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acheiropoietos
Icon, usually of Christ, which-according to the legend-was non-hand made. Several legends concerning acheiropoietes icons appeared in Byzantium since the 6th c. and refer to objects which miraculously preserved the imprint of the face or the body of Christ, after having come in contact with Him. The most famous is the Holy Mandylion of Eddesa. During the middle byzantine period most of those acheiropoietes icons of Christ are forgotten, though many legends emerged concerning acheiropoietes icons of saints.
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basileopator
A high honorary title in the Byzantine court. It was introduced in late 9th c. by E. Leo VI for Stylianos Zaoutzes and it was reserved for the father-in-law of the Byzantine emperor. It does not occur after the 10th c.
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caesar
In the Roman Empire the title of Caesar was given to the Emperor. From the reign of Diocletian (284-305) on this title was conferred on the young co-emperor. This was also the highest title on the hierarchy of the Byzantine court. In the 8th c. the title of Caesar was usually given to the successor of the throne. In the late 11th c. this office was downgraded and from the 14th c. on it was mainly conferred on foreign princes.
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cross-in-square church
Type of church in which four barrel-vaulted bays form a greek cross; the central square of their intersection is domed. The cross is inscribed into the square ground plan by means of four corner bays.
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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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droungarios
A military rank, first mentioned in the 7th century. This officer was in command of a droungos, a subdivision of the provincial army (thema).
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novel (novella)
Τerm meaning ad verbum "new decree" and used since around the 4th century in order to denote the provisions of the emperors as separate from the organized codes. They were written mainly in Greek and used extensively in the Middle Byzantine Era. Since the days of Komnenoi and after, they were replaced by other more specialized terms and they are very rare in the Late Byzantine era
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protimesis (preemption)
The right of certain categories of persons to preemption in cases of the sale of property. According to a novel of Romanos I (934), the poor peasants who sold their land when in need, could by right of protimesis buy their land back in no high a price. This right of the small landowners was abolished under Nikephoros II Phokas.
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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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tetragamy
A political and ecclesiastical controversy that followed the fourth marriage of emperor Leo VI (886-912). Since his only male heir had been a product of this marriage, it was of vital importance to leo to have the marriage recognised, whereas to the Church this was unacceptable. The issue was finally resolved in the Council of Constantinople in 920.
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tomos
A term denoting the official ecclesiastical acts.
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