Mesazon
Encyclopedia
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...
during the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, who acted as the chief minister and principal aide of the Emperor.
History and functions
The term's origins lie in the 10th century, when senior ministers were sometimes referred to as the mesiteuontes (μεσιτεύοντες), i.e. "mediators" between the emperor and his subjects (cf. paradynasteuōnParadynasteuon
The paradynasteuōn was a term used, especially in the Byzantine Empire, to designate a ruler's favorite, often raised to the position of chief minister. Probably deriving from Thucydides, it was used in the later Roman Empire for people with great authority...
). The title first became official in the mid-11th century, when it was conferred to Constantine Leichoudes, the future patriarch Constantine III. In the Komnenian period, it was awarded to senior government officials who functioned as de facto prime ministers, such as the epi tou kanikleiou and the logothetēs tōn sekretōn, but had not yet acquired a permanent and specific function, nor the power that would characterize it in later years. Rather, it was a title bestowed on the principal imperial secretary, who acted precisely as an "intermediary" between the emperor and the other officials. This reflected the shift of the Byzantine government under the Komnenoi from the old Roman-style bureaucracy to a more restricted, aristocratic ruling class, where government was exercised within the imperial household, as in feudal Western Europe. The office of mesazōn became formally institutionalized in the Empire of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
, where the holder of the mesastikion (as the function had become known), served as the Empire's chief minister, coordinating the other ministers. As the emperor and historian John Kantakouzenos records, the mesazōn was "needed by the emperor day and night". This arrangement was inherited by the restored Palaiologan Empire
Byzantium under the Palaiologoi
The Byzantine Empire or Byzantium, the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, was ruled by the Palaiologoi dynasty in the period c...
and continued in use until the Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
in 1453. The office was also used in the same function in the Byzantine courts of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
, Morea
Despotate of Morea
The Despotate of the Morea or Despotate of Mystras was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its 100 years of existence but eventually grew to take in almost all the southern Greek peninsula, the...
and Trebizond
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, founded in April 1204, was one of three Byzantine successor states of the Byzantine Empire. However, the creation of the Empire of Trebizond was not directly related to the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, rather it had broken away from the Byzantine Empire...
. In the latter case, it acquired the epithet megas ("great").
List of mesazontes
- Constantine Leichoudes –1050
- Theodore Styppeiotes, under Manuel I KomnenosManuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
- John Kamateros, under Manuel I KomnenosManuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
- Michael Hagiotheodorites, under Manuel I KomnenosManuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
- Theodore Mavrozomes, under Manuel I KomnenosManuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
- Demetrios Komnenos Tornikes, under John III Vatatzes
- Theodore Mouzalon, –1294
- Nikephoros ChoumnosNikephoros ChoumnosNikephoros Choumnos was a Byzantine scholar and official of the early Palaiologan period, one of the most important figures in the flowering of arts and letters of the so-called "Palaiologan Renaissance"...
, 1294–1305, under Andronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes... - Theodore MetochitesTheodore MetochitesTheodore Metochites was a Byzantine statesman, author, gentleman philosopher, and patron of the arts. From c. 1305 to 1328 he held the position of personal adviser to emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos.- Life :...
, 1305–1328, under Andronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes... - Alexios ApokaukosAlexios ApokaukosAlexios Apokaukos was a leading Byzantine statesman and high-ranking military officer during the reigns of emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos and John V Palaiologos...
, 1328–1345, under John V PalaiologosJohn V PalaiologosJohn V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:... - Demetrios Kydones, 1347–1354 under John VI KantakouzenosJohn VI KantakouzenosJohn VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
, 1369–1383 under John V PalaiologosJohn V PalaiologosJohn V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...
and 1391–1396 under Manuel II PalaiologosManuel II PalaiologosManuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425.-Life:... - George Goudelis, late 1390s under Manuel II PalaiologosManuel II PalaiologosManuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425.-Life:...
- Demetrios Chrysoloras, 1403–1408 in Thessalonica under John VII PalaiologosJohn VII PalaiologosJohn VII Palaiologos was Byzantine Emperor for five months in 1390.-Life:...
- George Doukas Philanthropenos, 1430–1439
- Demetrios Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, 1434/5–1448 under John VIII PalaiologosJohn VIII PalaiologosJohn VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus , was the penultimate reigning Byzantine Emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448.-Life:John VIII Palaiologos was the eldest son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbian prince Constantine Dragaš...
- George Doukas Philanthropenos and Markos Palaiologos Iagaris, 1438–1439 while accompanying John VIII PalaiologosJohn VIII PalaiologosJohn VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus , was the penultimate reigning Byzantine Emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448.-Life:John VIII Palaiologos was the eldest son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbian prince Constantine Dragaš...
to Italy - Loukas NotarasLoukas NotarasLoukas Notaras was the last Megas Doux of the Byzantine Empire. This position had been expanded under the late Palaiologid emperors and functioned as an unofficial Prime Minister, overseeing the Imperial Bureaucracy in place of the Megas Logothetes who had previously...
, 1434–1453, last mesazōn of the Byzantine Empire under John VIII and Constantine XI Palaiologos