logothete

logothete, in Byzantine government from the 6th to the 14th century, any of several officials who shared a variety of responsibilities ranging from the assessment and collection of taxes to the direction of foreign policy. The logothete of the drome, who was charged with presenting gifts to foreign embassies, eventually became the sovereign’s chief adviser on foreign affairs. Theoctistus, logothete of the drome under Empress Theodora (regent 842–856), was one of the most powerful men ever to hold the office.

By the 11th century an official called the grand logothete headed the entire civil service. In this capacity he sometimes even represented the emperor’s religious interests. In July 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon, the grand logothete George Acropolites accepted Roman Catholic orthodoxy and papal supremacy in the name of Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus (1259–82). In the 14th and 15th centuries the offices of the logothetes became empty titles.