Imperial Court of Mesogeia
The Imperial Court of Mesogeia refers to the institution comprising the domestic, military, and religious entourage of the Emperor of Mesogeia, which supports both the reigning sovereign and the members of the Imperial Family.
Organisation
The basic administrative structure of the Imperial court has existed in its present form largely unchanged for the close to a thousand years. The Imperial court is presently divided into six main departments, these include: the Department of the Grand Magister, Department of the Grand Praepositus, the Office of Ceremonies, the Office of the Imperial Estates, the Office of the Gynaikeion, and the Office of the Ektomiai, the Office of the Imperial Stables, and the Imperial Hunt.
Department of the Grand Magister
The Department of the Grand Magister is overseen by the Grand Magister who functions as a kind of Imperial Chancellor for the Emperor. The Department of the Grand Magister is possibly one of the largest and most influential departments of the Imperial Court being responsible for administrative, financial, and personnel matters in some form. The Department of the Grand Magister is subdivided into six sections, which are repsonsible for a host of functions, these six sections are the Imperial Chancellery, the Exchequer & Accounting Department, the Human Aid Department the Administrative Office the Court Services Office, and the Military Household.
These five departments are responsible for various agencies including the Payments Office, Department of Imperial Travels, Department of Uniforms, Department of Buildings Maintenance, The Telegraph Office, the Ecclesiastical Household, Court Physician Bureau, Salon Services, Imperial Pharmacy, the Imperial Buildings Management, Court Utilities, Imperial Theatres Bureau, Imperial Guards, and the Imperial Gardens and Parks. In addition to these the Department works alongside the Office of Ceremonies for the arrangement of all state functions.
Imperial Chancellery
The Imperial Chancellery consists of three bureaus, they include:
- Clerical Bureau, responsible for drafting official documents on the Emperor's behalf, as well as oversight of the Imperial Archives
- Correspondence Bureau, responsible for receiving and answering official correspondence to the Emperor both winin the empire and from foreign nations. It also handles the Imperial translation service when dealing with foreign nations.
- Legal Bureau, which is responsible for dealing with petitions and appeals received by the Emperor from lower courts
- Arrangement Bureau, handles administrative matters that occur when the Emperor is not in the capital.
Exchequer & Accounting Department
The Exchequer & Accounting Department with approximately 250 full-time staff members serves as the financial arm of the Imperial court with its director being responsible for various sub-departments, such as the Accounting office, the department responsible for managing the court's finances; and the Payments Office, the bureau responsible for issuing payments to the court's employees. Furthermore the office of the Exchequer as oversight along with the Office of Ceremonies over all state functions and receptions.
The Human Aid Department
The Human Aid Department is responsible for a host of activites effecting the members of the Imperial Family and the staff of the Imperial Court, this includes the Department of Imperial Travels, Department of Uniforms, Department of Buldings Maintenance, The Telegraph Office, the Ecclesiastical Household, Court Physician Bureau, and Salon Services.
The Department of Imperial Travels is charged with the business of court travel and handles the Emperor's trips and travels within the country, ensuring the safe arrival of the Emperor, the imperial family, and their housholds.
The Department of Uniforms with its small staff has direction over the court uniform, allowing for the maintance and upkeep of the court uniform.
The Department of Buldings Maintenance, with its head being the Megas Papias, is responsible for the maintenance, security and the general safety of the Imperial Palaces. Witin his staff the Megas Papias has five subordinate Paipiai responsible for the Chalke Gate, Blachernai Palace, Daphne Palace, Boukoleon Palace and Magnaura Palaces respectively. Below the Paipiai are various subordinates responsible for cleaning, lighting, and the general maintenance of the Imperial Palaces, it includes:
- Deuteros, the deputy of the Paipiai who is responsible for the safekeeping, transport, and upkeep of the Imperial furniture.
- Diaitarioi, chamberlains working weekly shifts responsible for the various rooms, halls, and chapels of the Imperial Palace.
- Loustai, responsible for the Imperial baths
- Kandelaptai, originally charged with lighting candles in the palace, now dealing with lighting of the palaces.
- Kaldarioi, charged with heating the Imperial palaces,
- Horologoi, responsible for managing the hundreds of clocks and timepieces within the imperial palaces.
The Telegraph Office having existed since the nineteenth century for the purpose of receiving and responding to imperial telegrams, currently deals with the telephones and mobile devices attached to the Imperial court.
The Ecclesiastical Household functions as the religious arm of the Imperial Court, having oversight over various cathedrals, chapels, and monasteries with imperial patronage and all religious ceremonies in the imperial court, such as Mass, imperial marriages, baptisms, and funerals. The office is responsible for the distributions of alms and donations to various charities
The office is headed by the Synkellos in his role as Imperial Chaplain. Its staff includes hundreds of Priests, nuns preachers, and chaplains. The various cathedrals, churches, chapels and monasteries under the patronage of the Imperial Court include: the Pantheon Cathedral, Hagia Triada, Cathedral of the Holy Apostles, Palace Chapel of the Theotokos, Hormisdas Church and Monastery Chora Church, Hagia Irene, Panagia Hodegetria Monastery, Pammakaristos Church, Zoödochos Pege Monastery, Myrelaion Monastery, Nea Ekklesia, Stoudion Monastery,
The Court Physician Bureau is an advisory board of 12 senior physcians responsible for handling medical matters within the Imperial court.
Salon Services is responsible for employing doorkeepers, ushers, and announcers throughout the official state apartments, the publicly open sections of the palace.
Administrative Office
The Administrative Office of the Department of the Grand Magister is responsible for the administration of various agencies falling under the control of the Imperial court, such organisations include: the Imperial Pharmacy, Imperial Managerie and Zoological Park, Imperial Gardens and Parks Agency, and the Imperial Buildings Management.
The Imperial Pharmacy serving as an appendage to the Imperial Court is responsible for ordering and issuing supplies of medicine within the court.
The Imperial Managerie and Zoological Park Administration is responsible for overseeing the Imperial Blachernai Managerie, Alexandropolis Zoo, and the Troiana Zoo; its staff includes zookeepers and veterinarians.
The Imperial Gardens and Park Agency is responsible for the management and oversight over the Imperial parks and gardens within the capital, which includes the Acropolis Park, the Nymphaeum Park, the Blachernai Gardens, Kynegion Park, Mangana Park, the Chalke Gardens; as well as the Pege Park, a public amusement park located on the outskirts of the Alexandropolis, the imperial capital.
The Imperial Buildings Management deals with the actual managment of the individual imperial palaces, such as Imperial Palace of Alexandropolis, Chrysopolis Palace, Troiana Acropolis, Fasargadae Palace, Sousa Palace, Magnaura Palace, Galata Palace, Blachernai Castle, Chrysokeras Palace, Hieria Palace, Hebdomon Palace, Philopation Palace, Bryas Palace, Makellon Palace, Mangana Palace, and Porphyrogenitus Palace; as well as the Imperial Court Theater, the Imperial Opera House, and the Imperial Storage Depot