The origin of the office is disputed: the department is first attested in the reign of Emperor
Theophilos (r. 829–842), but some scholars (e.g.
Rodolphe Guilland) derive the etymology of the department from the word , , indicating a continuation of the Late Roman office of . This view is rejected by others, notably
J. B. Bury, who see it as a wholly separate institution, juxtaposing the 'special' department of the with the 'general' department or , and consider it as originating in the military departments of the Late Roman
praetorian prefectures.
Ernst Stein, on the other hand, connected it to the word (meaning 'ware'), and regarded the as the treasury for revenue paid in kind rather than coin. The fulfilled the dual function of imperial treasury and storehouse. As a treasury, it stored various precious materials such as
silk or
gold, and was responsible for the payment of the annual salaries () of officials of senatorial rank. As a storehouse, the controlled the state factories producing military equipment (the Late Roman ) and was responsible for supplying the necessary
matériel for expeditions, ranging from weapons to "
sails,
ropes,
hides,
axes,
wax,
tin,
lead,
casks" for the fleet or even
Arab clothing for imperial spies. For expeditions in which the emperor himself took part, the accompanied the army at the head of his own baggage train of 46 pack-horses carrying everything "from
shoes to
candlesticks", as well as large sums of gold and silver coinage for the emperor's use. The department is still attested as late as 1081, but was probably abolished some time after; Rodolphe Guilland suggested that the of the ('household men') took over its functions (cf. ). == Staff ==