The tzaousios ( Greek: τζαούσιος) was a late Byzantine military office, whose exact functions and role are somewhat unclear. [1]
The term is derived from the Turkish çavuş, meaning "courier" or "messenger", [1] and was in use by the Byzantines perhaps as early as the late 11th century. [2] In the 13th–15th centuries, it became applied to officers serving in provincial posts. A tzaousios could serve as commander of the garrison of a kastron (a fortified administrative center run by a kephale), possibly combining the military and administrative roles, or as an officer to the megala allagia of the imperial field army. [1] [2] Most of the tzaousioi mentioned in the sources came from the Byzantine Morea, [3] where they played an important role in provincial administration. In Macedonia and Thrace by contrast, they seem to have been limited to a purely military role within the megala allagia. [2]
The variant megas tzaousios (μέγας τζαούσιος, "grand tzaousios") is a court title first attested under John III Vatatzes (r. 1221–1254). His functions are unclear. [4] The French Byzantinist Rodolphe Guilland suggested that he was in command of subordinated tzaousioi, who acted as the successors of the earlier imperial courier corps, the mandatores. [5] In pseudo-Kodinos's mid-14th century Book of Offices, he is described as being responsible for maintaining the order of the imperial retinue. [3] Certainly, the first megas tzaousios, Constantine Margarites, was the commander of Vatazes's personal retinue, [6] but in later times, the title does not appear to have corresponded to a specific function. [7]