional term for Venice doulos (s.), douloi (pl.) ‘slave’: emperor’s servant, subordinate or subject; external ruler or notable who recognised the emperor’s supremacy doux (see also L: dux) head of a doukaton (L: ducatus), a ‘duchy’ in one of the western border regions, e.g. Venetia,Naples, Amalfi orGaeta; from the tenth century on, military commander of a combat unit and/or larger administrative district, e.g. Antioch droungarios (s.), droungarioi (pl.) a middle-ranking military officer; commander of the fleet (tou ploimou) droungos (s.), droungoi (pl.) unit under command of a droungarios; subdivision of a theme army dualist belief in two fundamental principles of good and evil governing the universe ducat two types of coin from the duchy of Venice: (1) the thirteenthand early fourteenth-century silver grosso [I], first struck in 1201 and imitated a century later at Constantinople under the name of basilikon; (2) more commonly, from 1284 onwards, the gold ducat (L: ducatus aureus) dux (s.), duces (pl.) [L] see also doux; in the later Roman and early Byzantine period, commander of a military unit, or of garrison troops ecumenical councils (from oikoumenikos, ‘worldwide’) conferences of the bishops of the whole church; the first seven ‘universal’ councils of the orthodox church, given imperial confirmation and the binding force of the law: Nicaea I (325); Constantinople I (381); Ephesus (431); Chalcedon (451); Constantinople II (553); Constantinople III (680–1); Nicaea II (787) eidikon central treasury electrum alloy containing silver and gold in a Byzantine coin emirate(s) see amir eparch the name of several officials, the most important being the eparch of the City, the civil governor of Constantinople eparchia (s.), eparchiai (pl.) ecclesiastical province epi tou kanikleiou ‘keeper of the inkstand’: the emperor’s senior private secretary, who authenticated documents ethnos (s.), ethn ¯ e (pl.) ‘gentile’, ‘nation’: a people external to Byzantium ethnikos foreign outsider, member of an ethnos eucharist Christian sacrament in which the body and the blood of Christ are conveyed to believers in the form of consecrated bread and wine; doctrine developed different emphases and ritual varied in different parts of the church exarch military governor of Byzantine Italy (with his base at Ravenna) or Byzantine Africa (with his base at Carthage); senior official of the patriarchate exarchate territorial and administrative unit commanded by an exarch; in modern usage, often the exarchate of Ravenna excubitors (exkoubitoi; L: excubitores) one of the tagmata, elite regiments of the imperial guard, based in the capital Fatimids Shiite dynasty based in Cairo from the later tenth century; their dominions included north Africa, Palestine and southern Syria feudatory in the west, and western-occupied Romania: (of a person) owing sworn allegiance and services to another; (of a kingdom) under the overlordship of an outside sovereign filioque [L] ‘and from the Son’: phrase added by the western church to the text of the Nicene Creed after the declaration that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father; major theological point of dispute between the papacy and the Byzantine church fisc state’s treasury and rights to revenue; in the west, royal property paying revenues in kind to support the royal household fitna [A] literally ‘trial’: periodic civil wars in the Muslim empire during the first 200 years after Muhammad’s death in 632 foideratoi (L: foederati) ‘federates’: originally barbarian tribes settled on Byzantine territory or borderlands on condition that they serve in the army; from the sixth century onwards, elite mounted troops, usually recruited from the barbarians follis (s.), folleis (pl.) principal copper coin worth 288 to the nomisma forum (s.), fora (pl.) [L] meeting place in town Franks a Germanic grouping from the lower Rhine, frequently recruited into the Roman army; united in the early sixth century under Clovis, who extended Frankish rule to most of Roman Gaul and converted to Christianity; in Byzantine usage a broader term to cover all western Christians north of the Alps, including the Normans Frisians ethnic grouping in north-west Europe, closely related to the Saxons, who inhabited the present-day Netherlands and north-west Germany gasmouloi from the mid-thirteenth century on, descendants of mixed Greek–Latin (especially Venetian) parentage; recruited in large numbers as mercenaries gastald Lombard royal official in Italy in charge of a gastaldate, with civil and military powers comparable to counts, and likewise tending to become hereditary general logothete (logothet ¯ es tou genikou) head of the fiscal department which dealt with assessment and collection of taxes genikon logothesion the general treasury and main fiscal department of government after the seventh century, maintaining the lists of all