Δυνατός, Dynatos "the powerful") was a legal term in the Byzantine Empire, denoting the senior levels of civil, military and ecclesiastic (including monastic) officialdom, who usually, but not always, also commanded considerable fortunes and landed estates.
Among the main examples are the Phokades and the Maleinoi,[4] who almost monopolized the senior administrative and military posts in Asia Minor in the early and middle 10th century.
The dynatoi were able to use their political and financial strength to enrich themselves at the expense of the penetes, who had hitherto formed the main pillar of Byzantine society and economy.
[5] Consequently, several emperors from Romanos I Lekapenos (reigned 920–944) to Basil II (r. 976–1025) enacted agrarian legislation to combat the activities of the dynatoi,[6] and to prevent their acquisition of the stratiotika ktemata, the military lands allocated to the maintenance of the thematic armies.
[8] In the event, these efforts failed due to the rise of the provincial aristocracy, represented by the Komnenos dynasty, to power: in the 12th century, large latifundia spread throughout the countryside at the expense of smaller communities.