Kanikleios

Kanikleios

The kanikleios (Greek: κανίκλειος), more formally chartoularios tou kanikleiou or epi tou kanikleiou (Greek: ἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου) was one of the most senior offices in the Byzantine imperial chancery.[1] Its holder was the keeper of the imperial inkstand, the kanikleion, which was shaped as a little dog (Latin: canicula) and contained the scarlet ink with which the emperor signed state documents. The office first appears in the 9th century, and was usually held in tandem with other government offices.[2]

His proximity to the imperial person and the nature of his task made the kanikleios very influential, especially in formulating imperial chrysobulls.[1] The office was often given to trusted aides by the emperors, who functioned as effective chief ministers: most notably Theoktistos under Michael III,[2] Nikephoros Ouranos in the early reign of Basil II,[3] the powerful Theodore Styppeiotes under Manuel I Komnenos,[4] Nikephoros Alyates under John III Vatatzes and Michael VIII, and the scholar Nikephoros Choumnos, who also held the post of prime minister (mesazōn) under Andronikos II Palaiologos.[5] The last recorded holder of this office was Alexios Palaiologos Tzamplakon in ca. 1438.[1]

In Constantinople, there also was a quarter on the shore of the Golden Horn named ta Kanikleiou, which took its name from the palatial residence built there by Theoktistos.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Kazhdan, Alexander, ed (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. p. 1101. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6. 
  2. ^ a b Bury, John B. (1911). The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century - With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos. Oxford University Publishing. p. 117. 
  3. ^ Holmes, Catherine (2005). Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976-1025). Oxford University Press. p. 350. ISBN 9780199279685. 
  4. ^ Magdalino, Paul (2002). The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180. Cambridge University Press. p. 254. ISBN 0-521-52653-1 
  5. ^ Angelov, Dimiter (2007). Imperial ideology and political thought in Byzantium (1204-1330). Cambridge University Press. pp. 72, 177. ISBN 9780521857031. 
  6. ^ Talbot, Alice-Mary (1998). Byzantine defenders of images: eight saints' lives in English translation. Dumbarton Oaks. p. 211. ISBN 9780884022596. 


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