the taxpayers in the empire; see also general logothete Gepids eastern Germanic people settled in middle Danube region; dispersed after their defeat by the Avars in 567 Ghassanids monophysite Arab group and the main Arab foideratoi of Byzantium ghazi [A] volunteer warrior fighting for Islam in raids (ghazawat) against pagans or Christians, expecting to gain booty or a martyr’s death Ghaznavids Turkic-speaking Muslim state based in present-day Afghanistan from the late tenth to early twelfth century Gnostic from Gnosticism, the doctrine of salvation through a quasiintuitive knowledge (gn¯ osis) of the mysteries of God and the origins and destiny of mankind Golden Horde group ofMongols forming a khanate; dominated the lower Volga and the Black Sea steppes from the later thirteenth to the midfifteenth century Goths Germanic groupings, primarily the Ostrogoths and Visigoths, who raided and settled in large numbers in south-west France, Spain, Italy and the Balkans throughout the fourth and fifth centuries grand logothete first minister of the Palaiologan empire, in charge of civil administration and foreign affairs grand ˇzupan (S: also veliki – ‘great, grand’ – ˇzupan) paramount ruler of the Serbs Greek fire devastating and dreaded Byzantine petroleum-based weapon; it was sticky, was ignited at the moment of projection and could not be extinguished by water alone; first known use during the Arab blockade of Constantinople of 674–8; its composition and the technique for projecting it from siphons were state secrets, and the siphons were apparently no longer in use at the time of the Fourth Crusade Hamdanid Muslim dynasty in Mosul, established in the earlier tenth century; controlled most of upper Mesopotamia, but their power declined in the eleventh century hatun [Tsh] woman; wife Helladikoi fleet of the theme of Hellas Hellenes Greek-speakers, and by extension participants in Greek culture; used pejoratively by Byzantines of their pre-Christian predecessors to mean benighted pagans, but regained positive connotations from around the twelfth century onwards Hephthalites (White Huns) nomadic people controlling much of the Central Asian steppes in the fifth and sixth centuries hesychast (-asm) (from hesychia, ‘peace and quiet’) contemplative practice focused on attaining communion with God through inner peace and prayer; term denoting a fourteenth-century movement in Byzantine monasticism hexagram silver coin introduced by Heraclius in 615 and in use until the early eighth century hierosyn ¯ e (L: sacerdotium) sacramental priesthood hijra [A] flight by Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina c. 622; the base year of the Muslim calendar Himyarites (Homerites) predominantly Jewish realm ruling over much of south-west Arabia from the late second century bc until the mid-sixth century ad holy war belief that waging war on God’s behalf was a religious duty Huns Eurasian nomads who conquered the Alans and expelled the Goths fromtheBlack Sea steppes in the late fourth century;movedwestwards, raiding as far as Gaul in the fifth century hypatos (L: consul) senior court title from the sixth century onwards hyperpyron (s.), hyperpyra (pl.) (L: perperum) ‘highly refined’: gold coin introduced by Alexios I c. 1092; by extension, a unit of account based on this coin; after the gold hyperpyron ceased to be struck in the midfourteenth century, the term was transferred to the large silver coin that replaced it hypostasis the individual reality of Christ, as distinguished from His two natures (human and divine) icon (eik ¯on (s.), eikones (pl.)) religious image; picture or portable panel with sacred use and connotations iconoclast (from eik ¯on ‘icon’, klaz¯o ‘smash’) ‘breaker of images’: those after 726 opposed to the veneration of icons, wishing to remove them from public and private view iconodule (from eik ¯on ‘icon’, doulos ‘slave’) servant of images (see iconophile) iconophile (fromeik ¯on ‘icon’, philos ‘friend’) ‘image-friendly’ i.e. venerator of icons (see iconodule) Ilkhans leaders of one of the four divisions of the Mongolian empire, centred on Persia, from the mid-thirteenth to fourteenth century; the title of Ilkhan was initially used to signal acknowledgement of primacy of the Great Khan (in Peking) imam [A] supreme leader of the Muslim community; used by Shiites to denote the Prophet’s son-in-law, ‘Ali, and his descendants; the officiating priest of a Muslim mosque imperator [L] ‘emperor’: used on coins and inscriptions, as part of the imperial nomenclature, throughout the early Byzantine period (G: autokrat ¯ or, basileus) imperium [L] kingdom or reign (G: basileia) incanto (s.), incanti (pl.) [I] Venetian system of auctioning the stateowned galleys for commercial use (see also muda) indiction fifteen-year cycle used for dating purposes from the early fourth century onwards, especially in relation to