Magister Militum

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Arbogast (general)
Flavius Arbogastes (died September 6, 394), or Arbogast was a Frankish general in the Roman Empire. It has been stated by some ancient historians that he was the son of Flavius Bauto, Valentinian II's former magister militum and protector before Arbogast, but modern scholars largely discount this claim . See [http://greytrek.com/TheHistoria/Arbogast.htm "The Historia"] of Arbogast and Bauto.
http://wn.com/Arbogast_(general)
Armatus
Flavius Armatus (died 477) was a Byzantine military commander, magister militum under Emperors Leo I, Basiliscus and Zeno, and consul. He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno, and in his subsequent fall.
http://wn.com/Armatus
Artabanes (general)
Artabanes (lang-el|, from Old Armenian , fl. 538–554) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general of Armenian origin who served under Justinian I (r. 527–565). Initially a rebel against Byzantine authority, he fled to the Sassanid Persians but soon returned to Byzantine allegiance. He served in Africa, where he won great fame by killing the rebel general Guntharic and restoring the province to imperial allegiance. He became engaged to Justinian's niece Praejecta, but did not eventually marry her due to the opposition of the Empress Theodora. Recalled to Constantinople, he became involved in a failed conspiracy against Justinian in 548/549, but was not severely punished after its revelation. He was soon pardoned and sent to Italy to fight in the Gothic War, where he participated in the decisive Byzantine victory at Casilinum.
http://wn.com/Artabanes_(general)
Aspar
Flavius Ardabur Aspar (c. 400 – 471) was an Alan patrician and magister militum ("Master of soldiers") of the Eastern Roman Empire. Aspar's family exerted a great influence on the Eastern Roman Emperors for half a century, from the 420s to his death in 471, over Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I, who, in the end, had him killed.
http://wn.com/Aspar
Avitus
:This article is about the Roman Emperor. For the other meanings of "Avitus", see Avitus (disambiguation)
http://wn.com/Avitus
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius (, ca. AD 500 – AD 565) was one of the greatest generals of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously.
http://wn.com/Belisarius
Buzes
http://wn.com/Buzes
Comentiolus
Comentiolus (, Komentiolos; died 602) was a prominent Eastern Roman (Byzantine) general at the close of the 6th century, during the reign of Emperor Maurice (r. 582–602). He played a major role in Maurice's Balkan campaigns, and fought also in the East against the Persians.
http://wn.com/Comentiolus
Constans
Flavius Julius Constans (320–350), commonly known as Constans, was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. Constans was the third and youngest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, his father's second wife.
http://wn.com/Constans
Constantius II
Flavius Julius Constantius (August 7, 317 – November 3, 361), commonly known as Constantius II, was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death. In 340, Constantius' brothers fought over the western provinces of the empire. Constans defeated his brother and ruled the west for a decade until the usurper Magnentius rebelled in 350. Constans was promptly assassinated, leaving Constantius as the only surviving son of Constantine. After defeating Magnentius at the battles of Mursa Major and Mons Seleucus, the usurpers subsequent suicide left Constantius sole ruler of the empire. His military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful: he defeated the Alamanni in 354, and campaigned across the Danube against the Quadi and Sarmatians in 357. In the east however, he fought the Sassanids for two decades with mixed success. Constantius elevated his cousin Julian to co-emperor in 355, but by spring 361 the two emperors were at war. However, Constantius died before the two could face each other in battle, naming Julian his successor.
http://wn.com/Constantius_II
Flavius Aetius
:Aëtius is also the name of several other persons.
http://wn.com/Flavius_Aetius
Fravitta
Flavius Fravitta (died 402/403) was a chieftain of the Visigoths, who entered in the Eastern Roman army, rising to its highest ranks.
http://wn.com/Fravitta
Gundobad
Gundobad, Patrician of the Western Roman Empire (472-473) also became King of the Burgundians (473-516), after his father Gundioc of Burgundy, though he had to fight off three brothers to seize his title.
http://wn.com/Gundobad
Heraclius of Edessa
Heraclius of Edessa (born at Edessa - died at Arcadiopolis, 474) was a Eastern Roman Empire general, who took part to the failed operation against the Vandals in 468.
http://wn.com/Heraclius_of_Edessa
John Mystacon
John, surnamed Mystacon, "the mustachioed", (lang-el|, fl. 580–590), was a prominent East Roman (Byzantine) general in the wars with Sassanid Persia during the reigns of Byzantine emperors Tiberius II (r. 578–582) and Maurice (r. 582–602).
http://wn.com/John_Mystacon
John the Hunchback
John the Hunchback or 'John Gibbo' (; floruit 492-499) was a general and a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire.
http://wn.com/John_the_Hunchback
Jovian (Emperor)
Flavius Jovianus (331 – 17 February 364), commonly known as Jovian, was Roman Emperor from 363 to 364. Upon the death of emperor Julian during his Sassanid campaign, Jovian was hastily declared emperor by his soldiers. Jovian sought peace with the Persians on humiliating terms, and reestablished Christianity as the favored religion of the Empire.
http://wn.com/Jovian_(Emperor)
Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos (c. 430 – 480) was Western Roman Emperor de facto from 474 to 475 and de jure until 480. Some historians consider him to be the last western Roman Emperor, while others consider the western line to have ended with Romulus Augustus in 476. In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, and its line of Emperors, survived this historical period relatively intact.
http://wn.com/Julius_Nepos
Justinian (general)
