Magister militum

The original command structure of the late Roman army, with a separate *magister equitum* and a *magister peditum* in place of the later overall *magister militum* in the command structure of the army of the Western Roman Empire.

Magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; pl.: magistri militum) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the emperor remaining the supreme commander) of the empire. In Greek sources, the term is translated either as strategos or as stratelates (although these terms were also used non-technically to refer to commanders of different ranks).

Establishment and development of the command

The office of magister militum was created in the early 4th century, most likely when the Western Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated all other contemporary Roman emperors, which gave him control over their respective armies. Because the Praetorian Guards and their leaders, the Praetorian Prefects, had supported Constantine's enemy, Maxentius, he disbanded the Guard and deprived the Prefects of their military functions, reducing them to a purely civil office. To replace them, he created two posts: a commander of the infantry, the magister peditum ("master of foot"), and a more prestigious cavalry commander, the magister equitum ("master of horse"). These offices had precedents in the immediate imperial past, both in function and idea;^[1] the latter title had existed since republican times, as the second-in-command to a Roman dictator.

Under Constantine's successors, the titles were also established at a territorial level: magistri peditum and magistri equitum were appointed for every praetorian prefecture (per Gallias, per Italiam, per Illyricum, per Orientem), and, in addition, for Thrace and, sometimes, Africa. On occasion, the offices would be combined in a single person, then styled magister equitum et peditum or magister utriusque militiae ("master of both forces"). Overall, lower-level magistri were assigned according to circumstances, with varying numbers employed in a given area.^[2] Some were directly in command of the local mobile field army of the comitatenses, which acted as a rapid reaction force. Other magistri remained at the immediate disposal of the emperors, and by the late fourth century or early fifth century were termed in praesenti ("in the presence" of the emperor).

Over the course of the fourth century in the Western Roman Empire, the system of two imperial magistri remained largely intact, with usually one magister having paramount authority (such as Bauto or Merobaudes, the main power behind the appointment of emperor Valentinian II.) This tendency culminated in Arbogast, who inherited the position of western magister militum and used it to functionally usurp emperor Valentinian II, either killing him or driving him to suicide before appointing his own puppet emperor, Eugenius. In the west, the position (often under the title of magister utriusque militiae or MVM) remained very powerful until the formal end of the empire, and was held by Stilicho, Aetius, Ricimer, and others.

In the east, emperor Theodosius I (379-395) expanded the system of two magistri militum to include an additional three magistri. For a long time these generals were used in an ad hoc manner, being employed wherever they were needed. Eventually in the fifth century their positions became more firmly established, and there were two senior generals, who were each appointed to the office of magister militum praesentalis.

During the reign of Emperor Justinian I, with increasing military threats and the expansion of the Eastern Empire, the posts of the eastern generals were overhauled: the magister militum per Armeniam in the Armenian and Caucasian provinces, formerly part of the jurisdiction of the magister militum per Orientem, the magister militum per Africam in the reconquered African provinces (534), with a subordinate magister peditum, and the magister militum Spaniae (c. 562).

In the course of the 6th century, internal and external crises in the provinces often necessitated the temporary union of the supreme regional civil authority with the office of the magister militum. In the establishment of the exarchates of Ravenna and Carthage in 584, this practice found its first permanent expression. Indeed, after the loss of the eastern provinces to the Muslim conquest in the 640s, the surviving field armies and their commanders formed the first themata.

Supreme military commanders sometimes also took this title in early medieval Italy, for example in the Papal States and in Venice, whose Doge claimed to be the successor to the Exarch of Ravenna.

List of magistri militum

Unspecified commands

383–385/8: Bauto, magister militum under Valentinian II^[3]
385/8–394: Arbogast, magister militum under Valentinian II and Eugenius^[3]
383–388: Andragathius^[4]
?–480: Ovida

Comes et magister utriusque militiae

392–408: Stilicho
411–421: Constantius (III)^[5]
422–425: Castinus
425–430: Felix^[6]
431–432: Bonifacius^[7]
432–433: Sebastianus
433–454: Aetius^[8]
455–456: Avitus and Remistus
456: Messianus
456–472: Ricimer
472–473: Gundobad
475: Ecdicius Avitus
475–476: Orestes

Per Gallias

352–355: Claudius Silvanus
362–364: Jovinus, magister equitum under Julian and Jovian^[9]
?–419: Gaudentius
425–430: Aetius
435–439: Litorius
452–458: Agrippinus
458–461: Aegidius
461/462: Agrippinus
462-473: Gundioc
?–472: Bilimer