tax-collection inurbamento [I] the process of moving to live in towns Ishmaelites Byzantine name for the Arabs, because they were supposedly descended from Ishmael, son of Abraham (see also Saracens) isosyllabic of a metrical structure in which the syllables are of the same length Jacobite Syrian monophysites, named after Jacob Baradaeus who helped set up a separate church hierarchy in the sixth century; sometimes applied to monophysites in general janissary (from Tsh: yeni cheri, ‘new army’) Christian taken under a ‘child levy’ for training in the Ottoman ‘new army’ and administration jihad [A] struggle against one’s baser instincts; struggle to make unbelievers submit to the will of God (see also holy war) judex (s.), judices (pl.) judge; general Latin term for a local magistrate or ruler Julianists see aphthartodocetism kapnikon tax on ‘hearths’ or households Karabisianoi (from karabos, ‘ship’) a maritime theme in the Aegean, usually based at Samos Karaites Jewish sect which rejects the Talmud and bases its teaching exclusively on the Scriptures Karati Peyre taxes raised by Genoese authorities established in Pera (on the north shore of the Golden Horn) from the thirteenth century on karshuni [A] Arabic written in Syriac letters kastron (s.), kastra (pl.) (from L: castrum) fort, fortress; from the seventh century on could also mean town or city katepan ¯ o from the eighth to twelfth century, a military officer commanding a unit and/or administrative district; from the thirteenth century on, a provincial or regional official khagan [Tc] title of earlier Turkic supreme rulers (e.g. Avars, Khazars); head of a khaganate khan [Tc] ‘supreme leader’: used of pre-Christian Bulgar, and of Turkic and Mongol rulers; head of a khanate Khazars a Turkic-speaking people who were the major power in the Black Sea steppes, with centres on the lowerVolga andDon, fromthe seventh to later tenth century, when their power was broken by the Rus; major allies of the Byzantines, the majority of Khazars converted to Judaism in the ninth century; their lands were known as Khazaria (in later medieval Italian texts, Gazaria) Khurramites dualist sect in Iran (akin to the Mazdakites) whose movement culminated in Babek’s revolt against the Arabs in the mid-ninth century Kibyrrhaiotai maritime theme in Asia Minor klasma (s.), klasmata (pl.) ‘fragment’: land, long abandoned by its taxpaying owner, transferred to public ownership, often for redistribution kleisoura (s.), kleisourai (pl.) ‘pass’: administrative district, usually smaller than a theme, in frontier zones especially the Taurus mountains Knights Hospitaller more fully, ‘Knights of the order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem’: originally a hospice for pilgrims, especially the sick poor; in the twelfth century developed a military wing and acquired extensive properties in western Europe; after 1310 also known as Knights of Rhodes and, from 1530, Knights of Malta K¨ok Turks (‘Blue or Celestial Turks’) Turkic-speaking people who established a Turkic khaganate in the Eurasian steppes from the mid-sixth to the mid-eighth century kom ¯ es (s.), komitai (pl.) count (see also comes); military officer of one of several sorts, commanding e.g. the Opsikion, the tagmata of the Walls, the banda within themes; the count of the stable (kom¯ es tou staulou) headed the department that distributed horses and mules to the tagmata; term used by medieval Byzantines for western European magnates kommerkiarios (s.), kommerkiarioi (pl.) tax official, probably the successor of the late Roman comes commerciorum [L], the controller of trade on the frontier; from c. 650 to c. 730 had a key role in raising, storing and issuing to the army revenue mainly in kind; from the mid-eighth century reverted to mainly taxing commerce kommerkion (s.), kommerkia (pl.) (L: commercium) late Roman term for frontier cities where exchanges with foreign merchants were authorised; from the eighth century on, sales tax, normally 10 per cent of the value of the merchandise traded kontakion (s.), kontakia (pl.) liturgical hymn in honour of a saint or a feast koubikoularios (L: cubicularius) title for dignitaries belonging to the emperor’s household kouratoreia term for imperial estates; areas whose revenues were directly payable to the emperor kouropalat ¯ es third-highest honorary title after that of emperor (just below nobelissimos), initially granted only to members of the imperial family: see cura palatii labarum [L] military standard adopted by Constantine the Great after his vision of the ‘cross of light’; this was Christianised by adding to it the ‘chrismon’ (the letters Chi (X) and Rho (P) – the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek); by extension, various types of standard or sceptre Lakhmids Christian (Nestorian) Arab kingdom, clients of Persia in the sixth century Lazes people living in