Postmaster general
The
logothetes tou dromou
(
Greek
:
λογοθ?τη? το? δρ?μου
), in
English
usually rendered as
Logothete of the Course/Drome/
Dromos
or
Postal Logothete
, was the head of the department of the
Public Post
(
Latin
:
cursus publicus
,
Greek
:
δημ?σιο? δρ?μο?
,
romanized
:
demosios dromos
, or simply
? δρ?μο?
,
ho dromos
), and one of the most senior fiscal ministers (
logothetes
) of the
Byzantine Empire
.
History and functions
[
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]
The office of the
logothetes tou dromou
is explicitly attested for the first time in circa 762, but traces its origins to the officials supervising the
Public Post
in
Late Antiquity
.
Until the late 4th century, the administration of the
Roman Empire
's
Public Post
was a responsibility of the
praetorian prefectures
. Due to the abuse of the Post and its privileges by the officials of the praetorian prefecture, in the late 4th century the oversight over the Post passed to the
magister officiorum
, while the day-to-day administration remained in the hands of the praetorian prefecture.
[2]
As a result, an official known as the
curiosus cursus publici
, the inspector of the Public Post, is attested in the late 4th-century
Notitia Dignitatum
(
Pars Orientalis
, XI.50) as one of the principal aides of the
magister officiorum
.
[4]
The twin administration of the Public Post by the praetorian prefects and the
magister officiorum
continued into the 6th century, and it was not until
c.
680
that the Public Post is found fully under the supervision of the
magister officiorum
.
[5]
The office of the
logothetes tou dromou
does not appear in the surviving sources until the year 762, but must have come into existence earlier, as the once-wide ranging duties of the
magister officiorum
were gradually removed and the office itself practically abolished during the course of the 8th century. Among the various functions of the
magister officiorum
, the
logothetes tou dromou
assumed control not only the Public Post, but also of domestic security and the Empire's foreign affairs, handling collection of
intelligence
on foreign peoples, correspondence with foreign princes and the reception of ambassadors.
[6]
Originally the office was simply one of the four senior fiscal ministers or
logothetai
, and the
Kletorologion
of 899 places the
logothetes tou dromou
35th in the imperial hierarchy, after the
logothetes tou genikou
(33rd) and the
logothetes tou stratiotikou
(34th), but above the
logothetes ton agelon
(40th).
[7]
It rose quickly in importance, however, and came to combine, according to the French scholar
Rodolphe Guilland
, the functions of a modern interior, security and foreign minister, although his role in foreign affairs remained by far the most important.
[6]
It is indicative of his pre-eminence that in the Byzantine sources of the 9th?10th centuries, when there is mention of "the
logothetes
" without further qualification, it usually refers to the
logothetes tou dromou
.
Consequently, the incumbent of the office often served as the Empire's chief minister, although this ultimately depended on the reigning emperor. The Byzantines never formalized such a position, nor was it attached to a particular office, rather it was granted
ad hoc
on the basis of each emperor's favour towards a particular courtier, irrespective of rank or office. As Guilland points out, the senior officials of the imperial household?the
praipositoi
,
parakoimomenoi
and
protovestiarioi
?had far more opportunity to attract imperial favour and consequently were more often chosen to fill the role of chief minister.
[8]
Notable
logothetai tou dromou
who served as chief ministers include
Staurakios
under Empress
Irene of Athens
(
r.
797?802
),
Theoktistos
during the regency of Empress
Theodora
(842?856),
Stylianos Zaoutzes
in the early reign of
Leo VI the Wise
(
r.
886?912
),
Leo Phokas the Younger
during the rule of his brother
Nikephoros II Phokas
(
r.
963?969
), John under
Constantine IX Monomachos
(
r.
1042?1055
), and
Nikephoritzes
under
Michael VII Doukas
(
r.
1071?1078
).
[9]
The 10th-century
De Ceremoniis
of
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
(
r.
913?920, 944?959
) depicts the administrative and ceremonial roles of the
logothetes tou dromou
: he was received in audience every morning by the Emperor in the
Chrysotriklinos
, he presented the senior officials at award-giving ceremonies, and had a prominent part in the reception of foreign embassies, as well as the exhibition of captives.
After the reforms of Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos
(
r.
1081?1118
), in
c.
1108
the
dromos
ceased to exist as a department, but the
logothetes
remained, now responsible for official communications and for supervising foreigners resident in Constantinople.
At the same time, the
logothetes tou dromou
lost his pre-eminence among the senior ministers to the
logothetes ton sekreton
, a post which later evolved to the
megas logothetes
.
Subordinate officials
[
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]
The subordinates of the
logothetes tou dromou
were:
- The
protonotarios
tou dromou
(
πρωτονοτ?ριο? το? δρ?μου
), his senior deputy.
- The
chartoularioi
tou [oxeos] dromou
(
χαρτουλ?ριοι το? [?ξ?ο?] δρ?μου
), who were
clerks
with the rank of
spatharios
, combining the functions of the Roman
curiosi per omnes provincias
found in the
Notitia Dignitatum
and of the officials in charge of the
scrinium barbarorum
, the '
Bureau of Barbarians
'.
[4]
- A number of
episkeptetai
(
?πισκεπτ?ται
), officials in charge of the various imperial estates (
episkepseis
).
- Translators (
?ρμηνευτα?
,
hermeneutai
), also attested (as
interpretes diversarum gentium
) in the
Notitia Dignitatum
.
[4]
- The
kourator
tou apokrisiareiou
(
κουρ?τωρ του ?ποκρισιαρε?ου
), in charge of the
apokrisiarieion
, a building in Constantinople that housed foreign
envoys
.
- Various inspectors, the
diatrechontes
(
διατρ?χοντε?
, the old Roman
cursores
) and messengers (
μανδ?τορε?
,
mandatores
).
References
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]
Sources
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
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Preceding
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Early
(330–717)
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Middle
(717–1204)
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Late
(1204–1453)
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By modern region
or territory
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