The ( gr, λογοθέτης τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ), rendered in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as the Logothete of the Military or Military Logothete, was a

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 ...

imperial official in charge of the pay and provisioning of the Byzantine army. The office appears in the late 7th century and is mentioned until the 14th century.

History and functions

This duty was originally exercised by the praetorian prefecture, but the military chest (, ) was eventually detached and formed as a separate (department). The first attested was Julian, the "most glorious and " in 680.. The exact sphere of duties of the Military Logothete is somewhat obscure. The only direct evidence as to his functions comes from the '' De Ceremoniis'' of Emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos 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 K ...

(), according to which he oversaw the imposition and exemption from taxes on the households of soldiers. It is also known that by the 11th century, he exercised some juridical functions. Several scholars (notably

Ernst Stein Ernst Edward Aurel Stein (19 September 1891, in Jaworzno – 25 February 1945, in Fribourg) was an Austrian-Jewish Byzantinist and a historian of Late Antiquity. Ernst was the son of Ernst Eduard Stein and Henrietta Rosalie (née Hein) and the ...

) have argued that the Military Logothete supervised military affairs in general, such as the levying of troops, the construction of fortifications and the overall military expenditure. This hypothesis, however, cannot be proved.

Subordinate officials

The subordinates of the were: *The of the (), the senior subaltern officials of the department. *The of the () and the (), supervising the financial affairs of the thematic troops and the imperial , respectively. *A number of (), whose exact function is unknown. *The (, from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

), officials responsible for the distribution of pay to the troops. *A number of under a . *A number of ('messengers').

List of known

Rodolphe Guilland also lists some 6th-century officials, who served under Justinian I and were in charge of the army pay chest, as predecessors of the later office of : Alexander "Scissors", active in Greece and Italy in ; the and former praetorian prefect Archelaus, who accompanied

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

as his quartermaster in the

Vandalic War The Vandalic War was a conflict fought in North Africa between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage in 533–534. It was the first of Justinian I's wars of reconquest of the Western Roman Empire. The Vandal ...

; and the senator Symmachus, who was sent to Africa as praetorian prefect and quartermaster for Germanus in 536–539.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Byzantine Empire topics Byzantine fiscal offices Byzantine military offices