Protostrator

Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. Its proximity to the imperial person led to a highly visible role in imperial ceremonies, and served as a springboard for several capable individuals, like Manuel the Armenian or the future emperors Michael II and Basil I the Macedonian, to reach the highest offices. From the mid-11th century, the post rose in importance, becoming more an honorific dignity for senior members of the court, than an actual office. From the 13th century on, the post could be held by several persons, and ranked eighth in the overall hierarchy of the court. Throughout its history, it was a title often borne by senior military commanders. The female form of the title, given to the wives of the prōtostratores, was prōtostratorissa (πρωτοστρατόρισσα). History and evolution The title means "first ", reflecting the office's initial nature as chief of the imperial order (taxis) of the (στράτορες, "grooms"), who formed a schola stratorum, as attested for staff of the praetorian prefect of Africa in the 6th century. A appears under Justinian II and a prōtostratōr of the Opsikion named Rouphos in 712. The first holder of the post to be mentioned as a relatively important personage, however, is the Constantine, son of the Bardanes, mentioned near the bottom of a list of victims of iconoclast persecution under Constantine V in 765. The spatharios Constantine is also the first known holder of the post of "imperial prōtostratōr" (βασιλικός πρωτοστράτωρ, ). During the middle Byzantine period (up to the late 11th century), the official place of the imperial in the hierarchy was not high, but its proximity to the emperor did facilitate a rapid rise of its holders, as exemplified by the career of Manuel the Armenian or the future emperors Michael II and Basil I the Macedonian. In the Klētorologion of 899 he is recorded as one of the "special dignities" and ranked 48th among the sixty most senior palace officials. Holders of the post could aspire to some of the highest court ranks, such as anthypatos patrikios or prōtospatharios. The imperial prōtostratōr had a prominent place in public ceremonies, riding beside the emperor on processions (along with his superior, the Count of the Stable) or during the hunt. During campaigns, he and the Count of the Stable stood by near the imperial tent, along with three stratores with harnessed horses.