Excubitors
Encyclopedia
The Excubitors were founded in circa 460 AD as the imperial guard
s of the early Byzantine emperors. Their commanders soon acquired great influence and provided a series of emperors in the 6th century. The Excubitors fade from the record in the late 7th century, but in the mid-8th century, they were reformed into one of the elite tagmatic units, the professional core of the middle Byzantine army
. The Excubitors are last attested in 1081 AD.
The Excubitors were founded in Late Antiquity
by Emperor Leo I (reign
ed 457–474) circa 460 and numbered 300 men, often recruited from among the sturdy and warlike Isaurians
, as part of Leo's effort to counterbalance the influence of the magister militum
Aspar
and the large Germanic element in the East Roman army
. Unlike the older palace regiments of the Scholae Palatinae
, which were under the control of the magister officiorum
and eventually degenerated to parade-ground formations, the Excubitors long remained a crack fighting force. Unlike the Scholae, which were garrisoned throughout Thrace
and Bithynia
, the Excubitors were billeted in the imperial palace
itself and formed practically the only garrison of Constantinople
in the 6th century. Their high status is further illustrated by the fact that both officers and ordinary Excubitors were often sent for special missions, including diplomatic assignments.
The unit was headed by the Count of the Excubitors , who, by virtue of his proximity to the emperor, became an official of great importance in the 6th and 7th centuries. This post, which can be traced up to circa 680, was usually held by close members of the imperial family, often virtual heirs apparent
. Thus it was the support of his men that secured Justin I
(r. 518–527), who held the post at the time of the death of Anastasius I
, his elevation to the throne. Similarly, Justin II
(r. 565–578) relied on the support of the Excubitors for his unchallenged accession; their count, Tiberius, was a close friend who had been appointed to the post through Justin's intervention. Tiberius was to be the Emperor's right-hand man throughout his reign, eventually succeeding him as Tiberius II (r. 578–582). He too would be succeeded by his own comes excubitorum, Maurice
(r. 582–602). Under Maurice, the post was held by his brother-in-law Philippicus
, and under Phocas
(r. 602–610) by Priscus
. The power that went with the post, and the intrigues of men like Priscus and, in the early 640s, the would-be usurper Valentinus
, doomed the post to emasculation and eventual eclipse during the latter half of the 7th century.
After a lapse towards the end of the 7th century and the first half of the 8th century, the Excubitors reappear in historical sources, under a new commander, the Domestic of the Excubitors ' onMouseout='HidePop("32922")' href="/topics/Domestikos">domestikos
tōn exkoubitōn/exkoubitorōn) and in a new capacity, as one of the imperial tagmata, the elite professional central army established by Constantine V (r. 741–775). As one of the tagmata, the Excubitors were no longer a palace guard, but a unit actively engaged in military campaigns. At the same time, they were created as a counterbalance to the thematic armies and constituted a powerful tool in implementing the iconoclastic policies pursued by Constantine V
; their allegiance was so strong that pro-iconodule regent Irene had to forcibly disarm them in 786.
The Domestics were originally of strikingly low court rank
(mere spatharioi), but they gradually rose to importance: while in the Taktikon Uspensky
of circa 842 the Domestic of the Excubitors ranks behind all the thematic stratēgoi
, in the Klētorologion
of 899, the Domestic is shown as superior to the stratēgoi of the European themes and even to the Eparch of Constantinople. At the same time, their rank rose to that of prōtospatharios
and even patrikios. The most prominent Domestic of the Excubitors of the period was Michael II the Amorian (r. 820–829), whose supporters overthrew Emperor Leo V the Armenian
(r. 813–820) and raised him to the throne. In the latter half of the 10th century, probably under Romanos II
(r. 959–963), the regiment, like the senior tagma of the Scholae, was split in two units, one for the West and one for the East, each headed by a respective Domestic.
