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The rhaiktor (Medieval Greek: ῥαίκτωρ, the Hellenized form of Latin: rector) was a high-ranking court position of the middle Byzantine Empire.
The rhaiktor (Medieval Greek: ῥαίκτωρ, the Hellenized form of Latin: rector) was a high-ranking court position of the middle Byzantine Empire.
J. B. Bury assumed that the post was created either under Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912) or his father Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886),[1] but Nicolas Oikonomides restored it in the text of the Taktikon Uspensky of c. 843.[2] The title is also found in seals of the 7th and 8th centuries, but with a different sense; thus a "rhaiktor of Calabria" was the administrator of the local estates of the See of Rome in Calabria.[3]
The Kletorologion of 899 includes the rhaiktor among the 'special dignities' (axiai eidikai).[3][4] The exact functions of the office are not clear, but, as J. B. Bury wrote, they probably "consisted in exercising some authority over the Imperial household".[1][3] Earlier authors suggested that the title was related, or even identical, to the later title of proedros, but the theory was rejected by Rodolphe Guilland.[5] His ceremony of appointment is recorded in Constantine VII's De Ceremoniis.[1] The reports of the ambassador to the Byzantine court Liutprand of Cremona show the rhaiktor as playing an important role in court ceremonies under Constantine VII.[6]
The post could be held by court eunuchs as well as clerics, even priests, but was also often combined with other high offices, such as stratopedarches or logothetes tou genikou.[3] In the lists of precedence to the imperial banquets of the 9th–10th centuries he occupied a very prominent place, coming right after the magistroi and before the synkellos and the patrikioi.[7][8] The title disappears from the sources after the reign of Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055).[3][9]
At the same time, the title also appears as a family name: the magistros and logothetes tou dromou Michael Rhektor was a member of the regency council appointed on the death of Romanos II in 963, while under Nikephoros III (r. 1078–1081) a monk called Rhektor pretended to be Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078) and tried to overthrow the emperor.[9]
| Name | Tenure | Appointed by | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lazares | 912–913 | Alexander | Raised to the post on the accession of Alexander, he became a member of the regency council for Constantine VII but was soon dismissed by Empress-regent Zoe Karbonopsina. | [10] |
| John the Rhaiktor | c. 922 | Romanos I Lekapenos | A cleric, he was rhaiktor and paradynasteuon of Romanos, he was forced to retire to a monastery. He led a diplomatic mission to Bulgaria c. 929, and was blinded and exiled along with others in 946 for plotting against Constantine VII. | [10][11] |
| Michael Lekapenos | after 945 | Constantine VII | Son of Romanos I's eldest son and co-emperor Christopher Lekapenos, according to Theophanes Continuatus he was named magistros and rhaiktor by Constantine VII. | [10] |
| Basil | c. 970 | John I Tzimiskes | Was instrumental in suppressing a coup attempt by Leo Phokas the Younger against Tzimiskes and arresting the ringleaders. Possibly to be identified with Basil Lekapenos. | [10] |
| Basil | c. 993 | Basil II | Recorded only in two acts of the Great Lavra monastery as rhaiktor and genikos logothetes. | [10] |
| Niketas | c. 1035 (?) | unknown | Only mentioned briefly in the Peira of Eustathios Rhomaios. | [10] |
| Sagmatas | later 11th century | unknown | Addressee of a letter of Michael Psellos, later apparently advanced to the posts of synkellos and logothetes tou dromou. | [10] |
| Nikephoros | c. 1050 | Constantine IX Monomachos | A eunuch and former monk, he became a court favourite of Constantine IX, who named him rhaiktor and stratopedarches. Sent to command against the Pechenegs, he was heavily defeated in battle near the Iron Gates. | [12] |