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The title ofGrand domestic (Greek:μέγας δομέστικος,romanized: mégas doméstikos) was given in the 11th–15th centuries to thecommander-in-chief of theByzantine army, directly below theByzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earlier office of thedomestic of the Schools, and came to rank as one of the senior dignities in the Byzantine state during the last centuries of its existence. From Byzantium, it was also adopted by the breakawayEmpire of Trebizond, as well as by the 14th-centurySerbian Empire.

The title of the grand domestic is first mentioned in the 9th century, and most likely derives from the older office ofdomestikos tōn scholōn ("Domestic of the Schools"), with the epithetmegas added to connote the supreme authority of its holder, following contemporary practice evident in other offices as well.^[1] Both titles appear to have co-existed for a time, with the grand domestic being a more exalted variant of the plain titles of the domestics of the East and of the West, until the late 11th century, when it became a distinct office and replaced the ordinary domestics ascommander-in-chief. Nevertheless, the office was still sometimes referred to in the sources as the "Grand Domestic of the Schools" or "of the army", creating some confusion as to which of the two posts is meant.^[2][3][4] For most of its existence, the office of Grand Domestic was by its nature confined to a single holder. However, the presence of "Grand Domestics of the East/West" in the late 12th century may indicate the resumption of the well-established practice of dividing supreme field command, as with the Domesticate of the Schools, between east (Asia Minor) and west (Balkans), while in the late 14th century several people appear to hold the office at the same time, perhaps in acollegial manner.^[2][3]

Following theFourth Crusade, it appears that in theLatin Empire and the otherLatin states formed on Byzantine soil, the title ofmegas domestikos was used as the Greek equivalent of the Western title of [grand]seneschal (Latin:[magnus] senescallus).^[5] In thePalaiologan period (1261–1453), the grand domestic was the unchallenged commander-in-chief of the army, except in the case of the emperor campaigning in person, when he functioned as a kind of chief of staff.^[6] Despite its purely military nature, the office was also bestowed in the way of an honorific dignity to generals and high-ranking courtiers alike, e.g. toGeorge Mouzalon, or to thePrince of AchaeaWilliam II of Villehardouin.^[7]

The office varied in importance in the court hierarchy. Under theKomnenian emperors, it came immediately after the "imperial" titles ofCaesar,sebastokratōr anddespotēs. In the 13th century, it rose and fell according to the emperors' desire to honour its holder, but was usually at seventh place, below theprōtovestiarios and themegas stratopedarchēs. It was not until the award of the title toJohn Kantakouzenos in the 1320s that the office firmly established itself once again as the highest non-imperial title, at the fourth place of the palace hierarchy.^[7] At all times, however, it was regarded as one of the most important and prestigious positions, and was held either by members of the reigning dynasty or by close relatives from the small circle of families connected to the imperial clan. Like all Byzantine offices, it was neither hereditary nor transferable, and its bestowal was the province of the reigning emperor.^[8] The office also included various ceremonial functions, as detailed in the mid-14th century account of offices ofpseudo-Kodinos.^[2][9]

The grand domestic's distinctive insignia are given by pseudo-Kodinos as follows:^[10][11]

• Askiadion hat in red and gold, decorated with embroideries in theklapoton style, with a veil and pendants in the same style. Alternatively, a domedskaranikon hat could be worn, again in red and gold, with a portrait of the emperor, standing crowned and flanked by angels, within a circle of pearls, in front. Theskaranikon itself was also bordered with pearls.
• A rich silk tunic, thekabbadion, of two colours, decorated with stripes of gold braid.
• A staff of office (dikanikion) with carved knobs, with the first of plain gold, the second of gold bordered with silver braid, the third like the first, the fourth like the second, etc.

• Bartusis, Mark C. (1997).The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204–1453. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN 0-8122-1620-2.
• Guilland, Rodolphe (1967). "Le grand domestique".Recherches sur les institutions byzantines [Studies on the Byzantine Institutions]. Berliner byzantinische Arbeiten 35 (in French). Vol. I. Berlin and Amsterdam: Akademie-Verlag & Adolf M. Hakkert. pp. 405–425.OCLC 878894516.
• Guilland, Rodolphe (1967). "Le Domestique des Scholes".Recherches sur les institutions byzantines [Studies on the Byzantine Institutions]. Berliner byzantinische Arbeiten 35 (in French). Vol. I. Berlin and Amsterdam: Akademie-Verlag & Adolf M. Hakkert. pp. 426–468.OCLC 878894516.
• Haldon, John (1999).Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565–1204. London: UCL Press.ISBN 1-85728-495-X.
• Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
• Kyriakidis, Savvas (2008). "The role of the megas domestikos in the late Byzantine army (1204-1453)".Byzantinoslavica.LXVI:241–258.ISSN 0007-7712.
• Macrides, Ruth (2007).George Akropolites: The History – Introduction, Translation and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-921067-1.
• Nicol, Donald M. (1993).The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453 (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-43991-6.
• Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Walther, Rainer; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja; Kislinger, Ewald; Leontiadis, Ioannis; Kaplaneres, Sokrates (1976–1996).Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.ISBN 3-7001-3003-1.
• Van Tricht, Filip (2011).The LatinRenovatio of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204–1228). Leiden: Brill.ISBN 978-90-04-20323-5.
• Verpeaux, Jean, ed. (1966).Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des Offices (in French). Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

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