civil dioceses of the latter so that the comites became permanent fixtures of Imperial government. The comites were fully enumerated as early as the beginning of the AD 5th century in the Notitia Dignitatum, but as offices were later added, it is not historically exhaustive. The following sections describe examples of the kinds of comites. At court or in the Imperial domains Several of the major departments of the Imperial Curia ("Court") and household had a principal official who was styled "comes" and assisted by an "officium" ("staff") very similar to that of a Roman governor. They included: comes dispositonum: A deputy to the very powerful magister officiorum (Master of Offices) responsible for organizing the Imperial calendar and preparing the correspondence for distribution to the proper offices for transcription. comes domesticorum: A vir illustris who was principal of the domestici, a corps of bodyguards of the Emperor who were stationed in the Imperial Palace. There were two of these comital commanders, the comes domesticorum equitum for the equestrian knights and the comes domesticorum peditum for the foot soldiers. comes privatae largitionis: The custodian of the privy purse, who answered and was subordinate to the comes rerum privatarum (see next title). comes rerum privatarum: A powerful Imperial official responsible for the private estates and holdings of the Emperor and his family ("res privata"). He maintained the properties and collected the rents, of which most were deposited in the Aerarium, i. e., the treasury of the public funds of the State, and some in the Fiscus, i. e., the treasury of privy funds of the Emperor that the comes privatae largitionis administered. comes sacrarum largitionum: A vir illustris who was custodian of the sacrae largitiones ("Sacred Largesses") of the Emperor and manager of the Imperial finances. He controlled all of the mints, each managed by a procurator; was the principal of numerous officials, including more procuratores, rationales, and praepositi, who collected senatorial taxes, custom duties, and some land taxes; was responsible for the yields of the mines; provided budgets for the civil service and armies; supplied all uniforms; and was competent for the minor offices of: comes auri: The official responsible for gold. comes sacrae vestis: The master of the wardrobe of the Emperor. The 3 comites largitionum: The regional financial administrators of Italy, Africa, and Illyricum. comes commerciorum for Illyricum. comes metallorum per Illyricum: The official responsible for that region's gold