Papias (Byzantine office)

The term is etymologically connected to or (). It is first attested in a seal dated to circa 550–650, and next recorded in the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor for the year 780. There were three , all eunuchs: one for the Great Palace itself (, ), and two others for its adjuncts, the Magnaura and the palace of Daphne (the and ). The latter was created by Emperor Michael III (), while the former is attested only in Philotheos's Kletorologion of 899. In the mid-14th century Book of Offices of Pseudo-Kodinos, the title occupies the 22nd position in the Byzantine imperial hierarchy, and its insignia were: a wooden staff () with alternating gold and red-gold knobs, a hat with embroidery of the type, another type of hat called of white and gold silk with gold-wire embroidery and images of the emperor in the front and back, and a silk robe of office or . ==Subordinate officials==

The were in charge of an extensive staff detailed to the cleaning, lighting, and general maintenance of the each palace, aided by a deputy, the (, 'the second one'), who was separately responsible for the safekeeping of imperial furniture and insignia. The subordinates of the included: • The (, under a (). They were chamberlains responsible for the various rooms (, ) of each palace. They were also known as (), apparently because they worked in weekly shifts. Further, of various buildings of the Great Palace complex are also attested in the 10th century: of the palaces of Daphne and Magnaura, the halls of the Consistory, the Ostiarikon, the Stratorikion, and the Nineteen Couches and of the palace chapels of St. Stephen and the Theotokos. • The various lower servants: (, 'bathers') responsible for the baths, the (, 'candle-lighters') in charge of lighting, the () or (, cf. ) in charge of heating, and the () in charge of clocks. The functions of another category, the (), are unclear. Nicolas Oikonomides also adds the (), an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's tent on campaign, to the subordinates of the . Similar staffs must have also existed for the of the Magnaura and the Daphne Palace. ==References==