Hetaireia
Encyclopedia
The Hetaireia or Hetaeria was a term used to describe a corps of bodyguards
of the Byzantine Empire
. Its name means "the Company", echoing the ancient Macedonian
Companion cavalry
. The imperial Hetaireia, composed chiefly of foreigners, formed part of the Byzantine imperial guard
alongside the tagmata
in the 9th–12th centuries. The term, however, was also applied to the smaller bodyguards of provincial generals (stratēgoi
), headed by a count (Greek: κόμης τῆς ἑταιρείας komēs tēs hetaireias), and from the 13th century on, it was employed in a generic sense for the armed retinues of magnates, bound by oath
to their master.
theorized that it was the evolution of the earlier Foederati
, but this supposition was rejected by John Haldon. The Hetaireia of the middle Byzantine period was divided in several units: three or four according to the sources, distinguished by their epithets and each, at least originally, under is respective Hetaeriarch (Greek: , hetaireiarchēs).
The senior unit was the "Great Hetaireia" (Greek: , megalē hetaireia), under the Great Hetaeriarch (megas hetaireiarchēs), who ranked as the senior of the military officials known as stratarchai and was often referred to simply as "the Hetaeriarch" (Greek: ). It was a very important position in the late 9th and first half of the 10th centuries, as he was in charge of the Byzantine emperor's security, and was entrusted by the Byzantine emperor with delicate assignments. It is telling that the future Byzantine emperor Romanos Lekapenos held this post, and was succeeded by his son Christopher Lekapenos
. In the mid-10th century De Ceremoniis
of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), he and his unit are charged with the protection of the Byzantine emperor's tent on campaign, and with the security of the imperial palace, in close association with the papias
of the palace.
The "Middle Hetaireia" (Greek: , mesē hetaireia) is attested in sources, and the possible existence of a "Lesser Hetaireia" is implied by the reference to Stylianos Zaoutzes
as mikros hetaireiarchēs under Emperor Michael III
(r. 842–867). Alternatively, the unit of the mikros hetaireiarchēs may be identical to the barbarian regiment composed of the two companies of the Chazaroi (Greek: Χαζάροι, "Khazars
") and the Pharganoi . In the Escorial Taktikon
of circa 975, it is known as the "Third Hetaireia" (Greek: , tritē hetaireia). Warren Treadgold estimates the total strength of the imperial Hetaireia in the early 10th century at 1,200 men.
The bulk of the Hetaireia was composed of foreigners (ethnikoi): contemporary accounts list Khazars, Pharganoi, Turks (i.e. Magyars), Franks
and Arabs. The term Pharganoi could denote their origin from Central Asia
around Fergana
, or it could be a misspelling of Pharangoi, i.e. Varangians
. Honorary posts in the Hetaireia, however, were prestigious appointments, connected to an annual stipend
(roga), that could be purchased by native Byzantine
officials. A post in the "Great Hetaireia" cost a minimum of 16 litrai of gold
, a post in the "Middle Hetaireia" a minimum of ten, and in each of the Chazaroi or Pharganoi a minimum of seven.
As the 10th century progressed, a tendency of amalgamation of the various units into a single command becomes evident, as the "Middle Hetaireia" seems to have been placed under the [Great] Hetaeriarch. The importance of the Hetaireia as a bodyguard corps declined thereafter, but the unit was one of the few to survive in the Komnenian army
, being attested well into the reign of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
(r. 1143–1180). Its composition had changed however: in the late 11th century, Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger says that the Hetaireia was "customarily" made up of young Byzantine nobles.
The post of [megas] hetaireiarchēs also survived, detached from its military duties, and remained important: it was held by several influential palace eunuchs in the 11th century, and by second-rank nobles and junior relatives of the Byzantine imperial family, such as George Palaiologos, in the Komnenian period. In the Palaiologan period, it was held by members of prominent noble families.
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. Its name means "the Company", echoing the ancient Macedonian
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
Companion cavalry
Companion cavalry
The Companions were the elite cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of king Philip II of Macedon and reached the most prestige under Alexander the Great, and have been regarded as the best cavalry in the ancient world and the first shock cavalry...
. The imperial Hetaireia, composed chiefly of foreigners, formed part of the Byzantine imperial guard
Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
alongside the tagmata
Tagma (military)
The tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion or regiment size. The best-known and most technical use of the term however refers to the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.-History and...
in the 9th–12th centuries. The term, however, was also applied to the smaller bodyguards of provincial generals (stratēgoi
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
), headed by a count (Greek: κόμης τῆς ἑταιρείας komēs tēs hetaireias), and from the 13th century on, it was employed in a generic sense for the armed retinues of magnates, bound by oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
to their master.