As with most of the tagmata, the regiment did not survive the great upheavals of the later 11th century, when foreign invasion and constant civil war
s destroyed much of the Byzantine army
. The last mention of the Excubitors occurs in Anna Komnene
's Alexiad
, where they are recorded for the last time as participating at the Battle of Dyrrhachium in 1081 under Constantine Opos
.
In its later incarnation as a tagma, the regiment (often called collectively ) was structured along standardized lines followed by the other tagmata, with a few variations. The domestikos
was assisted by a topotērētēs (Greek: τοποτηρητής, lit. "placeholder", "lieutenant") and a chartoularios
(Greek: χαρτουλάριος, "secretary"). The regiment itself was divided into at least eighteen banda
, probably each commanded by a skribōn (Greek: σκρίβων). Each of them was further divided into sub-units headed by a drakonarios (Greek: δρακονάριος, deriving from the late Roman draconarius
), and included three classes of standard-bearers who functioned as junior officers: the skeuophoroi (Greek: σκευοφόροι, "standard carriers"), signophoroi (Greek: σιγνοφόροι, i.e. signifer
s) and sinatores (Greek: σινάτορες, from the late Roman rank of senator). There were also the usual messengers (Greek: μανδάτορες, mandator
es) under a prōtomandatōr, some of whom were also termed legatarioi (Greek: λεγατάριοι).
The size of the tagma of the Excubitors and its subdivisions can not be determined with certainty; as with the other tagmata, scholars are of differing opinions regarding its numerical strength. Drawing on the lists of officers and accounts of Arab geographers Ibn Khurdādhbah and Qudāmah
, historian Warren Treadgold maintains an establishment strength of circa 4,000 men, which for the Scholae and the Excubitors rose to circa 6,000 with the division of the regiments in the mid-10th century. Other scholars, most prominently John Haldon, have revised estimates to some 1,000 men for each tagma.
Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
s of the early Byzantine emperors. Their commanders soon acquired great influence and provided a series of emperors in the 6th century. The Excubitors fade from the record in the late 7th century, but in the mid-8th century, they were reformed into one of the elite tagmatic units, the professional core of the middle Byzantine army
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
. The Excubitors are last attested in 1081 AD.
History
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
by Emperor Leo I (reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ed 457–474) circa 460 and numbered 300 men, often recruited from among the sturdy and warlike Isaurians
Isauria
Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...
, as part of Leo's effort to counterbalance the influence of the magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Aspar
Aspar
Flavius Ardabur Aspar was an Alan patrician and magister militum of the Eastern Roman Empire. Aspar's family exerted a great influence on the Eastern Roman Emperors for half a century, from the 420s to his death in 471, over Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I, who, in the end, had him killed.Alans...
and the large Germanic element in the East Roman army
East Roman army
The East Roman army refers to the army of the Eastern section of the Roman Empire, from the empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7th century...
. Unlike the older palace regiments of the Scholae Palatinae
Scholae Palatinae
The Scholae Palatinae , were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the equites singulares Augusti, the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard...
, which were under the control of the magister officiorum
Magister officiorum
The magister officiorum was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire...
and eventually degenerated to parade-ground formations, the Excubitors long remained a crack fighting force. Unlike the Scholae, which were garrisoned throughout Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
, the Excubitors were billeted in the imperial palace
Great Palace of Constantinople
The Great Palace of Constantinople — also known as the Sacred Palace — was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as "Old Istanbul", modern Turkey...
itself and formed practically the only garrison of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in the 6th century. Their high status is further illustrated by the fact that both officers and ordinary Excubitors were often sent for special missions, including diplomatic assignments.
The unit was headed by the Count of the Excubitors , who, by virtue of his proximity to the emperor, became an official of great importance in the 6th and 7th centuries. This post, which can be traced up to circa 680, was usually held by close members of the imperial family, often virtual heirs apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
. Thus it was the support of his men that secured Justin I
Justin I
Justin I was Byzantine Emperor from 518 to 527. He rose through the ranks of the army and ultimately became its Emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost 70 years old at the time of accession...
