Megas hetaireiarches
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| This article is part of the series on the military of the Byzantine Empire, 330–1453 AD | |
| Structural history | |
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| 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 Hetaireia or Hetaeria (Ancient Greek: ἑταιρεία) was a term for a corps of bodyguards during the Byzantine Empire. It means "the Company", echoing the ancient Macedonian Companions and the Classical Greek aristocrats who attended symposia.
The most important such corps was the imperial Hetaireia (βασιλική ἑταιρεία, basilikē hetaireia), composed chiefly of foreigners, which formed part of the Byzantine imperial guard alongside the tagmata in the 9th–12th centuries. The term hetaireia was also applied to the smaller bodyguards of thematic military commanders (stratēgoi), headed by a count (κόμης τῆς ἑταιρείας, komēs tēs hetaireias), and from the 13th century on, it was employed in a generic sense for the armed retinues of magnates, bound by oath to their master.
The exact origin, role, and structure of the imperial Hetaireia are unclear. The term first appears in the early 9th century: narrative sources record its existence in 813 as a bodyguard for the emperor on campaign.John B. Bury theorized that it was the evolution of the earlier Foederati, but this supposition was rejected by John Haldon. The Hetaireia of the middle Byzantine period was divided in several units: three or four according to the sources, distinguished by their epithets and each, at least originally, under is respective Hetaeriarch (ἑταιρειάρχης, hetaireiarchēs).
The senior unit was the "Great Hetaireia" (μεγάλη ἑταιρεία, megalē hetaireia), under the Great Hetaeriarch (megas hetaireiarchēs), who ranked as the senior of the military officials known as stratarchai and was often referred to simply as "the Hetaeriarch" (ὁ ἑταιρειάρχης) par excellence. It was a very important position in the late 9th and first half of the 10th centuries, as he was in charge of the Byzantine emperor's security, and was entrusted with delicate assignments. It is telling that the future emperor Romanos Lekapenos held this post, and was succeeded by his son Christopher Lekapenos. According to the mid-10th century De Ceremoniis, written by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), the Great Hetaeriarch and his unit are charged with the protection of the emperor's tent on campaign, and with the security of the imperial palace, in close association with the papias of the palace.
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