Justinian (, lang-el|, after 525 – 582) was an East Roman (Byzantine) aristocrat and general, and a member of the ruling Justinian dynasty. As a soldier, he had a distinguished career in the Balkans and in the East against Sassanid Persia. In his later years, he plotted unsuccessfully against regent and later emperor Tiberius II.
http://wn.com/Justinian_(general)
Justinian I
Justinian I (; lang-el|; 483 – 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Roman (Byzantine) Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
http://wn.com/Justinian_I
Lupicinus
Lupicinus was a Roman lieutenant of Valens in Thrace in the late fourth century AD.
http://wn.com/Lupicinus
Maurice (emperor)
Maurice (; Lang-el|; 539 – 27 November 602), was Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor from 582 to 602. A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians. Once emperor, he brought the war with Persia to a victorious conclusion: expanding the eastern frontier dramatically and marrying his daughter to Khosrau II, the Persian king. Maurice also campaigned extensively in the Balkans against the Avars - pushing them back across the Danube by 599. In the west, Maurice established two large semi-autonomous provinces called exarchates, ruled by exarchs, viceroys, of the emperor. In Italy, Maurice established the Exarchate of Ravenna in 584, the first real effort by the empire to halt the advance of the Lombards. With the creation of the Exarchate of Africa in 590, Maurice further solidified the empire's hold on the western Mediterranean. His reign was troubled by financial difficulties and almost constant warfare. In 602, a dissatisfied general Phocas usurped the throne, having Maurice and his six sons executed. This event would prove cataclysmic for the empire, sparking a devastating war with Persia that would leave both empires helpless in the wake of the Muslim invasions. His reign is a relatively accurately documented era of the Late Antiquity; in particular by the historian Theophylact Simocatta. Maurice also authored the Strategikon, a manual of war which influenced European militaries for nearly a millennium. Maurice stands out as one of the last emperors whose empire still bore a strong resemblance to the Roman Empire of previous centuries.
http://wn.com/Maurice_(emperor)
Mauricius Galba
http://wn.com/Mauricius_Galba
Merobaudes (general)
Flavius Merobaudes (died 383 or 388) was a Roman general of Frankish origin.
http://wn.com/Merobaudes_(general)
Onoulphus
Onoulphus, also Onoulf, Unulf and Hunulf (floruit c. 453-479) was a Roman general of Scirian origin, magister militum per Illyricum from 477 to 479.
http://wn.com/Onoulphus
Plinta
Flavius Plinta (floruit 418-438) was a politician and general of the Eastern Roman Empire.
http://wn.com/Plinta
Priscus (general)
Priscus or Priskos (, died 613) was a leading East Roman (Byzantine) general during the reigns of the Byzantine emperors Maurice (r. 582–602), Phocas (r. 602–610) and Heraclius (r. 610–641). Although the contemporary sources are markedly biased in his favour, Priscus comes across as an effective and capable military leader. Under Maurice, he distinguished himself in the campaigns against the Avars and their Slavic allies in the Balkans. Absent from the capital at the time of Maurice's overthrow and murder by Phocas, he was one of the few of Maurice's senior aides who were able to survive unharmed into the new regime, remaining in high office and even marrying the emperor's daughter. Priscus however also negotiated with and assisted Heraclius in the overthrow of Phocas, and was entrusted with command against the Persians in 611–612. After the failure of this campaign, he was deposed and tonsured, dying shortly after.
http://wn.com/Priscus_(general)
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer (c. 405 – August 18, 472; ) was a Germanic general who achieved effective control of the remaining parts of the Western Roman Empire, during the middle of the fifth century A.D. His power was based primarily on military strength, and he exercised political control through a series of "puppet emperors", whom he enthroned and eliminated.
http://wn.com/Ricimer
Sabinianus Magnus
Sabinianus Magnus (died 481) was a general of the Eastern Roman Empire, who fought in the rebellion of Theodoric Strabo against Emperor Zeno.
http://wn.com/Sabinianus_Magnus
Theodatus Ursus
http://wn.com/Theodatus_Ursus
Theodosius I
Flavius Theodosius (11 January 347 – 17 January 395), commonly known as Theodosius I or Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 378 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War - establishing their homeland south of the Danube within the empire's borders. He is known for making Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire, issuing decrees that effectively worked towards melding the Roman state and the Christian Church into a single de facto church-state entity.
http://wn.com/Theodosius_I
Valentinian I
Flavius Valentinianus (321 – 17 November 375), commonly known as Valentinian I or Valentinian the Great, was Roman Emperor from 364 to 375. He was the last emperor to have de facto control of the entire empire. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west. During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across the Rhine and Danube rivers. He rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers – even building fortresses in enemy territory. Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor". He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
http://wn.com/Valentinian_I
Varanes (consul 410)
Varanes (floruit 393–410) was a politician and general of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires.
http://wn.com/Varanes_(consul_410)
Zeno (consul 448)
Flavius Zeno (floruit 447-451) was an influential general and politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, of Isaurian origin, who reached the ranks of magister militum per Orientem, consul and patricius.
http://wn.com/Zeno_(consul_448)
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno (; ; c. 425 – 9 April 491), originally named Tarasis, was Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. His reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire under Julius Nepos and Romulus Augustulus, but he contributed much to stabilizing the eastern Empire.
http://wn.com/Zeno_(emperor)