Lazica, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea legate, papal personal representative of the pope, entrusted with a mission legend the lettering or wording on a coin or seal liturgy all the prescribed services of the church; specifically, the eucharist livre [F] (L: libra) medieval French currency, established by Charlemagne as a unit of account equal to one pound of silver logothesion (s.), logothesia (pl.) central bureaus, instituted in the seventh century logothete (logothet ¯ es, L: logotheta) ‘accountant’: official in charge of one of the logothesia; often very high-ranking, logothetes controlled all the principal fiscal bureaus from the seventh century onwards logothete of the Drome top official in charge of the logothesion tou dromou, the bureau which managed the roads, post, intelligence and diplomacy Lombards a Germanic people living in the northern Balkans and Pannonia, who migrated to Italy in the later sixth century under threat from the Avars loros long brocade scarf, studded with precious stones, draped around the shoulders and upper body and worn by the emperor and empress; also an attribute of archangels in attendance on Christ magister militum (s.), magistri militum (pl.) [L] ‘master of the soldiers’: highest-ranking field commander of the late Roman army magister officiorum [L] ‘master of offices’: head of the central civil administration and close associate of the emperor in the late Roman empire magistros (s.), magistroi (pl.) holder of the old office of magister officiorum [L]; subsequently, a dignity fifth in hierarchical order after the emperor Magnaura ceremonial hall situated on the periphery of the Great Palace, where the emperor gave audiences to foreign ambassadors and held the most solemn assemblies (silentia) mahona (n.), mahonesi (adj.) [I] the Genoese shareholding company that ran Genoa’s overseas possessions, comparable to the East India Company majuscule script – roughly equivalent to capital letters – used almost exclusively for the writing of books from the second to ninth century, until replaced by minuscule (also known as uncial) malik [A] ‘king’: title of a ruler ranking lower than the sultan; unlike amir, malik was often used of independent rulers, including non-Muslims Mamluk [A] ‘thing possessed’, ‘slave’, particularly one in military service; sultanate of emancipated, mainly Cuman, military slaves which ruled Egypt, Syria and adjoining areas from the mid-thirteenth to early sixteenth century mancosus (s.), mancosi (pl.) an Arabic loan-word which entered the Latin west along with the Arab coins it designated; from the Arabic manqush (past participle of the verb naqash ‘to strike’ or ‘engrave’); the term has been found on dirhams and has been used in connection with dinars; used in texts from Carolingian Italy to mean either a dinar, or its value in Carolingian currency manglabit ¯ es member of an elite unit of the imperial bodyguard; title denoting this Manichaeism dualist doctrine founded by Mani (flayed alive in Persia in 276), whose followers were known asManichees (see alsoMazdakites) Mardaites a military grouping of uncertain origin installed among the indigenous population in the north of present-day Lebanon and Syria in the seventh century; subsequently served as seafaring borderers on the empire’s southern coasts and islands, to counter the Arabs margrave title of nobility throughout western Europe, originally meaning ‘count of a march or border area’; ruler of a margravate Mariology study of doctrine relating to the Virgin Mary marzban [P] commander of a Persian frontier province Mazdakites Persian dualist sect whose radical social doctrines prompted their persecution in the fifth century; doctrine knownto theByzantines as Manichaeism megas great megas konostaulos ‘grand constable’: high-ranking military title; commander of the foreign mercenaries of the Nicaean – and later the restored Byzantine – empire Melingoi (Melingians) Slav grouping in the Peloponnese which retained its identity and remained Slavic-speaking into the Ottoman period miaphysite alternative term for monophysite mikros small miliar ¯ esion (s.), miliar ¯ esia (pl.) the basic silver coin, introduced by Leo III and worth 12 to the nomisma; characteristic of the eighth to eleventh century mim¯ esis imitation, particularly with reference to classical literary models minuscule script with small, rounded letters joined-up for speed of writing (replaced majuscule) missi (dominici) [L] ‘messengers (of the ruler)’: emissaries sent by Charlemagne to his various regions modios (s.), modioi (pl.) measure of weight or of land Moldavians see Vlachs monistic (from monos) adherent of philosophy that envisages a single reality monophysite adherent of monophysitism monophysitism (from monos and physis) doctrine which emphasised the unity of Christ’s person so strongly that it could not easily accept that His