Seal of the magistros, vestes, and stratelates of the East Herve Frankopoulos

''Stratēlatēs'' ( el, στρατηλάτης, "driver/leader of the army") was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

term designating a general, which also became an honorary dignity 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 ...

. In the former sense, it was often applied to military saints, such as

Theodore Stratelates Theodore Stratelates ( grc-gre, Ἅγιος Θεόδωρος ὁ Στρατηλάτης (); cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲱⲣⲟⲥ), also known as Theodore of Heraclea ( grc-gre, Θεόδωρος Ἡρακλείας; AD 281–319) ...

. In the late Roman/early Byzantine Empire, the title was used, along with the old-established '' stratēgos'', to translate into Greek the office of ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'' ("master of the soldiers").. In the 6th century, however, Novel 90 of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...

() attests the existence of a middle-ranking honorific title of ''stratēlatēs'', which ranked alongside the ''apo eparchōn'' ("former

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

"). A ''prōtostratēlatēs'' ("first ''stratēlatēs''") Theopemptos is attested in a 7th-century seal, likely indicating the senior-most dignitary among the entire class of the ''stratēlatai''. This ''stratēlasia'' was a purely honorary dignity, attached to no office, and declined measurably in prestige during the 7th and 8th centuries:

sigillographic Sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the wax, lead, clay, and other seals used to authenticate archival documents. It investigates not only aspects of the artistic design a ...

evidence shows that it came to be held by the lower rung of the imperial bureaucracy, such as '' kommerkiarioi'' (customs supervisors), ''kouratores'' (supervisors of imperial establishments) and ''notarioi'' (imperial secretaries). By the late 9th century, it ranked at the bottom of the hierarchy of imperial dignities (along with the ''apo eparchōn''), as attested in the 899 '' Klētorologion'' of Philotheos. The ''Klētorologion'' also records that the dignity was conferred by the award of a codicil or diploma (Greek: χάρτης), retaining 6th-century practice. In the 10th-11th centuries, the term returned to its original military meaning, being used for senior generals, including the commanders-in-chief (the Domestics of the Schools) of East and West. At the same time, however, the presence of a '' tagma'' (professional standing regiment) called the ''Stratēlatai'' is attested in

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 ...

in the late 10th century, formed by Emperor

John I Tzimiskes John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes ...

().

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book , last = Kühn , first = Hans-Joachim , title = Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata , language = German , year = 1991 , location = Vienna , publisher = Fassbaender Verlag , isbn = 3-9005-38-23-9 Byzantine court titles Byzantine army Byzantine military offices Greek words and phrases

See also

References

Sources