Per Hispanias

441–442: Astyrius^[10]
443: Merobaudes^[11]
446: Vitus^[12]

Per Ilyricum

?–350: Vetranio, magister peditum under Constans^[13]
361: Iovinus, magister equitum under Julian^[9]
365–375: Equitius, magister utriusquae militiae under Valentinian I^[14]
395–? Alaric I
448/9 Agintheus (known from Priscus to have held office as the latter's embassy proceeded towards the court of Attila).
468–474: Julius Nepos
477–479: Onoulphus
479–481: Sabinianus Magnus
528: Ascum
529–530/1: Mundus (1st time)
532–536: Mundus (2nd time)
c. 538: Justin
c. 544: Vitalius
c. 550: John
568–569/70: Bonus
581–582: Theognis

Per Orientem

c. 347: Flavius Eusebius, magister utriusquae militiae^[15]
349–359: Ursicinus, magister equitum under Constantius^[13]
359–360: Sabinianus, magister equitum under Constantius II^[13]
363–367: Lupicinus, magister equitum under Jovian and Valens^[9]
371–378: Iulius, magister equitum et Peditum under Valens^[9]
383: Richomeres, magister equitum et peditum^[3]
383–388: Ellebichus, magister equitum et peditum^[3]
392: Eutherius, magister equitum et peditum^[3]
393–396: Addaeus, magister equitum et peditum^[3]
?~399: Gainas
395/400: Fravitta
433–446: Anatolius
447–451: Zeno
460s: Ardabur Aspar
–469: Iordanes
469–471: Zeno
483–498: Ioannes Scytha
c. 503–505: Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus
505–506: Pharesmanes
?516–?518: Hypatius
?518–529: Diogenianus
520–525/526: Hypatius
527: Libelarius
527–529: Hypatius
529–531: Belisarius
531: Mundus
532–533: Belisarius
540: Buzes
542: Belisarius
543–544: Martinus
549–551: Belisarius
555: Amantius
556: Valerianus
569: Zemarchus
572–573: Marcian
573: Theodorus
574: Eusebius
574/574–577: Justinian
577–582: Maurice
582–583: John Mystacon
584–587/588: Philippicus
588: Priscus
588–589: Philippicus
589–591: Comentiolus
591–603: Narses
603–604 Germanus
604–605 Leontius
605–610 Domentziolus

Per Armeniam

Sittas
Dorotheus (530-532)
Peter, direct predecessor of John Tzibus
John Tzibus (?–541)
Valerian
Dagisthaeus (?–550)
Bessas (550–554)^[16]
Martin^[17]
Justin^[18]
John Mystacon
Heraclius the Elder (c. 595)^[19]

Per Thracias

377–378: Saturninus, magister equitum under Valens^[9]
377–378: Traianus, magister peditum under Valens^[3]
378: Sebastianus, magister peditum under Valens^[3]
380–383: Saturninus, magister peditum under Theodosius I^[3]
392–393: Stilicho, magister equitum et peditum^[3]
412–414: Constans
441: Ioannes the Vandal, magister utriusque militiae^[20]
464–467/468: Basiliscus^[21]
468–474: Armatus
474: Heraclius of Edessa
511: Hypatius
512–c. 513: Cyrillus
c. 513–c. 515: Alathar
515: Vitalian
525-c. 530: Germanus
530–533: Chilbudius
550–c. 554: Artabanes
588: Priscus (1st time)
593: Priscus (2nd time)
593–594: Peter (1st time)
594–c. 598: Priscus (2nd time)
598–601: Comentiolus
601–602: Peter (2nd time)

Praesentalis

351–361: Arbitio, magister equitum under Constantius II^[13]
361–363: Nevitta, magister equitum under Julian^[9]
363–379: Victor, magister equitum under Valens^[9]
366–378: Arinthaeus, magister peditum under Valens^[9]
364–369: Iovinus, magister equitum under Valentinian I^[9]
364–366: Dagalaifus, magister peditum under Valentinian I^[9]
367–372: Severus, magister peditum under Valentinian I^[9]
369–373: Theodosius, magister equitum under Valentinian I^[9]
375–388: Merobaudes, magister peditum under Valentinian I, Gratian and Magnus Maximus^[22]
388–395: Timasius
394–408: Stilicho, magister equitum et peditum^[3]
399–400: Gainas
400: Fravitta
409: Varanes and Arsacius^[23]
419–: Plinta
434–449: Areobindus?
443–451: Apollonius
450–451: Anatolius
475–477/478: Armatus
485–: Longinus
492–499: John the Hunchback
518–520: Vitalian ^[24]
520–?: Justinian^[25]
528: Leontius
528–529: Phocas
520–538/9: Sittas
536: Germanus
536: Maxentianus
546–548: Artabanes
548/9–552: Suartuas
562: Constantinianus (uncertain)
582: Germanus (uncertain)
585–c. 586: Comentiolus
626: Bonus (uncertain)

