Functions
Aside from being a court rank, there were several prōtospatharioi who had specific duties:
- The prōtospatharios in charge of the Chrysotriklinos (Greek: πρωτοσπαθάριος τοῦ Χρυσοτρικλίνου), the main reception hall of the Great Palace.
- The prōtospatharios in charge of the Lausiakos (Greek: πρωτοσπαθάριος τοῦ Λαυσιακοῦ), one of the main halls adjacent to the Chrysotriklinos, serving as a meeting hall. The personnel (oikeiakoi) of the Lausiakos most likely also had functions related to the preparation of imperial banquets.
- The prōtospatharios, or katepanō, of the basilikoi anthrōpoi (Greek: πρωτοσπαθάριος/κατεπάνω τῶν βασιλικῶν), a corps of low-level imperial servants, including foreigners. He is listed as one of the stratarchai, thereby denoting an unspecified military role. His subordinate staff included lower-ranking officials (those of spatharioi and kandidatoi rank), with a domestikos as chief aide.
- The prōtospatharios tēs Phialēs (Greek: πρωτοσπαθάριος τῆς Φιάλης), an official acting as judge for the oarsmen of the Byzantine navy stationed around the capital, Constantinople. Like the exact functions of the office, the term phialē ("water-basin") is obscure; it could possibly refer to a location in the harbour of the imperial palace of Boukoleon.
Read more about this topic: Protospatharios
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