(r. 518–527), who held the post at the time of the death of Anastasius I
Anastasius I (emperor)
Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518. During his reign the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, a stronghold intended to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis....
, his elevation to the throne. Similarly, Justin II
Justin II
Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...
(r. 565–578) relied on the support of the Excubitors for his unchallenged accession; their count, Tiberius, was a close friend who had been appointed to the post through Justin's intervention. Tiberius was to be the Emperor's right-hand man throughout his reign, eventually succeeding him as Tiberius II (r. 578–582). He too would be succeeded by his own comes excubitorum, Maurice
Maurice (emperor)
Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...
(r. 582–602). Under Maurice, the post was held by his brother-in-law Philippicus
Philippicus (general)
Philippicus or Philippikos was an East Roman general, comes excubitorum, and brother-in-law of Emperor Maurice. His successful career as a general spanned several decades, chiefly against the Persians.- Under Maurice :...
, and under Phocas
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
(r. 602–610) by Priscus
Priscus (general)
Priscus was a leading East Roman general during the reigns of the Byzantine emperors Maurice , Phocas and Heraclius . Although the contemporary sources are markedly biased in his favour, Priscus comes across as an effective and capable military leader...
. The power that went with the post, and the intrigues of men like Priscus and, in the early 640s, the would-be usurper Valentinus
Valentinus (usurper)
Valentinus was a Byzantine general and usurper.According to Sebeos, Valentinus was of Armenian origin, being descended from the royal Arsacid clan...
, doomed the post to emasculation and eventual eclipse during the latter half of the 7th century.
After a lapse towards the end of the 7th century and the first half of the 8th century, the Excubitors reappear in historical sources, under a new commander, the Domestic of the Excubitors ' onMouseout='HidePop("32922")' href="/topics/Domestikos">domestikos
Domestikos
Domestikos , in English sometimes [the] Domestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire.-Military usage:...
tōn exkoubitōn/exkoubitorōn) and in a new capacity, as one of the imperial tagmata, the elite professional central army established by Constantine V (r. 741–775). As one of the tagmata, the Excubitors were no longer a palace guard, but a unit actively engaged in military campaigns. At the same time, they were created as a counterbalance to the thematic armies and constituted a powerful tool in implementing the iconoclastic policies pursued by Constantine V
Constantine V
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
; their allegiance was so strong that pro-iconodule regent Irene had to forcibly disarm them in 786.
The Domestics were originally of strikingly low court rank
Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy
The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy, which was inherited from the Roman Empire. At the apex of the pyramid stood the Emperor, sole ruler and divinely ordained, but beneath him a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the administrative...
(mere spatharioi), but they gradually rose to importance: while in the Taktikon Uspensky
Taktikon Uspensky
The Taktikon Uspensky or Uspenskij is the conventional name of a mid-9th century Greek list of the civil, military and ecclesiastical offices of the Byzantine Empire and their precedence at the imperial court. Nicolas Oikonomides has dated it to 842/843, making it the first of a series of such...
of circa 842 the Domestic of the Excubitors ranks behind all the thematic stratēgoi
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
, in the Klētorologion
Kletorologion
The Klētorologion of Philotheos , is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence . It was published in September of 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise by the otherwise unknown prōtospatharios and atriklinēs Philotheos...
of 899, the Domestic is shown as superior to the stratēgoi of the European themes and even to the Eparch of Constantinople. At the same time, their rank rose to that of prōtospatharios
Protospatharios
Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period , awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.-History:...
and even patrikios. The most prominent Domestic of the Excubitors of the period was Michael II the Amorian (r. 820–829), whose supporters overthrew Emperor Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm...
(r. 813–820) and raised him to the throne. In the latter half of the 10th century, probably under Romanos II
Romanos II
Romanos II was a Byzantine emperor. He succeeded his father Constantine VII in 959 at the age of twenty-one, and died suddenly in 963.-Life:...
