Category: Glossary of Byzantine Terms

Turkic-speaking nomadic warriors who appeared in the north Black Sea steppe in the sixth century,...

Fatimids: Shiite dynasty based in Cairo from the later tenth century; their dominions included no...

Eunuch: Castrated male who could occupy any position in the imperial system; some offi ces were r...

Normans: people from north-west France, originally of Scandinavian origin; in the eleventh centur...

Roga: Originally a salary paid monthly, quarterly, or annually; from at least the 9th century als...

Synodikon: An inventory in a church or monastery that registered items donated and the commemorat...

tribunus (s.), tribuni (pl.): term for indigenous local rulers in southern Italy, which fell out ...

Opsikion: one of the earliest themes to emerge; based in north-west Asia Minor, closest to Consta...

Strategos: A general; in Byzantine times usually the governor of a military district or thema, an...

Koinobion: A type of monastery which emphasized a communal lifestyle, including attendance at chu...

Exarchate: territorial and administrative unit commanded by an exarch; in modern usage, often the...

Ekklesiarches: The sacristan of a church, responsible for preparing for services by setting out t...

Thelematarioi: “Volunteers,” soldiers/watchmen who served on the basis of grants of land given by...

Vlachs: Romance-language-speaking pastoral inhabitants of eastern and south-eastern Europe, desce...

Franks: A Germanic grouping from the lower Rhine, frequently recruited into the Roman army; unite...

Theotokos ‘god-bearing’ (from theos ‘god’ and tokos ‘bringing forth’): description of the Virgin ...

Iconoclasm: Rejection of the honoring of sacred images as a form of idolatry. Condemned as a here...

Ducat: Two types of coin from the duchy of Venice: (1) the thirteenthand early fourteenth-century...

Alloy containing silver and gold in a Byzantine coin.