Christodulos
Christodulos (Χριστοδοῦλος 'Christ servant', also Christophoros and Christofalus; * in Calabria ; † after 1125, probably in Palermo ) was a Greek court official and Ammiratus of King Rogers II of Sicily.
Live and act
As Ammiratus ( Emir , Admiral ) it is the first time in 1107 certainly has, but he could still by Roger I have been used. We do not have precise knowledge of his area of responsibility as Ammiratus, but in addition to the fleet command, the chairmanship of the court court can be proven. Apart from campaigns, he can always be found in the vicinity of the ruler. However, he was considered particularly influential by foreign powers. Because of this, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I awarded him the honorary title of Protonobilissimo (Πρωτονωβηλίσσιμος) in April 1109 . The aim was likely to prevent Sicily from actively intervening in the Apulian-Byzantine conflict. Christodulos is named with this title in Greek documents from Calabria in the years 1111 and 1122, as well as in a court court document from 1123. The codicle kept in the archives of the Cappella Palatina , which certifies the award of the title, is written on purple-colored parchment with gold ink and was made mistakenly regarded by the older Sicilian diplomacy ( Carlo Alberto Garufi ) as the work of the Norman chancellery.
Together with the regent Adelasia, he supported the reform of the Greek monastery of S. Maria Hodogetria near Rossano by Bartholomäus von Simeri . The alleged founding of a Greek monastery in Marsala in 1098 is based on a mix-up with his successor George. After his death, a house in Messina that he owned fell to the royal curia, which left it to Archbishop Hugo of Palermo in 1159.
In 1123 the expedition led by Christodulos together with his colleague and later successor George of Antioch against Muslim North Africa failed . He is mentioned for the last time in 1125, and is likely to have died soon after.
literature
- Horst Enzensberger : Christodulos (Admiral) . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages . Volume II, 1983, col. 1920.
- Vera von Falkenhausen : Cristodulo. In: Massimiliano Pavan (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 31: Cristaldi – Dalla Nave. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1985, pp. 49-51.
- Franz Dölger : The codicle lot of Christodulos in Palermo . In: Archive for document research. Volume 11, 1929, pp. 1-65 [= Byzantine Diplomatik. Ettal 1956, pp. 1–74]
- Léon-Robert Ménager: Amiratus - Άμηρᾶς. Paris 1960, pp. 28-44, 168-196.
Individual evidence
- ^ Il più antico diploma purpureo con scrittura greca ad oro della cancelleria Normanna di Sicilia per il protonobilissimo Cristodulo . In: Archivio Storico Siciliano. Volume 47/48, 1927, pp. 105-136
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Christodulos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Christophoros; Christofalus; Christodoulos; Χριστοδοῦλος (Greek) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Court official Rogers II of Sicily |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1107 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Calabria |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1125 |