The role of the megas domestikos in the late Byzantine army (1204-1453)

Abstract

The megas domestikos was the commander-in-chief of the late Byzantine armies. However, the importance of this office in the military administration of the later Byzantine Empire has not attracted the attention of modern scholarship. The present discussion investigates the function and administrative responsibilities of the megas domestikos after 1204 and the impact of contemporary political and military developments on the role of this office.