Domestic of the Schools The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( , " domestikos tōn scholōn " ) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire , extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century . Originally simply the commander of the " Scholai " , the senior of the elite " tagmata " regiments , the Domestic quickly rose in prominence : by the mid - 9th century , its holders essentially occupied the position of commander - in - chief of the Byzantine army , next to the Emperor . The office was eclipsed in the 12th century by that of the Grand Domestic , and in the Palaiologan period ( 13th – 15th centuries ) , it was reduced to a purely honorary , mid - level court dignity . History . The first holder of the office of Domestic of the Schools first appears in the sources ( the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor ) for the year 767 , shortly after the creation of the " tagmata " . These were elite cavalry regiments stationed in or around the capital Constantinople , commanded by officers titled " Domestics " ( δομέστικοι , " domestikoi " ) and distinct from the provincial armies of the themes under their respective " stratēgoi " . The Schools ( ; , " scholai " ) was the senior " tagma " , tracing their origin to the " Scholae Palatinae " established by Constantine the Great ( reigned ( r . ) 306 – 337 ) and originally placed under the command of the " magister officiorum " . The historian J . B . Bury has traced a reference to a certain Anianos , " Domestic of the " magister " " , in the " Chronicon Paschale " for the year 624 , and considers this official to be the predecessor of the Domestic of the Schools . As the " magister officiorum " was gradually deprived of some of his functions in the 7th and 8th centuries , the Domestic apparently became an independent official . In the 9th century , the office of the Domestic , or " Domesticate " ( δομεστικάτον , " domestikaton " ) , of the Schools rose in importance and its holder was often appointed as the head of the army in the absence of the emperor . However , this role was not yet enshrined : it depended rather on the abilities of the current Domestic , and other generals of inferior rank were sometimes entrusted with supreme command instead . The Domestic of the Schools nevertheless rose to such prominence that the sources frequently speak of the office as " the Domestic " without further qualification , and the power and influence of the post saw it frequently occupied by persons closely related to the emperor . From the time of Michael III ( r . 842 – 867 ) on , the Domestic ranked in the imperial hierarchy above all other military commanders except for the " stratēgos " of the Anatolic Theme . In practice , he quickly became senior even to the latter , as demonstrated by the fact that military leaders like Nikephoros Phokas and John Tzimiskes were promoted from the generalship of the Anatolics to the Domesticate . In the reign of Romanos II ( r . 959 – 963 ) the post was split , with a " Domestic of the West " ( , " domestikos tēs dyseōs " ) and a " Domestic of the East " ( , " domestikos tēs anatolēs " ) being created for operations in Europe and Asia respectively . The ceremony for the Domestic ' s appointment is described in the " De Ceremoniis " ( II . 3 ) ; the same work describes his duties and role in court ceremonies . With some exceptions , most notably the unparalleled 22 - year tenure of John Kourkouas , or in times of domestic instability , Domestics were changed on the average every three to four years . During the 10th century , the Domesticate of the Schools was dominated by members of the Phokas family , which produced six holders of the office . Their attempts to monopolize the office led a series of emperors , concerned over the power of the military aristocracy , to entrust the potentially over - powerful office to non - military court officials , including — especially in the first half of the 11th century , before the military aristocracy reasserted its authority — to eunuchs , even though this was in theory forbidden , with the alternate office of " stratopedarches " having been created for this purpose . In the 10th and 11th centuries , the variant " Grand Domestic " ( μέγας δομέστικος , " megas domestikos " ) appears sporadically , used in parallel with other variants such as " Grand Domestic of the Schools " or " Grand Domestic of the East / West " for the same person . The Byzantinist Rodolphe Guilland considers most of these early references either as anachronistic references by 12th - century writers , or simply cases where " " megas " " is used as an honorific prefix , as was the norm with other senior offices during this period , like the Drungary of the Watch or the Domestic of the Excubitors . Nevertheless , Guilland argues that from the time of Alexios I Komnenos ( r . 1081 – 1118 ) on , the " Grand Domestic " became a separate office , senior to the " plain " Domestics of the Schools and in effect the new commander - in - chief of the army beside the Emperor . However , the usage of the titles is not consistent , and the habitual division of command between East and West seems to have been sometimes applied to the Grand Domesticate as well during the 12th century , causing some confusion as to the nature of the office and its relation to the " plain " Domestic . In the 13th century however the two titles became clearly distinct : the Grand Domestic was the commander - in - chief of the entire army and one of the highest offices of state , while the Domestic of the Schools was relegated to a simple dignity without duties , awarded to provincial governors and other middle - ranking officials . In the words of the mid - 14th century " Book of Offices " of Pseudo - Kodinos , " the Domestic of the Schools once had an office similar to that of the Grand Domestic currently , but he now holds none " . In Pseudo - Kodinos ' work , the Domestic of the Schools ranks 31st in the imperial hierarchy , between the " mystikos " and the Grand Drungary of the Fleet . The Domestic ' s distinctive court dress , as reported by Pseudo - Kodinos , consisted of a gold - brocaded hat ( " skiadion " ) , a plain silk " kabbadion " tunic and a silver staff ( " dikanikion " ) with a knob on top and another in the middle . For ceremonies and festivities , he bore the domed " skaranikon " , of yellow silk and decorated with gold wire embroidery , and with a portrait of the emperor seated on a throne in front and another with the emperor on horseback on the rear .