Per Africam

Western Empire

373–375: Theodosius, magister equitum ^[9]
386–398: Gildo, magister equitum et peditum^[26]

Eastern Empire

534–536: Solomon
536–539: Germanus
539–544: Solomon
544–546: Sergius
545–546: Areobindus
546: Artabanes
546–552: John Troglita
578–590: Gennadius

Magister militae in Byzantine and medieval Italy

Venice

8th century: Marcellus
737: Domenico Leoni under Leo III
738: Felice Cornicola under Leo III
739: Theodatus Hypatus under Leo III
741: Ioannes Fabriacius under Leo III
764–787: Mauricius Galba

Later, less formal use of the term

The term is referred to by Emperor Constantine VII in his De Administrando Imperio in a digression on 6th century Italian history, where he refers to mastromilis meaning 'captain-general of the army' in the 'Roman tongue'. By the time of writing in the mid-10th century working knowledge of Latin was mostly absent in the Byzantine imperial court.

By the 12th century, the term was being used to describe a man who organized the military force of a political or feudal leader on his behalf. In the Gesta Herwardi, the hero is several times described as magister militum by the man who translated the original Old English account into Medieval Latin. It seems possible that the writer of the original version, now lost, thought of him as the hereward' (Old English: here, lit. 'army' and no: weard, lit. 'guard') – the supervisor of the military force. That this later use of these terms was based on the classical concept seems clear.^[27]

References

Citations

^ Bendle, Christopher (2024). The office of "Magister Militum" in the 4th century CE: a study into the impact of political and military leadership on the later Roman Empire. Studies in ancient monarchies. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 31. ISBN 978-3-515-13614-3.
^ Bendle, 2024. 31.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k PLRE I, p. 1114
^ PLRE I, p. 62
^ Hughes, Ian: Aetius: Attila's Nemesis, p. 74
^ Hughes, Ian: Aetius: Attila's Nemesis, p. 75
^ Hughes, Ian: Aetius: Attila's Nemesis, p. 85
^ Hughes, Ian: Aetius: Attila's Nemesis, p. 87, Heather, Peter: The Fall of the Roman Empire, pp. 262, 491
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m PLRE I, p. 1113
^ Hydatius, Chronica Hispania, 122
^ Hydatius, Chronica Hispania, 128
^ Hydatius, Chronica Hispania, 134
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d PLRE I, p. 1112
^ PLRE I, p. 125
^ PLRE I, p. 307
^ Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Martindale, J. R.; Morris, J. (1980). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 2, AD 395–527. Cambridge University Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780521201599.
^ Martindale, J. R. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire 2 Part Set: Volume 3, AD 527–641. Cambridge University Press. p. 845. ISBN 978-0-521-20160-5.
^ Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2005). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 363–628. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-75645-2.
^ Kaegi, Walter Emil (2003). Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0521814591.
^ PLRE II, p. 597
^ PLRE II, p. 211
^ PLRE I, pp. 1113–1114
^ PLRE I, p. 152
^ John Moorhead, Justinian (London, 1994), p. 16.
^ John Moorhead, Justinian (London, 1994), p. 17.
^ PLRE I, p. 395
^ Gesta Herwardi Archived 2011-01-21 at the Wayback Machine The term is used in chapters XII, XIV, XXII and XXIII. See The Name, Hereward for details.

Sources

Bendle, Christopher. 2024. The Office of "Magister Militum" in the 4th Century CE: a Study into the Impact of Political and Military Leadership on the Later Roman Empire. Studies in Ancient Monarchies. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN 978-3-515-13614-3.
Boak, AER (1915). "The Roman Magistri in the Civil and Military Service of the Empire". Harvard Studies in Classical Philology. 26: 73–164. doi:10.2307/310606. JSTOR 310606.
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE), Vols. I-III