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Constantine I (the Great)

Author(s) : Kamara Afroditi (10/20/2008)
Translation : Kamara Afroditi

For citation: Kamara Afroditi, "Constantine I (the Great)",
Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Constantinople
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9816>
Κωνσταντίνος Α΄ ο Μέγας (7/17/2009 v.1) Constantine I (the Great) (7/17/2008 v.1) 

GLOSSARY
 

Augustus
A title initially given to Octavian in 27 BC, a few years after his victory over Mark Anthony in Actium. In Greek the epithet means "Honoured''. Eventually, the title was used to complement the names of the Roman emperors.

caesar
In the Roman Empire the title of Caesar was given to the Emperor. From the reign of Diocletian (284-305) on this title was conferred on the young co-emperor. This was also the highest title on the hierarchy of the Byzantine court. In the 8th c. the title of Caesar was usually given to the successor of the throne. In the late 11th c. this office was downgraded and from the 14th c. on it was mainly conferred on foreign princes.

curiales
Curiales were the members of the city councils (gr.: boule) in the late Roman Empire. They belonged to the local aristocracy and were officials of the municipal administration, responsible for the normal functioning of the city's institutions as well as for local tax-collecting. A city's boule could count from 100 to 200 curiales, depending on the city's population.

damnatio memoriae
The official condemnation of the memory of a Roman emperor. They had their names erased from the public buildings, monumets and inscriptions and their statues reworked.

equestrians, the (equites)
The lowest class of Roman aristocracy, whose economic wealth derived mainly from civil professions (bankers, publicans, merchants), yet without political privileges. The Roman Republican period was marked by their strives against the senators. The equestrians were were won over mainly by leaders who desired to promote a monarchic type of government pushing aside the Senate.

Picts
A loose confederation of tribes dwelling in modern Scotland.

praetorian
Member of the imperial guard.

praetorian prefect (praefectus praetorio)
Commander of the emperor's bodyguard under the principate. During the regne of Constantine I the praetorian prefect becomes a dignitary responsible for the administrative unit called the prefecture, which was subdivided into dioceses. In 400 A.D. there were four such praetorian prefectures, of Oriens, of Illyricum, of Illyricum, Italia and Africa and of Gallia. The praetorian prefects were second only to the emperor. The praetorian prefect of Oriens was the mightiest among prefects. His office is for the last time mentioned in 680.

scholae palatinae
Scholae palatinae were created by Diocletian (284-305). They were corps of the imperial guard, and to be more precise they formed the personal army of the emperor. They served under the magistri officiorum and later on under the Domesticos ton Scholon. Seven regiments were stationed in the East and five in the West. Justinian I (527-565) introduced four more short-lived regiments.

senate, the
The top political body of the Roman state. During the early Republic, it was represented by the council of the consuls, the top archons of the roman state. Later on, its power and responisibilities increased. As a result, it became the main governmental body of Rome. However, during the Imperial period, the responsibilities of the senate were restricted.

senator, the (1. Roman, 2. Byzantine)
1. A Roman body of men that originally advised the king and then the consuls; Heredity was not the only means of joining the senate and “new men” or novi homines could become part of it; Augustus revised the senate and left the body with less power and bolstered hereditary claims as a means to enter the senate; it continued to make laws and conferred powers on new emperors.2. Member of the senate. The senate, a roman institution transferred from Rome to Constantinople by Constantine I during the Byzantine period was an advisory body whose rights and responsibilities were not clearly defined. It was consisted of imperial officers coming from the upper and were ranked according to hierarchical levels: viri illustri (perfectus praetoriae and the magister), viri spectabili (proconsul, vicarius and the comes), viri clarissimi (consul praetoriae) and viri perfectissimi (praeses and duces). Since the 6th c. AD a new title was established for the upper officers (viri gloriosi). The years that followed officials were entitled to officers regardless their position as senators or if they were about to be admitted to this body.

Tetrarchs, the
The superior archons of the Roman state after its division in four parts by Diocletianus. The first group of Tetrarchs consisted of Diocletianus, Maximianus (Augusti), ο Galerius and Constantinus Chlorus (Caesars).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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