two natures (divine and human)were evenly divided inHis person; went against the definition of the faith of the council of Chalcedon (451) (see Chalcedonianism) monos single monothelitism (from monos and thelein ‘to will’) doctrine recognising the existence of one ‘will’ in the incarnate Christ beyond the duality ofHis natures (see monophysitism); a compromise formula put forward during Heraclius’ reign and condemned by the sixth ecumenical council held in Constantinople (680–1) Montanism apocalyptic Christian movement expecting speedy outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church; the Montanists followed the teachings of Montanus, a second-century Phrygian Moravians Slavic-speaking inhabitants of the ninth-century polity which arose in central Europe after the dissolution of the Avar khaganate, but was crushed by the Hungarians at the end of the ninth century muda (s.), mudae (pl.) [L] fourteenth-century trading convoys organised by theVenetian commune to Romania, Alexandria, Syria and Flanders; the rights to outfit andmaneach galley within the mudawere auctioned (see incanto), although the Great Council determined how many galleys should sail to each destination, and the timetable; not all Venetian commerce was carried in these government convoys Neoplatonism philosophical system loosely based on the ideas of Plato, developed by Plotinus among others; highly influential on Byzantine thought especially through the theological school of Alexandria Nestorianism doctrine of the Syrian churchman Nestorius (died c. 451) which emphasised the duality of Christ’s nature (human and divine) so strongly that it could not easily accept the unity of His person nobelissimos (L: nobelissimus) high-ranking court-title, classed just below caesar, and initially (in the eighth century) reserved for members of the imperial family nomisma (s.), nomismata (pl.) (L: solidus) gold coin struck at 72 to the pound of gold, valued at 12 miliar ¯ esia or 288 folleis; from c. 1092 onwards Alexios I’s new version was generally known as a hyperpyron Normans people from north-west France, originally of Scandinavian origin; in the eleventh century, the duke of Normandy conquered England, other Norman magnates appropriated southern Italy and Sicily and, under the banner of crusading, Antioch notarios scribe or secretary in government bureau novella (s.), novellae (pl.) [L] ‘new (decree)’: issued by an emperor; the Greek equivalent was neara (diataxis or nomothesia) officium Gazarie [L] the Genoese council of elders responsible for navigation and commerce in the Black Sea (Gazaria = Khazaria) oikonomia the principle of ‘economy’ or compromise; in ecclesiastical or political contexts, the relaxation of a rule for a greater good oikos (s.) oikoi (pl.) household; stanza of a kontakion oikoumen ¯ e the inhabited world oikoumenikos (L: universalis) ‘worldwide’, ecumenical Opsikion one of the earliest themes to emerge; based in north-west Asia Minor, closest to Constantinople, with headquarters at Nicaea Optimatoi theme created in the later eighth century when the Opsikion was split up for political reasons, and when theOptimatoi was demoted from a combat to a rearguard unit ordo [L] an ordinal, book of rubrics; made to supplement other liturgical books containing texts of prayers, music, lessons, etc. Origenism attempt to fuse the fundamentals ofGreek philosophy with the Christian creed, interpreting the scriptures in a triple sense – literal, moral and allegorical; based on the work of the early third-century philosopher and scholar Origen orphanotrophos the director of an orphanage, usually a monk; in Constantinople the orphanotrophoi became state officials with fiscal responsibilities orthodoxos (s.), orthodoxoi (pl.) (from orthos ‘correct, true’ and doxa ‘opinion, belief’) ‘true believers’, ‘correct thinkers’; later used to distinguish the eastern (orthodox) from the western (Roman Catholic) church orthodoxy Christianity as defined by correct beliefs, themselves determined at the seven ecumenical councils of the church, and set out in a series of documents and guided by tradition Ossetians (Ossetes) nomadic pastoralists speaking a form of Iranian, who were related to the Alans; occupied the north-eastern approaches of the Caucasus and also settled in the mountains Ostrogoths (easternGoths) groupings ofGoths, who adopted Arian Christianity and conquered Italy in the 490s, forming a kingdom based at Ravenna; subjugated in the mid-sixth century by Justinian Palamism Gregory Palamas’ teaching of mystical contemplation, spirituality and ascetic exercises pallium (s.), pallia (pl.) [L] ‘outer garment’: vestment; stole-like garment worn by the Roman pope and prelates panhypersebastos senior court title held by members of the imperial family under the Komnenoi; title bestowed on highly favoured foreigners parakoim¯ omenos ‘sleeping at the