Two Studies in Later Roman and Byzantine Administration.

Aus der Bibliothek von Prof. Wolfgang Haase, langj�igem Herausgeber der ANRW und des International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT) / From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - altersgem�sehr guter Zustand / very good condition for age - THE MASTER OF THE OFFICES -- INTRODUCTION -- HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MASTER OF THE OFFICES -- The Master of the Offices interests the student of the government of the Later Roman Empire, and invites his close attention, for various reasons. -- First, no parallel to this officer can be found among the government ministers of modern states, and even among those of the Empire itself the Master of the Offices occupied a singular position; for while the other great officers of state controlled branches of the administration easily definable and possessing some essential unity, his sphere of activities was made up of an aggregation of various powers which brought him into touch with the most diverse functions of the government. -- The Mastership of the Offices, too, had a long and interesting history, extending over the period from the reconstruction of Diocletian until the Latin conquest of Constantinople. From a comparatively inconspicuous beginning, by a series of additions to its competence, it became one of the most honorable and influential of the civil offices of the Empire. Then its power began to decline as it had arisen: one after the other its active functions were transferred to new offices, and, finally, it ceased altogether to be an administrative office, and remained solely as a title of honor. Thus arose the grade of dignitaries bearing the title of Master simply, no longer that of Master of the Offices. This was the final stage in the history of the Mastership.