Strategos (), also known by its Latinized form strategus, is a Greek language term to mean 'military General officer'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also used to describe a military governor. In the modern Hellenic Army, it is the highest officer rank.
The strict adherence to the principle of a strategos from each tribe lasted until , after which two strategoi could be selected from the same tribe and another tribe be left without its own strategos, perhaps because no suitable candidate might be available. This system continued at least until , but by the time Aristotle wrote his Constitution of the Athenians in , the appointments were made without any reference to tribal affiliation. Hence, during the Hellenistic period, although the number of the tribes was increased, the number of strategoi remained constant at ten.
In the early part of the 5th century, several strategoi combined their military office with a political role, with Themistocles, Aristides, Cimon, or Pericles among the most notable; nevertheless their power derived not from their office, but from their own personal political charisma. As political power passed to the civilian rhetores in the later 5th century, the strategoi were limited to their military duties. Originally, the strategoi were appointed ad hoc to various assignments. On campaign, several—usually up to three— strategoi might be placed jointly in command. Unlike other Greek states, where the nauarchos commanded the navy, the Athenian strategoi held command both at sea and on land. From the middle of the 4th century, the strategoi increasingly were given specific assignments, such as the strategos epi ten choran (στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν) for the defence of ancient Attica; the strategos epi tous hoplite (στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ τοὺς ὁπλίτας), in charge of expeditions abroad; the two strategoi epi ton Peiraia (στρατηγοὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Πειραιᾶ), responsible for the war harbour of Piraeus; and the strategos epi tas (στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ τὰς συμμορίας), responsible for the equipment of the warships. This was generalized in Hellenistic times, when each strategos was given specific duties. In the Roman Greece, the strategos epi ta hopla (στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα) became the most prominent magistrate in Athens. The other generals had disappeared by the end of the first century BC.
The Athenian people kept a close eye on their strategoi. Like other magistrates, at the end of their term of office they were subject to euthyna and in addition there was a vote in the ekklesia during every prytany on the question whether they were performing their duties well. If the vote went against anyone, he was deposed and as a rule tried by jury. Pericles himself in 430 was removed from office as strategos and fined, and in 406 six of the eight strategoi who commanded the fleet at the Battle of Arginusae were all removed from office and condemned to death.
The title of strategos autokrator was also used for generals with broad powers, but the extent and nature of these powers was granted on an ad hoc basis. Thus Philip II of Macedon was elected as strategos autokrator (commander-in-chief with full powers) of the League of Corinth.
In several Greek city leagues the title was reserved for the head of state. In the Aetolian League and the Achaean League, where the was annually elected, he was the eponymous chief of civil government and the supreme military commander at the same time. Two of the most prominent leaders re-elected many times to the office in the Achaean League, were Aratus of Sicyon and Philopoemen. are also reported in the Arcadian League, in the Epirote League and in the Acarnanian League, whereas the leaders of the Boeotia and the Thessalian League had different titles, Boeotarch and Tagus respectively.
In the Hellenistic empires of the Diadochi, notably Ptolemaic Egypt, for which most details are known, became a gubernatorial office combining civil with military duties. In Egypt, the were originally responsible for the Greek military colonists () established in the country. Quickly, they assumed a role in the administration alongside the , the governor of each of the country's nomes, and the , in charge of fiscal affairs. Already by the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus ( BC), the was the head of the provincial administration, while conversely his military role declined, as the were progressively demilitarized. Ptolemy V Epiphanes ( BC) established the office of ' (ἐπιστράτηγος, ) to oversee the individual . The latter had become solely civilian officials, combining the role of the and the , while the retained powers of military command. In addition, (: ', ὐποστράτηγος, 'under-general') could be appointed as subordinates. The Ptolemaic administrative system survived into the Roman Egypt, where the was subdivided in three to four smaller offices, and the was placed in charge of the . The office largely retained its Ptolemaic functions and continued to be staffed by the Greek population of the country.
The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace was also divided into ('generalships'), each headed by a , based on the various Thracians tribes and subtribes. At the time of the kingdom's annexation into the Roman Empire in 46 AD, there were 50 such districts, which were initially retained in the new Roman province, and only gradually fell out of use. It was not until that the last of them were abolished.
Under the Roman Republic and later through the Principate, Greek historians often used the term when referring to the Roman political/military office of praetor. Such a use can be found in the New Testament: Acts of the Apostles 16:20 refers to the magistrates of Philippi as . Correspondingly, (ἀντιστράτηγος, 'vice-general') was used to refer to the office of propraetor.
Throughout the middle Byzantine period (7th–12th centuries), the strategos of the Anatolic theme enjoyed precedence over the others and constituted one of the highest offices of the state, and one of the few from which eunuchs were specifically barred. At the same time, the Eastern (Anatolian) themes were senior to the Western (European) ones. This distinction was especially marked in the pay of their presiding strategoi: while those of the Eastern themes received their salary directly from the state treasury, their counterparts in the West had to raise their—markedly lower—pay from the proceeds of their provinces. During the 11th century, the strategoi were gradually confined to their military duties, their fiscal and administrative responsibilities being taken over by the civil kritai ('judges'). Senior military leadership also devolved on the hands of a new class of officers titled Dux or katepano, who were placed in control of regional commands combining several themes. By the 13th century, the term strategos had reverted to the generic sense of "general", devoid of any specific technical meaning.
The Byzantines also used a number of variations of the title strategos: strategetes (στρατηγέτης, 'army leader') was an infrequently used alternative term; the term monostrategos (μονοστράτηγος, 'single-general') designated a general placed in command over other strategoi or over the forces of more than one theme; the terms strategos autokrator, archistrategos (ἀρχιστράτηγος, 'chief-general') and protostrategos (πρωτοστράτηγος, 'first-general') designated commanders vested with supreme authority; and the term hypostrategos (ὐποστράτηγος, 'under-general') denoted a second-in-command, effectively a lieutenant general.
All but one of the other Greek general officer ranks are derivations of this word: antistrátigos (Antistrategos) and ypostrátigos (Hypostrategos), for Lieutenant General and Major General, respectively. A Brigadier General however is called taxiarch, after a táxis (in modern usage taxiarchía), which means brigade. The ranks of antistrátigos and ypostrátigos are also used by the Hellenic Police (and the Greek Gendarmerie before), the Greek Fire Service and the Cypriot National Guard, which lack the grade of full stratigós.
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Αντιστράτηγος Antistrátigos | Υποστράτηγος Ypostrátigos | |||||||
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Στρατηγός Stratigos | Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos | Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos | ||||||
Στρατηγός Stratigos | Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos | Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos | ||||||
Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos | Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos | |||||||
Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos | Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos |
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