side [of the emperor]’: official, usually a eunuch, who was the emperor’s chamberlain or personal attendant paroikos (s.), paroikoi (pl.) peasant tenant on private or state land, paying rent as well as tax; from the thirteenth century onwards most peasants seem to have been paroikoi Parthians Persian-based empire led by the Arsacid dynasty, ruling most of Mesopotamia from the later third century bc until its overthrow by the Sasanians in the early third century ad partitio Romaniae [L] ‘dividing-up of the Roman empire’: agreement drawn up by Venetians and Crusaders in spring 1204 while besieging Constantinople patrikios (L: patricius) ‘patrician’: senior court title, often associated with offices such as strat ¯ egos patris fatherland, sense of home and of affinity patristics study of the church fathers Paulicians dualist sect forming distinctive communities in the eastern borderlands of Byzantium in the first two-thirds of the ninth century;were then transplanted west to borderlands with Bulgaria pax mongolica [L] ‘Mongol peace’: facilitation of communication and commerce resulting from the Mongols’ maintenance of order across their vast conquered territories Pechenegs (also Scyths, Patzinaks) semi-nomadic Turkic-speaking people from the Eurasian steppe; occupied Black Sea steppes from end of the ninth century, and employed by emperors against neighbouring peoples, e.g.Hungarians and Rus; invaded Balkans in 1040s and finally routed in 1091 by the Byzantines and Cumans philanthr ¯ opia love of mankind, generosity philos (s.), philoi (pl.) friend physis (s.), physeis (pl.) nature pinkern ¯ es ‘cupbearer’ of the emperor; office held by members of the imperial family under the Komnenoi placitum [L] legal assembly, plea podest`a [I] name given to certain high officials in the Italian city states, notably the chief magistrate; seniorVenetian official in Constantinople after 1204 Porphyra chamber in the Great Palace with walls of deep red or purple stone (porphyry), where the empress normally gave birth porphyrogenitus (s. m.), porphyrogenita (s. f.), porphyrogeniti (pl.) [L] ‘purple-born’: imperial child born ‘in the purple’ (usually in the Porphyra chamber), i.e. after its father had become emperor praesentales commanders of early Byzantine core army units, close to the emperor praetorian prefect official responsible for the largest administrative unit of the empire (prefecture) from Constantine the Great’s time prait ¯ or [L: praetor] civilian administrator whose precise function is uncertain, sometimes taking on the role of doux or katepan¯o prince of princes (arch ¯ on t ¯ on archont ¯ on) title of the foremost of Armenian princes, as recognised by the Byzantine emperor proedros senior court title; ecclesiastical title used for bishops prooimion preface, preamble prono ¯ et ¯ es supervisor; provincial administrative or fiscal official pronoia (s.), pronoiai (pl.) grant of taxes and other revenues from stateowned land or other specified properties, usually in return for military service; introduced fromthe late eleventh century, it eventually became inheritable proskyn ¯ esis veneration; gesture of respectful greeting or profound reverence, ranging from full prostration to a simple bow prostagma (s.), prostagmata (pl.) imperial ordinance pr ¯ otasekr ¯ etis head of imperial chancellery responsible for drafting and keeping imperial records pr ¯ otonotarios top civil official in the thematic administration, first mentioned in ninth century pr ¯ otoproedros high-ranking title with precedence over proedros pr ¯ otos first pr ¯ otosebastos high-ranking dignity introduced by Alexios I Komnenos, usually bestowed on the emperor’s close relatives pr ¯ otospatharios (L: protospatharius) ‘first sword bearer’: court title initially reserved for a high military commander, later bestowed on lower military officers and other officials pr ¯ otostrat ¯ or head groom in charge of the emperor’s private stable; commander of the troops and one of the highest Palaiologan dignitaries pr ¯ otovestiarios (m.), pr ¯ otovestiarissa (f.) ‘first keeper of the wardrobe’: originally a high-ranking post for a palace eunuch; later a court title conferred on senior civil and military officials purple, in (the) see porphyrogenitus Qarluqs early Turkic tribal confederation in Transoxania which formed a khanate in the mid-eighth century quaestor (G: kouaist ¯ or) judicial officer, responsible for drafting laws razzia [I] armed raid, originally by desert-dwellers on settled agricultural land, to conquer, plunder and seize slaves red-slip type of pottery table- and cooking-ware produced in North Africa and widely distributed around theMediterranean and across the northwest provinces of the Roman empire from the second to sixth century rex (s.), reges (pl.) [L] ‘king’ Rhos Greek form of Rus roga (s.), rogai (pl.) stipend paid to title-holders, senior officials