''Strateia'' ( el, στρατεία) is a term used in the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, which according to the ''
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzant ...
'' "signified enrollment into state (civil or military) or ecclesiastical service and the attendant obligations".
The term is the direct analogue of the Latin term ''militia'', which applied to all categories of state officials already under the late
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
.
The most common usage of the term in middle Byzantine times was in the military sphere: the holder of a ''strateia'', or ''stratiotes'' (στρατιώτης), was obliged either to provide military service himself, or to provide money for the upkeep of a soldier, either as an individual or as a group/community (''syndotai'', "co-givers").
By the 10th century, the ''strateia'' had evolved from being a personal, hereditary duty of the ''stratiotes'' and his family, to a duty attached to the military lands (''stratiotika ktemata'') that were then allocated to the individual ''stratiotai''. The ''stratiotika ktemata'' probably originated in the military crisis of the 7th century, when the state was forced to offer land in lieu of cash payment in exchange for the ''strateia'', but they are not actually attested until the 10th century. By that time, various categories of ''strateiai'' existed, based on the income of the lands attached to them: alongside ''strateiai'' for the upkeep of sailors, infantrymen and cavalrymen, these included ''strateiai'' for the upkeep of ''
demosios dromos'' (public post) and of a heavy cavalryman (
cataphract
A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa.
The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" or "co ...
), the latter a new service instituted under
Nikephoros II Phokas
Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...
in the 960s. The ''strateiai'' of sailors fell in two categories: the sailors of the maritime themes, who had to equip and fight themselves and saw more action, received lands worth four pounds of gold, while the sailors of the smaller regional fleets, as well as the central Imperial Fleet in Constantinople held property of two pounds of gold (the Imperial Fleet received cash salaries in addition).
In
Byzantine law
Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of Roman law with increased Orthodox Christian and Hellenistic influence. Most sources define ''Byzantine law'' as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century ...
, the ''stratiotai'' were distinguished from the general agricultural population (''georgoi''); the ''stratiotai'' were even prohibited from engaging in commerce or agriculture themselves, and exempted from all the other fiscal obligations save the ''
aerikon'' and ''
kanon'' taxes. They also received pay (''roga'') and state-sponsored supplies (''opsonion'') for taking part in military expeditions and performing labour in public works. Successive 10th-century emperors also took care to maintain the system by placing restrictions on the sale of the ''stratiotika ktemata'':
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
set minimum inalienable values of four pounds of gold for cavalrymen and two pounds for sailors, which Nikephoros II Phokas raised it to 12 pounds to ensure that the cataphract ''strateiai'' would be maintained. Abandoned properties were automatically restored to the original owner without compensation, having a retroactive force of 40 years, and rights of pre-emption (''protimesis'') on any available military land was granted to relatives or members of the same community as the original holder's. The exact nature of the ''stratiotai'' during the heyday of the
theme system
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
in the 7th–11th centuries has been the subject of debate, with views ranging from their identification as "soldier-farmers" by
George Ostrogorsky
Georgiy Aleksandrovich Ostrogorskiy (russian: Георгий Александрович Острогорский; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976), known in Serbian as Georgije Aleksandrovič Ostrogorski ( sr-Cyrl, Георгије Алекс ...
to the view of Paul Lemerle that 10th-century ''stratiotai'' did not actually campaign themselves, but provided only material support. Evidence from contemporary documents seems to support the former view, however.
By the 11th century, the ''strateia'' had become a purely fiscal obligation, and lo longer entailed any requirement for rendering personal military service. Consequently, instead of native Byzantine soldiers, mercenaries were increasingly hired by the proceeds from the ''strateia'', a process accelerated after the late 11th century with the
loss
Loss may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006)
* ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001)
*"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008)
* Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...
of the recruiting grounds of
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
to the
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
. Like all other fiscal exactions, exemptions from it could be secured. Even after the fiscalization of the ''strateia'', the term "''stratiotes''" remained in usage as a fiscal term for a class of landowners until at least the 14th century.
The ''strateia'' is not to be confused with ''
pronoia
The ''pronoia'' (plural ''pronoiai''; Greek: πρόνοια, meaning "care" or "forethought," from πρό, "before," and νόος, "mind") was a system of granting dedicated streams of state income to individuals and institutions in the late Byz ...
'', a similar but distinct term employed from the 12th century on. The ''strateioumenoi'' farmed their own land, while ''pronoiarioi'' merely received the proceeds from their grants to maintain themselves.
References
Sources
*
Byzantine military
Conscription by country
Taxation in the Byzantine Empire
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