Stratopedarches
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| This article is part of the series on the military of the Byzantine Empire, 330–1453 AD | |
| Structural history | |
|---|---|
| Byzantine army: East Roman army, Middle Byzantine army (themes • tagmata • Hetaireia), Komnenian-era army (pronoia), Palaiologan-era army (allagia) • Varangian Guard • Generals (Magister militum • Domestic of the Schools • Grand Domestic • Stratopedarches • Protostrator) | |
| Byzantine navy: Greek fire • Dromon • Admirals (Droungarios of the Fleet • Megas doux) | |
| Campaign history | |
| Lists of wars, revolts and civil wars, and battles | |
| Strategy and tactics | |
| Tactics • Siege warfare • Military manuals • Fortifications (Walls of Constantinople) | |
Stratopedarchēs (Greek: στρατοπεδάρχης, "master of the camp"), sometimes Anglicized as Stratopedarch, was a Greek term used with regard to high-ranking military commanders from the 1st century BC on, becoming a proper office in the 10th-century Byzantine Empire. It continued to be employed as a designation, and a proper title, of commanders-in-chief until the 13th century, when the title of megas stratopedarchēs (μέγας στρατοπεδάρχης) or Grand Stratopedarch appeared. This title was awarded to senior commanders and officials, while the ordinary stratopedarchai were henceforth low-ranking military officials.
The term first appears in the late 1st century BC in the Hellenistic Near East. Its origin is unclear, but it is used as a translation, in some inscriptions, for the contemporary Roman legionary post of praefectus castrorum ("camp prefect").Josephus (De Bello Judaico, VI.238) uses the term to refer to the quartermaster-general of all camps, while Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Roman Antiquities, X.36.6) used it to refer to the role of a primus pilus in a legion that had lost its commander. It also occurs in the Bible (Acts 28:16), where it has been interpreted as referring to the praetorian prefect, the commander of the camp and garrison of the Praetorian Guard in Rome, or the subordinate officials praefectus peregrinorum and princeps castrorum.
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