Gregory Kamateros

Gregory Kamateros (Greek: Γρηγόριος Καματηρός, Grēgorios Kamatēros; fl. 1088–ca. 1126/32) was a senior Byzantine official. Of low birth but very well educated, he reached high office under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and eventually became logothetes ton sekreton, de facto prime minister, under both Alexios and John II Komnenos. Through his marriage with Irene Doukaina, an imperial relative, he founded the bureaucratic dynasty of the Doukai-Kamateroi.

There are several scattered references to a "Gregory Kamateros" in documents and seals of the late 11th/early 12th century. Most scholars consider them to refer to the same person, with the notable exception of the historian Vitalien Laurent, who cast doubt on this identification.

According to the historian Niketas Choniates, Gregory Kamateros was of lowly and undistinguished birth. Nevertheless, he was distinguished by his great erudition, which was said to encompass all fields of knowledge. He first appears in a document of the year 1088, as a logariastes (accountant) of the genikon department. The same document also gives the name of his father as Basil. At the time of the failed conspiracy of Nikephoros Diogenes against Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) in 1094, he was a "recently appointed" secretary to the emperor, and participated in the interrogation of Diogenes. A seal attests to his having held the office of governor, with the title of praetor, of the joint themes of the Peloponnese and Hellas. According to Choniates, he became rich due to tax farming in the provinces, possibly referring to this post. The wealth he accumulated allowed him to marry an imperial relative, Irene Doukaina, and he was promoted to the high rank of sebastos and the posts of protasekretis and even logothetes ton sekreton by Alexios I. The protasekretis was originally the head of the imperial chancery, but according to the historian Paul Magdalino, Gregory Kamateros may have been the first protasekretis to head the tribunal with which the office was chiefly associated later in the 12th century. The post of logothetes ton sekreton was a creation of Alexios I, originally tasked simply with coordinating the various government departments (sekreta), but which by the turn of the 12th century had established itself as a de facto prime minister. Archbishop Theophylact of Ohrid, who maintained friendly relations with Gregory and addressed five letters to him, implies that he was very influential in the court, while the monody written on the occasion of his funeral by the court poet Theodore Prodromos portrays him as the virtual ruler of the empire.

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