Empire of Elites

Mariana Bodnaruk is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of History of the University of Warsaw, Poland, and a senior researcher at the Center for Medieval Visual Cultures and Research Communication at the Art History Department of the Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia. They received a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, in 2019. Their research was published in Journal of Epigraphic Studies, Journal of Late Antiquity, Antichthon, Phoenix, and Byzantinoslavica. Their research interests include epigraphy, art history, and hagiography of the medieval East Roman Empire, gender studies, queer and trans theory, and historical materialism.

• IntroductionChapter 1Imperial Aristocracy: Senators and New Hierarchies of HonorsI. Quaestor, Praetor, Suffect ConsulII. Religious Offices1. Religious Activities of Senators in Their Private Non-Official Roles2. Religious Activities of Senators in Their Public Official Roles3. Christian Religious OfficesIII. Count, Patrician, Ordinary ConsulChapter 2Urban and Regional Administration: Civilian GovernmentI. Illustres as Imperial Proxy Presence1. Praetorian Prefect (Praefectus Praetorio)2. Urban Prefect (Praefectus Urbi)II. Spectabiles Between Center and Periphery1. Proconsul (Proconsul)2. Count of the East (Comes Orientis)3. Augustal Prefect (Praefectus Augustalis)4. Vicar (Vicarius)III. Clarissimi and Patterns in Office-Holding1. Provincial Governors: Consularis, Corrector, Praeses2. Prefect of the Annona (Praefectus Annonae) and Prefect of the Vigils (Praefectus Vigilum)3. Curators of the City of Rome (Curatores Urbis Romae)4. Legates of Proconsul (Legati Proconsulis)Chapter 3Regional Administration: Military GovernmentI. Illustres: The Ascendancy of High-Ranking Militares as a New Senatorial Elite1. Master of Soldiers (Magister Militum)2. Count of the Imperial Guard (Comes Domesticorum)II. Spectabiles: Middle-Tier Military Commanders As a Backbone of Hierarchy1. Count of Military Matters (Comes Rei Militaris)2. Duke (Dux)III. Clarissimi: Lower-Grade Military Officers As Pillars of the Ranks1. Tribune (Tribunus)2. Prefect (Praefectus) and Provost (Praepositus)3. Chief Officer of the Imperial Guard (Primicerius Protectorum Domesticorum)Chapter 4Central Administration: The Palatine BureaucracyI. The Rise of the Roman Bureaucrats: Illustres1. Provost of the Sacred Bedchamber (Praepositus Sacri Cubiculi)2. Consistorian Counts (Comites Consistoriani)i. Master of Offices (Magister Officiorum)ii. Quaestor (Quaestor Sacri Palatii)iii. Count of the Sacred Largess (Comes Sacrarum Largitionum)iv. Count of the Private Domains (Comes Rerum Privatarum)II. Working in the Proximity of the Ruler: Spectabiles1. Superintendent of the Sacred Bedchamber (Primicerius Sacri Cubiculi) and Castellan of the Sacred Palace (Castrensis Sacri Palatii)2. Tribunes and Notaries (Tribuni et Notarii): Chief of the Notaries (Primicerius Notariorum)3. Masters of the Record Bureaus (Magistri Scriniorum)i. Master of Memorials (Magister Memoriae)ii. Master of Correspondence and Master of Greek Correspondence (Magister Epistularum and Magister Epistularum Graecarum)iii. Master of Requests (Magister Libellorum)III. A New Bureaucratic Elite: Clarissimi1. Counts of the Diocesan Largesses (Comites Largitionum) and Accountants (Rationales)2. Chiefs of Office Staff of the Corps of General Agents (Principes Pfficiorum Ex Agentibus in Rebus)3. First Deputy-Chiefs of the Record Bureaus (Proximi Scriniorum) and Master of the Schedules (Magister Dispositionum)ConclusionBibliography