Philaretos, while once a given name for Armenians, could also serve as a surname. However, by the 15th century, it had become extremely rare. Manuel, however, did not concern himself with such trivialities. The reason he bestowed the surname "Philaretos" upon Bagrat was simply to borrow the name of Philaretos Brakamios (Φιλάρετος Βραχάμιος) ①, a famous general under Basileus Romanos IV during the Battle of Manzikert in earlier times.
Although not widely known, this individual held a rather subtle significance for both the Roman Empire and Armenia. This is because after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Brakamios, historically a supporter of Emperor Romanos and an opponent of the Doukas dynasty, led the remnants of some Anatolian Roman troops to establish an autonomous Little Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia, proclaiming himself "Basileus." In 1078, Nikephoros III offered him the title of Duke of Antioch on the condition that he renounce his imperial title and return to the Empire. However, after 1084, Brakamios suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Sultan Suleiman I of the Sultanate of Rum. Subsequently, possibly in 1086 or 1087, after the fall of Antioch and Edessa under his rule, he died in Cilicia, filled with melancholy. In addition to these lifelong military deeds, Brakamios was also the last great scholar to be trained by an official school in the Cilicia region, which was subordinate to the Eastern Roman Empire.
Of course, Manuel giving Bagrat this person's name as a surname certainly wasn't because he wished for him to emulate the latter half of his life, which had an ambiguous relationship with the Empire. On the contrary, Caesar clearly hoped that Bagrat would imitate his former half, serving his regime actively with loyalty.
And so, today's leisurely, 'fishing-for-fun' inspection and academic visit, as Manuel saw it, came to an end. Caesar was still unaware that today's impromptu outing had, unbeknownst to him, inspired someone, giving him new goals and changing his life. But that is a story for another time.
The next morning, back in his room, inspired by what he had learned in the historian-scholar's study the previous day, Manuel initiated his previously hesitant reform and legislative plan. And according to his own vision, should he make it appropriately radical?
To make his path of reform smoother, Manuel resumed his former 'work-to-death' efficiency. The most obvious manifestation of this was that on that very day, he successively summoned and visited many Pontus nobles, including the Komnenos family, to consult them on their views on the current situation and their expectations for the future. In the following days, Caesar even changed into simple clothes and personally went down to the grassroots level, visiting local people, intending to truly understand the actual situation under his rule. After about half a week, he quickly returned to Tauris by boat across the sea. After appeasing the people and subjects on the north side of his Black Sea, he spent the remaining half week incidentally exploring the differences between Tauris and Pontus.
After roughly clarifying his thoughts, he returned to Trabzon with his wife and daughter after dealing with the affairs of Tauris. On the first afternoon back in Pontus, under the pretext of drafting and compiling a set of laws more suitable for Pontus, he summoned high-ranking civil officials from the Bosporus-affiliated Asia Minor region and well-known scholars from across the country to revise the upcoming Bosporus Code into a Pontus-specific version.
But Manuel's ambition did not stop there. After spending a week working from dawn to dusk, supervising and leading them to complete the revision of several legal provisions, he inquired about his true thoughts to a few of the most learned individuals among them—
"So, Your Majesty, can we truly presume to perfect the charter principles you are considering newly establishing, which will likely hold a status higher than other laws and be applicable nationwide?" After listening to His Majesty's words, Anagnostes, who had been called upon to participate in the legal adaptation and revision, couldn't help but stroke his beard in contemplation.
As for Amiroutzes, who was also brought in, after a moment of thought, he kept nodding in affirmation of His Majesty's proposal. After some deliberation, the others also accepted their esteemed Majesty's initiative.
Thus, the laws of the Pontus region of Bosporus, having been handled with such great importance, were soon fully perfected and officially launched by the middle of that month. This was the new law later commonly known as the Bosporus Code (Pontus Edition), and for distinction, the original set of laws was called the Bosporus Code (Tauris Edition) or the Bosporus Code (Original).
While it was called a new version, this version, which was in circulation in the Pontus region, was essentially largely similar to the original version in Tauris. Excluding those unnecessary regional differences, such as names and personnel numbers, the specific differences between the two were manifested in these areas:
Regarding the special status of the Armenian Apostolic Church, unlike the vague description, or even near disregard, in the Tauris version, this Pontus version very straightforwardly recognized the Armenian Apostolic Church as the legitimate faith of the Autocratic State in Asia Minor. Its followers possessed legal rights identical to those of Eastern Orthodox Christians, could serve in official positions and engage in commerce normally, would not be forced to pay additional taxes because of it, and also had legal protection against being involved in the slave trade ①. However, in contrast, Manuel, under the pretext of granting them equal rights and religious freedom, officially used this to directly bring the local bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church under his control.
However, when it came to other religions, he was not so gentle with the Armenians. In this Pontus-specific version of the code, he officially named the religious tax levied on adherents of other religions as the "Unbeliever Tax." Obviously, this was a direct indication to the Muslims that he was emulating their "Jizya tax." However, Caesar, who claimed to be magnanimous, still left an loophole for adherents of other religions: "Those willing to serve the Monarch and their families may be granted the right to be exempt from this tax."
As for land reclamation, since the land in Asia Minor was not suitable for deep plowing, there was no advocacy or encouragement for land reclamation. Instead, there was affirmation and encouragement for Christians to own land, as well as a potential crackdown on non-agricultural lifestyles. What this targeted was self-evident.
Aside from the above points, the rest was largely no different from the Tauris version. Whether it was the explanations regarding the Mayor and the Commissioner, or the establishment and restrictions of the "Watchers" Force and the Grand Company, all were very clearly recorded in this local Pontus code.
The Bosporus Code (Pontus Edition) caused no small stir. For example, not long after, the Muslim community, upon seeing a painted portrait of their prophet hung in the mosque ②, was still trying to process it when they became incredibly dizzy upon learning that they had inexplicably been burdened with a new tax.