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29-06-2015, 07:22

State Structures 700-1050

Most of the administrative posts typical of the middle Byzantine period and found in the sources of the eighth and ninth centuries can be traced in some way to a late Roman equivalent, sometimes directly, and involving the continued use of the same title, sometimes indirectly or with a change of title but a continuity of function. The east Romans did not necessarily differentiate by functional category in the way that modern historians tend to do, in order to make sense of structures in our own terms, so any breakdown of the Byzantine administration will necessarily do some injustice to the ways in which Byzantines themselves perceived their system to operate.

One significant difference between the late Roman ‘pyramidal’ structure is that the emperor has, in theory at least, a direct oversight over the affairs of many departments, rather than having everything channelled through a few high-powered officials such as the master of offices or the praetorian prefects. The Byzantine system is much ‘flatter’. A glance at Figure 6.1 will show that the administration can be broken down into several areas of competence: state finance, justice and prisons, transport and the post, the imperial household, provincial military and palatine military. Each set of departments - sekreta - had its own staff, some substantial (as with the department of the general treasury - genikon logothesion - for example, whose bureau had some eleven different grades, including sub-sections for each thema and many other finance-related activities), others very small (as with the orphanotrophos, the curator of the great imperial orphanage and its estates, whose department had just three grades and a limited number of sub-departments for the different estates). The figure also illustrates the complex inter-relationships pertaining across many sections, and the overlapping nature of the competences of many departments. The central role of the imperial household needs to be underlined, both because access to the emperor was through one or another household department, and because the distinction between public, palace and private (family) treasuries was never very particularly observed. This meant that state funds often flowed into what were essentially private hands, while the imperial family or the emperors themselves often invested substantial funds drawn from their personal revenues in state-related ventures.

A key aspect of the structure of imperial administration was the system of precedence embedded within it. While this was always fluid, with new titles being introduced at times, with shifts in status between different ranks, and in particular with the relationship of any individual to the emperor being of crucial significance in determining what position they attained and how that was described through the system of titles, a certain regularity in these relationships did exist, and is described in a variety of documents dating from the late Roman period through into the late Byzantine period. By the tenth century this system had settled down and it became possible to draw up lists of precedence by which imperial ceremonial, public meals, processions and so forth could be regulated. The master of ceremonies, the staff of the imperial palace and the prefect of the city all played a key role in the maintenance and observance of tradition, although ‘tradition’ was itself constantly evolving.

A career in the state administration was attractive because of the potential for illicit as well as regular rewards, and could be achieved through various means. Before the collapse of the middle of the seventh century, study of the law was always a good qualification for court posts as well as provincial positions of authority and responsibility, although a general acquaintance

The I'omiai inslilutional nature of thiii structure was heavily tempered by the personal natuR' of the relationships between the varioiis ofTieials and their superiors or peers Figure 6J The imperial administration e, 700-1050

With traditional classical scholarship was sufficient. During the later seventh and eighth centuries this changed, and it seems that many provincial officials were entirely ignorant of the law and of the administration ofjustice. But literacy was generally the norm, since this was a literate and record-keeping state administration which depended upon the transmission of vital information in written form, not just between officials, but from one generation to the next. By the tenth and eleventh centuries a knowledge of the law was once again an important part of the education of senior officials. In theory, all posts were open to all persons, but in practice, the system was heavily inflected by the existence of a powerful social elite and the networks of patronage which were a part of any medieval society. The administrative hierarchy was graded according to military and non-military posts, as well as, by the tenth century, ranks normally held by eunuchs and non-eunuchs, although the system was by no means exclusive or rigid.

Officials were inducted into their posts by a formal ceremony at which they received the signs of their office - a ceremonial military girdle and a robe or other garment specific to their department and rank - and during which they swore an oath of loyalty to the emperor and declared their orthodoxy. By the ninth century the great majority ofjunior posts were conferred by the award of a token of office, so that the emperor did not need to be present. Senior posts, in contrast, which were of greater significance to the emperor and which were often directly chosen by him, were appointed by word of mouth at a ceremony formally conducted by the ruler and during which the official or officer, if the post was military, did formal obeisance to the emperor. Such ceremonies applied to the clergy of the Constantinopolitan churches also, since they, too, were members of this hierarchy of state positions.

Promotion depended upon a regular rhythm of movement within each department - during the eighth and ninth centuries, for example, thematic commanders were rotated fairly frequently, sometimes across to an alternative post, sometimes upwards. Where the move was from one post to another comparable one, however, the incumbent would sometimes receive a higherranking title, so that salary and social standing would rise accordingly. If all went well, an individual of reasonable talents could expect to rise to a fairly senior position by the end of his career and, if he came to the attention of the emperor or another powerful senior official, perhaps even become a senior minister or official himself. Salaries rose incrementally with promotion, and upon retirement, since there was no system of pensions as such, officials received an enhanced sum, together with certain judicial rights and sometimes also fiscal exemptions. Some administrative officials, especially in the period from the tenth century, sold their posts in advance of their retirement as a means of putting a sum aside.



 

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