and soldiers annually Romaios (s.), Romaioi (pl.) ‘Roman’: term used by the Byzantines to describe themselves Romania ‘land of the Romans’ (i.e. Byzantines); by the seventh century, a term for the Christian empire of the east; from the thirteenth century, used of the former lands of the Byzantine empire which had been partitioned and were being governed by the Venetians, Franks and other westerners Rupenids first dynasty to rule Armenian Cilicia, from the late eleventh to early thirteenth century Rus people of Scandinavian origin who formed a political structure in eastern Europe, between the Gulf of Finland and Middle Dnieper; the land-mass over which they predominated; from the late eleventh century, the term began to denote all inhabitants of this area, from which Russia takes its name sacrum cubiculum [L] ‘sacred chamber’: part of the imperial palace Sallarid tenth- to eleventh-century Muslim dynasty which ruled in the eastern Caucasus and north-western Iran before the Seljuqs; also known as Musafirid or Kangarid Samaritans followers of a primitive form of Judaism sandjakbey [Tsh] ruler of a Turkish state administrative unit Saracens (Sarakenoi; L: Saraceni) vague term used bywesterners andByzantines of Arabs and, later, of otherMuslims, supposed by early Christian churchmen to be the sons of Ishmael by the bond-woman Hagar (see also Ishmaelites) Sasanians Persian ruling dynasty which overthrew the Parthian Arsacid dynasty in the early third century and ruled modern Iran and parts of Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Gulf Coast of the Arabian peninsula until overthrown by the Arabs in the mid-seventh century satrap [P] governor of a province in the Persian empire; district administrator satrap ¯ es see satrap Saxons Germanic people, conquered and forcibly converted by Charlemagne in the late eighth and early ninth century Saxony power base of the Ottonian rulers of Germany in the later tenth century Schools (scholai; L: scholae) originally any ‘office’ or body of officials; then more specifically the scholae palatinae [L], palace guard created by Diocletian or Constantine the Great; held a mainly ceremonial role by the fifth century; but by the eighth century, a crack unit of the tagmata, with an active military role Scyths classical name for Iranian-speaking nomads of Black Sea steppes; used by Byzantines of several northern peoples, including Bulgars, Pechenegs, Uzes and Cumans sebastokrat ¯ or (s.), sebastokratores (pl.) late Byzantine court title normally bestowed on the emperor’s sons and other relatives sebastos (s.), sebastoi (pl.) court title introduced by Alexios I Komnenos and conferred on members of the Komnenian elite or foreign rulers; the root for the higher titles of the sebastokrat ¯ or, panhypersebastos and pr¯ otosebastos sekr ¯ eton (s.), sekr ¯ eta (pl.) central administrative and financial bureau seneschal senior official in important noble western households; royal official in charge of justice and administration in southern France Septuagint (‘LXX’) the most influential of the Greek versions of the Hebrew Old Testament shah [P] ‘king’ (usually of Persia) silentarios a court attendant whose first duty was to secure order and silence in the palace silention (s.), silentia (pl.) ‘silence’: solemn assembly convened by the emperor; the emperor’s speeches simony the purchasing of church office Sklaviniai regions of Slav settlement and predominance, mainly inMacedonia and Greece solidus (s.), solidi (pl.) see nomisma sparapet [Armenian] chief Armenian military officer spatharios (s.), spatharioi (pl.) ‘sword-bearer’: court title, of decreasing importance from the ninth century spatharokandidatos court title conferred on lower-rank officials stemma (s.), stemmata (pl.) imperial metal crown, usually ornamented with pearls and precious stones and surmounted by a cross strat ¯ egos (s.), strat ¯ egoi (pl.) ‘general’: from the seventh or eighth century the commander of a theme, who held both civil and military power; during the eleventh century replaced by the terms doux or katepan¯o strat ¯ egos autokrat ¯ or commander-in-chief of the Byzantine forces in the west or the east; often used as an equivalent of the domestic of the Schools strateia (s.), strateiai (pl.) state service of any sort; entitlement to imperial roga, carrying with it special military service obligations; from the mid-tenth century, a property whose holder was subject to military service or to supporting a soldier strati ¯ ot ¯ es (s.), strati ¯ otai (pl.) ‘soldier’: holder of a strateia; from the midtenth century, a holder of ‘military land’ subject to the obligation to support a soldier strati ¯ otikon imperial bureau dealing with military-related taxes and pay strat ¯ or (s.), stratores (pl.) ‘groom’: official in the imperial stables stylites (from styl ¯ e, ‘pillar’) from the fifth century onwards, ascetics