Α ''strator'' ( el, στράτωρ) was a position in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and

Byzantine 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 ...

militaries roughly equivalent to a

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

. The word is derived from Latin ''sternere'' ("to strew", i.e. hay, straw). The ''strator'' (in Greek narrative sources often replaced with the Greek equivalent of ''hippokomos'') was typically a soldier, sometimes even a

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

, who was chosen from the ranks to act as a groom for a senior officer or civil official. His tasks included attending to and even procuring horses, and the supervision of the stable. In the

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 ''stratores'' of the imperial court formed a distinct corps, the ''

schola Scholae ( el, Σχολαί) is a Latin word, literally meaning "schools" (from the singular ''schola'', ''school'' or ''group'') that was used in the late Roman Empire to signify a unit of Imperial Guards. The unit survived in the Byzantine Empire ...

stratorum'', headed by the

Count of the Stable The Count of the Stable ( la, comes stabuli; grc-gre, κόμης τοῦ σταύλου/στάβλου, komes tou staulou/stablou) was a late Roman and Byzantine office responsible for the horses and pack animals intended for use by the army and ...

(''comes stabuli''), and later, in the middle Byzantine period, the ''

protostrator ''Prōtostratōr'' ( el, πρωτοστράτωρ) was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. Its proximity to the imperial person led to a highly visible role in imperial ceremonies, and served as a springboard for ...

'' (πρωτοστράτωρ, "first ''strator''"). In the provincial administration, senior ''stratores'' chosen among centurions etc. were typically members of the staff of

Roman governor A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many provinces constituting the Roman Empire. The generic term in Roman legal language was '' Rector provinciae ...

s and in turn headed other, more junior ''stratores''. In the Byzantine Empire, the title was more generally used as an honorific dignity for mid-level civil and military officials from the 8th century on, which led to the actual grooms of the imperial court being distinguished as "''stratores'' of the imperial ''stratorikion''". The dignity of the ''strator'' belonged to those intended for "bearded men" (i.e. non-

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

s), and was conferred by the award of an insigne (''dia brabeiou axia''), in this case a jewelled gold whip. It ranked relatively low in the imperial hierarchy: in the ''

Kletorologion The ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos ( el, Κλητορολόγιον), is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence ('' Taktika'').. It was published in September 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI t ...

'' of 899, it ranks sixth from the bottom, above the '' kandidatos'' and below the ''

hypatos ''Hypatos'' ( gr, ὕπατος; plural: , ''hypatoi'') and the variant ''apo hypatōn'' (, "former ''hypatos''", literally: "from among the consuls") was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of Latin ''consul'' (the litera ...

''. The title appears in Western Europe from the mid-8th century onwards, possibly under Byzantine influence. The variant form ''starator'' is attested in the

Kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...

in 1402.

References

{{reflist Byzantine court titles Horse-related professions and professionals Latin words and phrases