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Incoming Episode 40

Order: Reorder
Duration: 9:03
Published: 30 Mar 2010
Uploaded: 15 Mar 2011
Author: eqnws

Welcome to Episode 40 of the Incoming Video Podcast. This show looks back at new releases of historical miniatures for w/e 26th March 2010, and includes new figures from Magister Militum, Empress Miniatures, Warlord Games and Renegade Miniatures.

Incoming! Episode 37

Order: Reorder
Duration: 9:21
Published: 11 Mar 2010
Uploaded: 23 Nov 2010
Author: eqnws

Welcome to Incoming! - the video podcast of the weeks historical miniature release. This episode looks back at releases for w/e 5th March 2010. New releases in this show include new models from Trent Miniatures, Copplestone Castings, Musketeer Miniatures and Magister Militum.

Partowie

Order: Reorder
Duration: 1:15
Published: 07 Nov 2008
Uploaded: 27 Aug 2010
Author: Cisza01

Figurki Partów i Rzymian 10mm Ancients

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Magister militum

, 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 the Soldiers") was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, 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.

Establishment and development of the office

The title of magister militum was created in the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine the Great deprived the praetorian prefects of their military functions. Initially two posts were created, one as head of the foot troops, as the magister peditum ("Master of the Foot"), and one for the more prestigious horse troops, the magister equitum ("Master of the Horse"). The latter title had existed since Republican times, as the second-in-command to a Roman dictator. Under Constantine's successors, the title was 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 under a single person, then styled magister equitum et peditum or magister utriusquae militiae ("master of both forces"). As such they were directly in command of the local mobile field army of the comitatenses, composed mostly of cavalry, which acted as a rapid reaction force. Other magistri remained at the immediate disposal of the Emperors, and were termed in praesenti ("in the presence" of the Emperor). By the late 4th century, the regional commanders were termed simply magister militum.

