- 著者
-
南雲 泰輔
- 出版者
- 史学研究会 (京都大学大学院文学研究科内)
- 雑誌
- 史林 (ISSN:03869369)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.95, no.2, pp.317-347, 2012-03
一〇世紀半ばに編纂されたとされるビザンツの百科事典『スーダ』は、四世紀末の宦官エウトロピオスの時代に、宦宮が階級として発展したことを伝えるが、先行研究中でこの箇所が精査されたことは皆無に近い。そこで本稿は、この『スーダ』の記述を手掛かりに、四世紀末のエウトロピオスの影響下に宦官がいかにして階級としての発展の契機を掴んだかという問題意識のもと、エウトロピオスが宦官として行なった行政改革の検討に基づき宦官権力の確立の実態を明らかにするとともに、研究史上の画期となったK. Hopkins の宦官モデルに対する問題提起をも試みた。本稿での検討によって明らかになったのは次の三点である。第一、宦官エウトロピオスは宮内長官として帝国東部宮廷における政策決定に深く関与したが、それはかつてギボンが軽侮したごとく宦官の私利私欲に基づくものではなかった。第二、宦官エウトロピオスは、道長官から官房長官へ権限移譲という改革を通じ、皇帝顧問会議の全体を自らの権力下に置き、帝国財政を一手に掌握した。このことは、宦官になりさえずれば帝国の莫大な富への接触機会が得られるということを広く世に知らしめた。第三、皇帝家の宦官利用の理由について、奴隷(宦官) 所有の意味と当時の社会状況とを勘案するならば、Hopkins の宦官モデルによっては説明されえない、エウトロピオス時代に固有の宦官増加の理由を説明することが出来る。Historians have demonstrated that the eunuch is one of the most significant features of the Later Roman and Byzantine Empires. Ever since the British historian Keith Hopkins published his seminal 1963 paper on the social status and function of the eunuchs, many studies of eunuchs from a variety of perspectives have been conducted, These studies include analyses based on gender; comparisons with eunuchs in other empires such as ancient China; and, more recently, those on court society, inspired by the works of Norbert Elias. It is still unclear, however, when and how eunuchs decisively established their power in the Later Roman court in Constantinople. In my opinion, this question can be answered by analyzing the actions of Eutropius as Grand Chamberlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi). Eutropius was the most notorious and powerful eunuch during the reign of Arcadius, and is now viewed as the archetypical Byzantine eunuch, According to the relevant entries in the Suda, the tenth-century Byzantine encyclopedia, eunuchs as a 'class' (εθνος) increased in number, owing to the importance and power of Eutropius. These entries in the Suda, resting on descriptions by the fourth-century historian Eunapius of Sardis (a contemporary of Eutropius), suggest that the age of Eutropius was the most significant epoch in the history of Later Roman and Byzantine eunuchs. Despite the importance of the eunuchs of this age, historians have not fully studied them. In this paper, I examine the process of establishing eunuchs' power in the Later Roman Empire by considering the legislation and reforms enacted by Eutropius. My paper is intended to challenge one of the main elements of Hopkins' model of the eunuchs' power: his assertion that the political influence of the eunuchs in the Later Roman court depended upon their close relationships with the emperors and the resulting favors, or, in Hopkins' own words, 'the direct patronage of the emperor' Through my investigations, I have arrived at three main conclusions. First, Eutropius was deeply involved in the various political decisions at the eastern court of the Roman Empire, but largest part of these decisions, which took the form of imperial laws, was not actually rooted in Eutropius' self-interests. As Tony Honore and Alan Cameron have already persuasively argued, Eutropius had attempted to restrain the increasing influences of the Christian Church and the landowners in order to defend the interests of the Roman state. Some scholars, such as Santo Mazzarino, have even described Eutropius' attitude as opposition to the 'feudalizing tendenciess'. Although this legislation shows the great extent of Eutropius' power, it did not directly establish the eunuchs' power. Therefore, I also focus on the reforms enacted by Eutropius in order to clarify their significance with regard to the empowerment of eunuchs as a 'class'. In regard to these reforms, John Lydus, the sixth-century bureaucrat, argued that in the age of Eutropius, some important powers, including the control of the arsenals (fabricae) and the public post (cursus publicus), were transferred from the Praetorian Prefect of the East (Praefectus Praetorio Orientis) to the Master of Office (magister officiorum). Eutropius also transferred control over the imperial estates of Cappadocia (domus divina per Cappadociam) from the Count of the Privy Purse (comes rerum privatarum) to his own position, the Grand Chamberlain. These reforms were crucial because they allowed Eutropius not only to dominate the consistorium but also to gain control of all imperial finances, without the imperial patronage that Hopkins argues was necessary. This led to a greater awareness that eunuchs could access imperial wealth and consequently might have affected the increase in their number. Finally, I provide two possible reasons why emperors employed more eunuchs in the age of Eutropius. The first is the simple and most fundamental: status. Since the Early Roman Empire, possession of slaves and ex-slaves generally indicated power and high rank. Emperors were expected to own slaves, especially the most expensive slaves, who were eunuchs. This was also true in the Later Empire. The second reason is connected to the development of the new capital, Constantinople. As the imperial court in Constantinople developed, emperors used an increasing number of eunuchs to demonstrate their own position at the top of the imperial hierarchy. Emperors attempted to display their power and influence through this conspicuous possession of eunuchs. Thus, the emperors' motivations coincided with the reforms of Eutropius, and eunuchs' power was perhaps established as the Suda suggests.