CONCERNING JOHN LYDUS.

Serving in that same office at the time was his cousin Ammianus, whose advice and assistance he frequently utilized on other occasions, and especially in the matter of taking a wife. She was both wealthy (possessing a dowry of 100 pounds of gold) and of proven character; in Book III, chapter 28, page 198, Lydus asserts that no one was more chaste. Meanwhile, he rose to the rank of First Chartularius A Chartularius was a high-ranking official responsible for archives and financial records., a position of great honor which, as he writes in Book III, chapter 27, page 196, had never been held by anyone else in quite that way. This was because the Assistant Actuaries original: "Adjutores Actuarii." These were officials who handled administrative and military logistics., when promoting individuals to this grade, chose him of their own accord and established an annual salary of 24 solidi The solidus was the standard gold coin of the later Roman and Byzantine Empires.. Two others were also appointed, both of whom were elderly and had obtained the same office only by paying a sum of money.

Whether this was granted to him through the favor of Zoticus, the Praetorian Prefect original: "P. P." for Praefectus Praetorio, the highest administrative official in the Empire., or through some other patron of Lydus (as I suspect), or truly—as he himself wishes it to be understood—on account of his perfect knowledge of the Latin language (of which he especially boasts) and his overall multifaceted learning, the position was not only an honor for him but also highly profitable. For besides the Personal Petitions, Daily Records, and Proposals original: "Personalia, Quotidiana, Suggestiones." These were different categories of official administrative documents. which he drafted in the name of the Assistants, he also provided great service to both the Notaries original: "Notariis." and the Scribes original: "Exceptoribus." These were shorthand writers who worked in the secretum, the private office of the Prefect. in the Prefect’s private office (see ibid. III, 27, page 196). Thus, if he did not serve the public interest, he certainly served his own family estate and personal profit to the highest degree.