caliph
The supreme religious and political authority of Muslims, considered successor of Muhammad (Arabic: khalifa = deputy). He was the head of the Caliphate, the religious state of the Arabs.
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comes
1. A title in the Roman and the Byzantine Empires, designating an official with political but mostly military jurisdiction. Especially the comes Orientis held the position corresponding to that of a vicar in Early Byzantine period. In the years of Justinian I, the comes in head of wider provinces assumed political and military powers, while in the Middle Byzantine period the Opsikion theme was one of the few themes which was the jurisdiction of a comes instead of a strategos.2. A nobility title in medieval Europe.
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domestikos ton scholon
Commander of the regiment of scholae. The first officer with this title appears in 767/8. In the 10th C the domesticos became very powerful among the army of the themata; in mid-10th C the office was divided in two, domestikoi ton scholon of the East and those of the West, commanders in chief of the eastern and the western provinces´ army respectively.
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magistros
Higher office that Philotheos in his Kletorologion places above the anthypatos. This title lost its importance from the 10th century and gradually disappeared - most probably in the middle of the 12th century.
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megas sakellarios
Ecclesiastic official. The sakellarios was responsible for supervising the monasteries of his bishopric. In late 11th c. the sakellarios of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was given the epithet «megas» (great). By that time the office had lost any economic responsibilities and was responsible for supervising the monasteries of Constantinople, as well as for composing and seeing to the application of patriarchal acts concerning the charistikai donations.
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strategos ("general")
During the Roman period his duties were mainly political. Οffice of the Byzantine state´s provincial administration. At first the title was given to the military and political administrator of the themes, namely of the big geographic and administrative unities of the Byzantine empire. Gradually the title lost its power and, already in the 11th century, strategoi were turned to simple commanders of military units, responsible for the defence of a region.
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tagmata (pl.)
Military units stationed in Constantinople and its outskirts during the Middle Byzantine period. The most important tagmata were that of the Scholae, the Excubitors (these originated from respective units of the Early Byzantine period and were organized into an imperial guard and a central strike force by Constantine V), the Vigilia (established by Irene the Athenian) and the Hikanatoi (established by Nicephorus I).
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