(r. 959–963), the regiment, like the senior tagma of the Scholae, was split in two units, one for the West and one for the East, each headed by a respective Domestic.
As with most of the tagmata, the regiment did not survive the great upheavals of the later 11th century, when foreign invasion and constant civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
s destroyed much of the Byzantine army
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
. The last mention of the Excubitors occurs in Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
's Alexiad
Alexiad
The Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I....
, where they are recorded for the last time as participating at the Battle of Dyrrhachium in 1081 under Constantine Opos
Constantine Opos (megas doux)
Constantine Opos was a notable Byzantine general and aristocrat in the first half of the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos . He participated in the wars against the Normans and the Seljuk Turks, eventually reaching the rank of megas doux .- Life :He first appears in the Alexiad in 1081, during...
.
Structure
The internal structure of the original excubitores regiment is unknown. It is known that it was a cavalry unit and that it had officers called scribones. Warren Treadgold speculates that they fulfilled a role similar to the regular cavalry decurions, commanding troops of 30 men each, but John B. Bury suggested that the scribones, though associated with the excubitores, remained a separate corps.In its later incarnation as a tagma, the regiment (often called collectively ) was structured along standardized lines followed by the other tagmata, with a few variations. The domestikos
Domestikos
Domestikos , in English sometimes [the] Domestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire.-Military usage:...
was assisted by a topotērētēs (Greek: τοποτηρητής, lit. "placeholder", "lieutenant") and a chartoularios
Chartoularios
The chartoularios or chartularius , Anglicized as chartulary, was a late Roman and Byzantine administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal duties, either as a subaltern official of a department or province or at the head of various independent bureaus.-History:The title derives...
(Greek: χαρτουλάριος, "secretary"). The regiment itself was divided into at least eighteen banda
Bandon (Byzantine Empire)
The bandon was the basic military and territorial administrative unit of the middle Byzantine Empire. Its name derived from Latin bandum, "ensign, banner", which in turn had a Germanic origin. The term was used already in the 6th century as a term for a battle standard, and soon came to be applied...
, probably each commanded by a skribōn (Greek: σκρίβων). Each of them was further divided into sub-units headed by a drakonarios (Greek: δρακονάριος, deriving from the late Roman draconarius
Draconarius
For the spider genus in the family Amaurobiidae, see : Draconarius .The draconarius was a type of signiferi who bore a cavalry standard known as a draco in the Roman army.- Name :...
), and included three classes of standard-bearers who functioned as junior officers: the skeuophoroi (Greek: σκευοφόροι, "standard carriers"), signophoroi (Greek: σιγνοφόροι, i.e. signifer
Signifer
A signifer was a standard bearer of the Roman legions. He carried a signum for a cohort or century. Each century had a signifer and within each cohort the first century's signifer would be the senior....
s) and sinatores (Greek: σινάτορες, from the late Roman rank of senator). There were also the usual messengers (Greek: μανδάτορες, mandator
Mandator
The mandatōr , deriving from the Latin word for "messenger", was a subaltern official in the middle Byzantine Empire.The mandatores were a corps of messengers for special duties attached to the bureau of all senior civil and military officials, such as the thematic stratēgoi, the commanders of the...
es) under a prōtomandatōr, some of whom were also termed legatarioi (Greek: λεγατάριοι).
The size of the tagma of the Excubitors and its subdivisions can not be determined with certainty; as with the other tagmata, scholars are of differing opinions regarding its numerical strength. Drawing on the lists of officers and accounts of Arab geographers Ibn Khurdādhbah and Qudāmah
Qudama ibn Ja'far
Qudama ibn Ja'far al-Qatib al-Baghdadi , also known as Abu'l Faraj, was an Arab scholar and administrator for the Abbasid Caliphate....
, historian Warren Treadgold maintains an establishment strength of circa 4,000 men, which for the Scholae and the Excubitors rose to circa 6,000 with the division of the regiments in the mid-10th century. Other scholars, most prominently John Haldon, have revised estimates to some 1,000 men for each tagma.