12-10-2006, 11:06 AM
Many thanks Steve,
Hope you are keeping well. Those references are great. I'll e-mail my snail mail adress to you. I would like to see that reference.
I was researching middle Byzantine tents and came across an interesting fact.
Dvornik ( Dvornik, Francis. Origins of Intelligence Services: The Ancient Near East, Persia, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Arab Muslim Empires, the Mongol Empire, China, Muscovy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1974.p.151) observes that the rank of "count of the tents" was the officer in charge of intelligence security for the Thematic Strategos. This officer was in charge of the erection of the tent of the strategos’ and with the drungarios of the watch moved through the camp during the night.
It was also his responsibility to provide post horses for this officer when he was on imperial business. If the whole army was at war and led by the Emperor, the counts of the tents of all themes had to supervise the erection of the imperial tent and secure the camp. They were also sent on special missions at times.
However he does not give a reference or even the Greek word for this office. I would be grateful if anyone knows where this can be found.
Hope you are keeping well. Those references are great. I'll e-mail my snail mail adress to you. I would like to see that reference.
I was researching middle Byzantine tents and came across an interesting fact.
Dvornik ( Dvornik, Francis. Origins of Intelligence Services: The Ancient Near East, Persia, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Arab Muslim Empires, the Mongol Empire, China, Muscovy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1974.p.151) observes that the rank of "count of the tents" was the officer in charge of intelligence security for the Thematic Strategos. This officer was in charge of the erection of the tent of the strategos’ and with the drungarios of the watch moved through the camp during the night.
It was also his responsibility to provide post horses for this officer when he was on imperial business. If the whole army was at war and led by the Emperor, the counts of the tents of all themes had to supervise the erection of the imperial tent and secure the camp. They were also sent on special missions at times.
However he does not give a reference or even the Greek word for this office. I would be grateful if anyone knows where this can be found.
Peter Raftos
