Constantinople (5th–8th centuries), Bithynia and Thrace (8th–11th centuries), provincial detachments at least in Longobardia and Hellas (10th–11th centuries)
Engagements
Maurice's Balkan campaigns of 582-602
Heraclius' campaigns during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (782), Battle of Marcellae, Battle of Pliska, Battle of Boulgarophygon, Battle of Acheloos, Battle of Azaz (1030), Battle of Dyrrhachium (1081)
Commanders
Notable commanders
Justin I, Marcellus, Tiberius II Constantine, Maurice, Philippicus, Priscus, Nicetas, Valentinus, Michael II, Constantine Opos
Military unit
The Excubitors (Latin: excubitores or excubiti, lit.'those out of bed', i.e. 'sentinels';[a] transcribed into Greek as ἐξκουβίτορες or ἐξκούβιτοι, exkoubitores/exkoubitoi) were founded in c. 460 as an imperial guard-unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike mountain tribe of the Isaurians, replaced the older Scholae Palatinae as the main imperial bodyguards. The Excubitors remained an active military unit for the next two centuries, although, as imperial bodyguards, they did not often go on campaign. Their commander, the Count of the Excubitors (comes excubitorum, κόμης τῶν ἐξκουβίτων), soon acquired great influence. Justin I was able to use this position to rise to the throne in 518, and thereafter the Counts of the Excubitors were among the main political power-holders of their day; two more, Tiberius II Constantine and Maurice, rose to become emperors in the late 6th century.
In the later part of the 7th century the Excubitors appear to have morphed into a parade-ground formation, and they fade from the record as a corps. Individual seals of office suggest that the title of excubitor became an honorific dignity rather than an active military appointment during the early part of the 8th century. This changed c. 760, when the Emperor Constantine V reformed the corps into one of the élite tagmata - professional heavy-cavalry regiments that constituted the core of the Byzantine army of the middle-Byzantine period. Notable members of the regiment during this time include Saint Joannicius the Great (served c. 772 to 792), and Emperor Michael II the Amorian, who served as regimental commander, or Domestic of the Excubitors (δομέστικος τῶν ἐξκουβίτων), before rising to the throne in 820. The Excubitors fought in several campaigns during the following centuries, and are last attested in the disastrous Battle of Dyrrhachium in 1081 that destroyed the remnants of the middle-Byzantine army.
^Ng 2012.
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commander, or Domestic of the Excubitors (δομέστικος τῶν ἐξκουβίτων), before rising to the throne in 820. The Excubitors fought in several campaigns during...
Excubitor may refer to: Excubitors, imperial guards of the early Byzantine emperors Lanius excubitor, a bird species known as great grey shrike 8591 Excubitor...
The great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric...
wife Sophia, he was escorted to the Great Palace of Constantinople. The Excubitors blocked the palace entrances during the night, and early in the morning...
Kenya sentinel chameleon, or Mount Kenya hornless chameleon (Kinyongia excubitor), is a species of chameleons endemic to Kenya. It is known from Mount...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
Gastrotheca excubitor is a species of frog in the family Hemiphractidae. It is endemic to southern Peru and occurs in the Amazonian slopes and crests...
the Excubitors, the palace guards. He fought in the Isaurian and Persian wars and rose through the ranks to become the commander of the Excubitors, which...
The steppe grey shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) is a large subspecies of songbird in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to Central Asia and...
The Arabian great shrike (Lanius excubitor aucheri) is a non-migratory subspecies of the great grey shrike found mainly in the Arabian Peninsula. Formerly...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
shrike family. It is closely related to the great grey shrike, Lanius excubitor, and its plumage is generally similar to the great grey shrike apart from...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
is destroyed and the expedition is abandoned. Emperor Leo I founds the Excubitors (imperial guard) at Constantinople; this elite tagmatic unit (300 men)...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
Phocas' daughter Domentzia, as Comes excubitorum, the captain of the Excubitors, in 603. When Phocas was emperor, Byzantine Italy was under continual...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
consistent differences, hence he recommended combining the two into Lanius excubitor. In North America, this and the related loggerhead shrike are commonly...
Bederiana (Justiniana Prima), Dardania. Officer and commander of the Excubitors bodyguard under Anastasius I, he was elected by army and people upon the...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
Late Roman army East Roman army Foederati Bucellarii Scholae Palatinae Excubitors Middle Themata Kleisourai Tourma Droungos Bandon Tagmata Domestic of the...
Under Leo V, Michael was appointed to command the elite tagma of the Excubitors. He became disgruntled with Leo V, however, when the Emperor divorced...
Justin. Justin, who was commander of one of the imperial guard units (the Excubitors) before he became emperor, adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople...
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