In the Western Empire, a "commander-in-chief" was sometimes appointed with the title of magister utriusquae militiae. This powerful office was often the power behind the throne and was held by Stilicho, Ricimer and others. In the East, there were two senior generals, who were 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, three new posts were created: the magister militum per Armeniam in the Armenian 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 (ca. 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: Flavius Bauto, magister militum under Valentinian II 385/8-394: Arbogast, magister militum under Valentinian II and Eugenius

421–432: Flavius Gaudentius

383–388: Andragathius

433–454: Flavius Aetius

455: Avitus

455–472: Ricimer

456: Remistus

472–473: Gundobad

475–476: Flavius Orestes

? – 480: Ovida

per Gallias

352–355: Claudius Silvanus

362–364: Flavius Iovinus, magister equitum under Julian and Jovian

410s–421: Flavius Constantius

425–433: Flavius Aetius

452–456: Agrippinus

456–465: Aegidius

461/462: Agrippinus

465–486: Syagrius

per Illyricum

?-350: Vetranio, magister peditum under Constans 361: Flavius Iovinus, magister equitum under Julian 365–375: Equitius, magister utriusquae militiae under Valentinian I

457?–468: Marcellinus

468–474: Julius Nepos

477–479: Onoulphus

479–481: Sabinianus Magnus

530–536: Mundus

per Orientem

ca. 347: Flavius Eusebius, magister utriusquae militiae 349–359: Ursicinus, magister equitum under Constantius 359–360: Sabinianus, magister equitum under Constantius 363–367: Lupicinus, magister equitum under Jovian and Valens 371–378: Iulius, magister equitum et Peditum under Valens 383: Flavius Richomeres, magister equitum et peditum 383–388: Ellebichus, magister equitum et peditum 392: Eutherius, magister equitum et peditum 393–396: Addaeus, magister equitum et peditum

395/400: Fravitta

433–446: Anatolius

447–451: Zeno

460s: Flavius 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: Marcianus

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 Thracias

377–378: Flavius Saturninus, magister equitum under Valens 377–378: Traianus, magister peditum under Valens 378: Sebastianus, magister peditum under Valens 380–383: Flavius Saturninus, magister peditum under Theodosius I 392–393: Flavius Stilicho, magister equitum et peditum

412–414: Constans

441: Ioannes the Vandal, magister utriusque militiae

468–474: Armatus

474: Heraclius of Edessa

in praesenti

351–361: Flavius Arbitio, magister equitum under Constantius 361–363: Flavius Nevitta, magister equitum under Julian 363–379: Victor, magister equitum under Valens 366–378: Flavius Arinthaeus, magister peditum under Valens 364–369: Flavius Iovinus, magister equitum under Valentinian I 364–366: Dagalaifus, magister peditum under Valentinian I 367–372: Severus, magister peditum under Valentinian I 369–373: Flavius Theodosius, magister equitum under Valentinian I 375–388: Merobaudes, magister peditum under Valentinian I, Gratian and Magnus Maximus

388-395: Timasius

394–408: Flavius Stilicho, magister equitum et peditum

400: Fravitta

409: Varanes and Arsacius

419-: Plinta

443–451: Apollonius

450–451: Anatolius

475-477/478: Armatus

485-: Longinus

492–499: John the Hunchback

546–548: Artabanes

585-?: Comentiolus

per Africam

Western Empire

373–375: Flavius Theodosius, magister equitum 386–398: Gildo, magister equitum et peditum

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

Magistri militum in Byzantine and medieval Italy

Venice

700s: Marcellus

737: Domenico Leoni under Leo III the Isaurian

738: Felice Cornicola under Leo III the Isaurian

739: Theodatus Ursus under Leo III the Isaurian

741: Ioannes Fabriacius under Leo III the Isaurian

764–787: Mauricius Galba

Later, less formal use of the term

By the twelfth 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 Early English account into Latin. It seems possible that the writer of the original version, now lost, thought of him as the 'hereward' – the supervisor of the military force. That this later use of these terms was based on the classical concept seems clear.

References

Sources

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE), Vols. I-III

Category:Ancient Roman titles Category:Positions of authority Category:Byzantine military offices Category:Late Roman military ranks

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