questor (lat. quaestor, -oris) or quaesitor
Antiquity. Elected officials who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers.Byzantium. Q. derived from the Latin quaestor; orginally high-ranking legal officials, drafter of laws, later a judicial official of lesser rank. In the Early Byzantine period q. was a powerful official. 1.) q. of the sacred palace (Lat. quaestor sacri palatii), high-ranking official of the late Roman Empire, an office created by Constantine I. The quaestor was originally responsible for drafting imperial laws. His judicial rights were relatively insignificant, but as the emperor's closest adviser in legal questions he acquired enormous influence. 2.) In 539 Justinian I introduced another office called quaesitor (called also simply quaestor), involving police and judicial power in Constantinople, esp. control over newcomers settling in the capital.During the Middle Byzantine period quaestor had lost his earlier prestige, some of his functions having been transferred to the Logothethetes tou dromou, the Epi ton Deeseion. He was considered one of the judes (kritai). The quaestor survived at least until the 14th C., when he occupied 45th place in the hierarchy, but this was only an honorary position.