{{Short description|Court title during the Byzantine Empire}} [[File:Seal of Ioannes Artabasdos, vestes, hypatos, krites tou velou and of the Kibyrrhaiotai.png|thumb|280px|Seal of John Artabasdos, {{Transliteration|grc|vestes}}, {{Transliteration|grc|hypatos}}, {{Transliteration|grc|krites}} of the {{Transliteration|grc|velon}} and of the Cibyrrhaeots]] '''{{Transliteration|grc|Vestes}}''' ({{langx|el|βέστης)}} was a Byzantine court title used in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The term is etymologically connected to the {{Transliteration|grc|vestiarion}}, the imperial wardrobe, but despite earlier attempts to connect the {{Transliteration|grc|vestai}} and the related title of {{Transliteration|grc|vestarches}}, the head of the class of the {{Transliteration|grc|vestai}},{{sfn|Oikonomides|1972|pp=294, 299}} with the officials of the {{Transliteration|grc|vestiarion}},{{sfn|Bréhier|2000|pp=81, 111}} no such relation appears to have existed.<ref name="ODB">{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|p=2162}}.</ref>
The title is first attested for the reign of Emperor John I Tzimiskes ({{reign|969|976}}), when it was held by Nikephoros Phokas, son of the {{Transliteration|grc|kouropalates}} Leo Phokas. The title remained high in the Byzantine imperial hierarchy throughout most of the 11th century, being often combined with the title of {{Transliteration|grc|magistros}} and awarded to prominent generals, among others Isaac Komnenos (emperor in 1057–1059) when he was {{Transliteration|grc|stratopedarches}} of the East, Leo Tornikios and Nikephoros Botaneiates (emperor in 1078–1081) during his tenure as {{Transliteration|grc|doux}} of Edessa and Antioch.<ref name="ODB"/>{{sfn|McGeer|Nesbitt|Oikonomides|2005|p=24}} The ''Escorial Taktikon'', a list of offices and court titles and their precedence compiled in the 970s, distinguishes between "bearded" ({{Transliteration|grc|barbatoi}}) {{Transliteration|grc|vestai}}, who also held the titles of {{Transliteration|grc|patrikios}} or {{Transliteration|grc|magistros}}, and the eunuch ({{Transliteration|grc|ektomiai}}) {{Transliteration|grc|vestai}}, who held the title of {{Transliteration|grc|praipositos}}.<ref name="ODB"/>
As with other titles of the middle Byzantine period, the prestige of {{Transliteration|grc|vestes}} declined towards the end of the 11th century, when it is attested as being held by lower-ranking officials. To counter this devaluation, the superior title of '''{{Transliteration|grc|protovestes}}''' (Greek: {{lang|grc|πρωτοβέστης}}, 'first {{Transliteration|grc|vestes}}') appeared at the same time. Both titles, however, do not appear to have survived the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos ({{reign|1081|1118}}).<ref name="ODB"/>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==Sources== *{{cite book|last=Bréhier|first=Louis|authorlink=Louis Bréhier|title=Les Institutions de l'Empire Byzantin|location=Paris|publisher=Albin Michel|year=2000|orig-year=1949|language=French|isbn=978-2-226-04722-9}} * {{ODB | last=Kazhdan | first=Alexander | authorlink=Alexander Kazhdan | title = Vestes | page = 2162}} *{{Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art|volume=5}} *{{cite book|last=Oikonomides|first=Nicolas|authorlink=Nicolas Oikonomides|title=Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles|location=Paris|publisher=Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique|year=1972|language=French|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RFdmAAAAMAAJ}}
Category:Byzantine court titles