who fasted and prayed on top of pillars sultan [A] one of the highest secular titles denoting ruler of aMuslim state; from the mid-eleventh century, title of Seljuq and subsequentMuslim rulers in the Middle East s¨urg¨un [Tsh] forcible deportation and resettlement by Ottoman Turks suzerain overlord, to whom vassals paid tribute; a dominant state, controlling the foreign relations of a vassal region or people, while allowing them limited self-rule synkellos ‘living in the same cell’: high-ranking official in one of the patriarchates; in Constantinople, usually appointed by the emperor to represent his interests synodikon collection of acts from a synod; liturgical document containing important rulings syn ¯ on ¯ e tax or exaction on cultivated land, paid either in kind or in cash (see also annona) tafs¯ır [A] Koranic commentary tagma (s.), tagmata (pl.) ‘regiment(s)’: elite cavalry and infantry unit(s) stationed in the capital, formed in the eighth century; from the tenth to twelfth centuries, full-time foreign mercenary unit(s) tar`ı [A] gold coin (quarter-dinar) struck by the Fatimids and theirNorman and Hohenstaufen successors in Sicily taxis ‘good form’: battle array; good order in court ceremonial; order and harmony in state, church and society terciers [French] (I: terzieri) three Latin lords, Veronese noblemen, to whom Boniface of Montferrat granted the island of Negroponte in 1205; and their successors until 1390 thema (s.), themata (pl.) literally ‘element’, ‘topic’, ‘file’; see theme theme in the middle Byzantine era, the district where soldiers were quartered, and from which they were recruited; an administrative unit; the army based in such a region Theotokos ‘god-bearing’ (from theos ‘god’ and tokos ‘bringing forth’): description of the Virgin (Mother of God) which emphasised that Mary gave birth to God, and not to a man who became God Thrakesioi one of the earliest themes, based in western Anatolia with headquarters at Chonai thughur [A] border region (specifically the Muslim–Byzantine border) toparch (toparch ¯ es) local borderland potentate tourma (s.), tourmai (pl.) military unit; subdivision of theme (see also turmarch) tribunus (s.), tribuni (pl.) [L] term for indigenous local rulers in southern Italy, which fell out of use in the ninth century triconch type of church plan in the form of a trefoil troparion short, sung hymn which forms part of the liturgy True Cross wooden cross on which Christ was crucified, or fragments – relics – supposedly from it Turkmen (Turkoman, Turcoman) Turkish nomadic tribesmen from Central Asia who streamed into Anatolia in the eleventh century and subsequently; many were associated with the Seljuqs t¨umen [Mongolian] largest Mongol fighting unit, between 3,000 and 10,000 strong turmarch commander of a tourma; senior military commander with fiscal and judicial responsibilities typikon (s.), typika (pl.) monastic foundation charter, setting out the rules and liturgical services to be maintained Uighurs Turkic confederation which established its own khaganate over the remnants of the K¨ok Turk empire from c. 745 to c. 840 Umayyad first Muslim ruling dynasty (661–750) uncial see majuscule Uzes a branch of the Oghuz confederation of Turkic-speaking peoples; ousted the Pechenegs from the Black Sea steppes in the mid-eleventh century; invaded Balkans in 1064, but eventually mastered by the Byzantines Wallachians see Vlachs veliki ˇzupan [S] see grand ˇzupan vestarch ¯ es court title conferred on lower-ranking officials vest ¯ es court title granted to prominent military commanders vestiarion (L: vestarium) ‘imperial wardrobe’: state treasury for things other than coins vicegerent deputy (e.g. for God) Visigoths (western Goths) groupings of Goths who raided into Roman territory in the fourth and fifth centuries, adopting Arian Christianity and establishing kingdoms in present-day south-west France and Spain vizier [A] high-ranking administrator and adviser appointed by the caliph or sultan; first minister Vlachs Romance-language-speaking pastoral inhabitants of eastern and south-eastern Europe, descended from Romanised Thracians, other local Balkan populations and Roman colonists; one grouping, the Wallachians, are now found in present-day Romania while another, the Moldavians, are also found in present-day Moldova Zealots strongly iconophile monks in the late eighth to tenth century; midfourteenth century group which briefly established self-government in Thessaloniki, confiscating aristocratic property and redistributing wealth zeugaratos (s.), zeugaratoi (pl.) fiscal term for a peasant who owned a pair of oxen Zoroastrianism [P] early Persian system of religious doctrine established by Zarathustra (Zoroaster), venerating fire as a life-force present throughout all creation ˇzupan [S] high-ranking title of the south Slavs and (later) theWallachians (see also grand ˇzupan)