Domestic of the Schools
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| This article is part of the series on the military of the Byzantine Empire, 330–1453 AD | |
| Structural history | |
|---|---|
| Byzantine army: East Roman army, Middle Byzantine army (themes • tagmata • Hetaireia), Komnenian-era army (pronoia), Palaiologan-era army (allagia) • Varangian Guard • Generals (Magister militum • Domestic of the Schools • Grand Domestic • Stratopedarches • Protostrator) | |
| Byzantine navy: Greek fire • Dromon • Admirals (Droungarios of the Fleet • Megas doux) | |
| Campaign history | |
| Lists of wars, revolts and civil wars, and battles | |
| Strategy and tactics | |
| Tactics • Siege warfare • Military manuals • Fortifications (Walls of Constantinople) | |
The office of the Domestic of the Schools (Greek: δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the Scholai, the senior of the elite tagmata regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its holders essentially occupied the position of commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, next to the Emperor. The office was eclipsed in the 12th century by that of the Grand Domestic, and in the Palaiologan period (13th–15th centuries), it was reduced to a purely honorary, mid-level court dignity.
The first holder of the office of Domestic of the Schools first appears in the sources (the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor) for the year 767, shortly after the creation of the tagmata. These were elite cavalry regiments stationed in or around the capital Constantinople, commanded by officers titled "Domestics" (δομέστικοι, domestikoi) and distinct from the provincial armies of the themes under their respective stratēgoi. The Schools (Latin: scholae; Greek: σχολαὶ, scholai) was the senior tagma, tracing their origin to the Scholae Palatinae established by Constantine the Great (reigned (r.) 306–337) and originally placed under the command of the magister officiorum. The historian J.B. Bury has traced a reference to a certain Anianos, "Domestic of the magister", in the Chronicon Paschale for the year 624, and considers this official to be the predecessor of the Domestic of the Schools. As the magister officiorum was gradually deprived of some of his functions in the 7th and 8th centuries, the Domestic apparently became an independent official. The Kletorologion of 899 lists his subordinate officials as comprising his deputy or topotērētēs (τοποτηρητής), the secretary or chartoularios (χαρτουλάριος), the head messenger or proximos (πρόξιμος) and the other messengers (μανδάτορες, mandatores), as well as the various subordinate officers of the regiment (cf. the article on the Scholae Palatinae).
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