Thelogothetes tou stratiotikou (Greek:λογοθέτης τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ), rendered inEnglish as theLogothete of the Military orMilitary Logothete, was aByzantineimperial official in charge of the pay and provisioning of theByzantine army. The office appears in the late 7th century and is mentioned until the 14th century.

This duty was originally exercised by thepraetorian prefecture, but the military chest (το στρατιωτικόν,to stratiotikon) was eventually detached and formed as a separatelogothesion (department). The first attestedlogothetes tou stratiotikou was Julian, the "most gloriousapo hypaton andpatrikios" in 680.^[1][2]

The exact sphere of duties of the Military Logothete is somewhat obscure. The only direct evidence as to his functions comes from theDe Ceremoniis of EmperorConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), 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.[2] Several scholars (notablyErnst Stein) 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.^[2]

The subordinates of thelogothetes tou stratiotikou were:

• Thechartoularioi of thesekreton (χαρτουλάριοι τοῦ σεκρέτου), the senior subaltern officials of the department.^[1]
• Thechartoularioi of thethemata (χαρτουλάριοι τῶν θεμάτων) and thetagmata (χαρτουλάριοι τῶν ταγμάτων), supervising the financial affairs of the thematic troops and the imperialtagmata, respectively.^[1]
• A number oflegatarioi (λεγατάριοι), whose exact function is unknown.^[3][4]
• Theoptiones (ὀπτίονες, fromLatinoptio), officials responsible for the distribution of pay to the troops.^[4]
• A number ofkankellarioi under aprotokankellarios.^[4]
• A number ofmandatores ('messengers').^[4]

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 oflogothetes tou stratiotikou:Alexander "Scissors", active in Greece and Italy inc. 540–541;[12]^[13] thepatrikios and formerpraetorian prefectArchelaus, who accompaniedBelisarius as his quartermaster in theVandalic War;^[12][14] and the senatorSymmachus, who was sent to Africa as praetorian prefect and quartermaster forGermanus in 536–539.^[6][15]

• Bury, J. B. (1911).The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century – With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos. London: Oxford University Press.OCLC 1046639111.
• Carr, M. (2015). "Crossing Boundaries in the Mediterranean: Papal Trade Licences from the Registra supplicationum of Pope Clement VI (1342-1352)."Journal of Medieval History 41, 107-29.
• Guilland, Rodolphe (1971)."Les Logothètes: Etudes sur l'histoire administrative de l'Empire byzantin" [The Logothetes: Studies on the Administrative History of the Byzantine Empire].Revue des études byzantines (in French).29:5–115.doi:10.3406/rebyz.1971.1441.
• Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
• Martindale, John R., ed. (1980).The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume II, AD 395–527. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-20159-4.
• Martindale, John R., ed. (1992).The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume III, AD 527–641. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-20160-8.
• Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Walther, Rainer; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja; Kislinger, Ewald; Leontiadis, Ioannis; Kaplaneres, Sokrates (1976–1996).Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.ISBN 3-7001-3003-1.

• Byzantine fiscal offices
• Byzantine military offices
• Logothetai tou stratiotikou

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