Epi tou eidikou explained

The (ἐπὶ τοῦ εἰδικοῦ [λόγου]||in charge of the special [department]), also known simply as the , meaning 'Special Secretary', or, from the 11th century on, as the , was an official of the Byzantine Empire who controlled the department known as, a special treasury and storehouse.^[1]

History and functions

The origin of the office is disputed: the department is first attested in the reign of Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–842), but some scholars (e.g. Rodolphe Guilland) derive the etymology of the department from the word,, indicating a continuation of the Late Roman office of Latin: [[comes rerum privatarum]].^[1] This view is rejected by others, notably J. B. Bury, who see it as a wholly separate institution, juxtaposing the 'special' department of the with the 'general' department or, and consider it as originating in the military departments of the Late Roman praetorian prefectures. Ernst Stein, on the other hand, connected it to the word (meaning 'ware'), and regarded the as the treasury for revenue paid in kind rather than coin.^[1]

The fulfilled the dual function of imperial treasury and storehouse. As a treasury, it stored various precious materials such as silk or gold, and was responsible for the payment of the annual salaries of officials of senatorial rank.^[1] As a storehouse, the controlled the state factories producing military equipment (the Late Roman Latin: [[fabricae]]) and was responsible for supplying the necessary matériel for expeditions, ranging from weapons to "sails, ropes, hides, axes, wax, tin, lead, casks" for the fleet or even Arab clothing for imperial spies.^[1] For expeditions in which the emperor himself took part, the accompanied the army at the head of his own baggage train of 46 pack-horses carrying everything "from shoes to candlesticks", as well as large sums of gold and silver coinage for the emperor's use.

The department is still attested as late as 1081, but was probably abolished some time after; Rodolphe Guilland suggested that the of the ('household men') took over its functions (cf.).^[1]

Staff

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

• The (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: βασιλικοί νοτάριοι, 'imperial notaries'), as in all fiscal departments, usually of rank or lower; a ('first notary') is attested at their head in the Komnenian period (1081–1185).
• The (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐργοδοσίων, 'masters of the factories') and (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: 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 called .^[2]
• The (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἑβδομαδάριοι τοῦ εἰδικοῦ), palace servants.

The seat of the was in a special building within the Great Palace of Constantinople, which tradition ascribed to Constantine the Great . It was situated between the great halls of the Triconchos and the Lausiakos, near the imperial audience hall of the Chrysotriklinos.

Sources

• Book: Bury, John Bagnell . J. B. Bury . The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century - With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos . 1911 . London . Oxford University Press .
• Guilland. Rodolphe. Rodolphe Guilland. Les Logothètes: Etudes sur l'histoire administrative de l'Empire byzantin. Revue des études byzantines. 29. 29 . 1971 . 5–115 . 10.3406/rebyz.1971.1441 . fr.

Notes and References

1. .
2. .