History and role of the imperial Hetaireia
The exact origin, role, and structure of the imperial Hetaireia are unclear. The term first appears in the early 9th century: narrative sources record its existence in 813 as a bodyguard for the Byzantine emperor on campaign. John B. BuryJ. B. Bury
John Bagnell Bury , known as J. B. Bury, was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Byzantinist and philologist.-Biography:...
theorized that it was the evolution of the earlier Foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
, but this supposition was rejected by John Haldon. The Hetaireia of the middle Byzantine period was divided in several units: three or four according to the sources, distinguished by their epithets and each, at least originally, under is respective Hetaeriarch (Greek: , hetaireiarchēs).
The senior unit was the "Great Hetaireia" (Greek: , megalē hetaireia), under the Great Hetaeriarch (megas hetaireiarchēs), who ranked as the senior of the military officials known as stratarchai and was often referred to simply as "the Hetaeriarch" (Greek: ). It was a very important position in the late 9th and first half of the 10th centuries, as he was in charge of the Byzantine emperor's security, and was entrusted by the Byzantine emperor with delicate assignments. It is telling that the future Byzantine emperor Romanos Lekapenos held this post, and was succeeded by his son Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos and co-emperor from 921 until his death in 931.- Life :...
. In the mid-10th century De Ceremoniis
De Ceremoniis
De Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a description of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. It is sometimes called De ceremoniis aulae byzantinae...
of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), he and his unit are charged with the protection of the Byzantine emperor's tent on campaign, and with the security of the imperial palace, in close association with the papias
Papias (Byzantine office)
The Papias was a eunuch official in the Byzantine court, responsible for the security and maintenance of the buildings of the imperial palace in Constantinople.- History and role :...
of the palace.
The "Middle Hetaireia" (Greek: , mesē hetaireia) is attested in sources, and the possible existence of a "Lesser Hetaireia" is implied by the reference to Stylianos Zaoutzes
Stylianos Zaoutzes
Stylianos Zaoutzes was a high Byzantine official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I , he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise , who had a close friendship and possible an affair with Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina...
as mikros hetaireiarchēs under Emperor Michael III
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
(r. 842–867). Alternatively, the unit of the mikros hetaireiarchēs may be identical to the barbarian regiment composed of the two companies of the Chazaroi (Greek: Χαζάροι, "Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
") and the Pharganoi . In the Escorial Taktikon
Tactica
The term Tactica or Taktika can refer to:Two Byzantine military treatises on tactics and strategy:* the Tactica of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, written in the early 10th century and attributed to the emperor Leo VI the Wise....
of circa 975, it is known as the "Third Hetaireia" (Greek: , tritē hetaireia). Warren Treadgold estimates the total strength of the imperial Hetaireia in the early 10th century at 1,200 men.
The bulk of the Hetaireia was composed of foreigners (ethnikoi): contemporary accounts list Khazars, Pharganoi, Turks (i.e. Magyars), Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and Arabs. The term Pharganoi could denote their origin from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
around Fergana
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
, or it could be a misspelling of Pharangoi, i.e. Varangians
Varangians
The Varangians or Varyags , sometimes referred to as Variagians, were people from the Baltic region, most often associated with Vikings, who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe, through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.According...
. Honorary posts in the Hetaireia, however, were prestigious appointments, connected to an annual stipend
Stipend
A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
(roga), that could be purchased by native Byzantine
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
officials. A post in the "Great Hetaireia" cost a minimum of 16 litrai of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, a post in the "Middle Hetaireia" a minimum of ten, and in each of the Chazaroi or Pharganoi a minimum of seven.
As the 10th century progressed, a tendency of amalgamation of the various units into a single command becomes evident, as the "Middle Hetaireia" seems to have been placed under the [Great] Hetaeriarch. The importance of the Hetaireia as a bodyguard corps declined thereafter, but the unit was one of the few to survive in the Komnenian army
Komnenian army
The Komnenian Byzantine army or Komnenian army was the force established by Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos during the late 11th/early 12th century, and perfected by his successors John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos during the 12th century. Alexios constructed a new army from the ground...
, being attested well into the reign of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
(r. 1143–1180). Its composition had changed however: in the late 11th century, Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger says that the Hetaireia was "customarily" made up of young Byzantine nobles.
The post of [megas] hetaireiarchēs also survived, detached from its military duties, and remained important: it was held by several influential palace eunuchs in the 11th century, and by second-rank nobles and junior relatives of the Byzantine imperial family, such as George Palaiologos, in the Komnenian period. In the Palaiologan period, it was held by members of prominent noble families.