Also known as: strator · stratores · στράτωρ
The Middle Bulgarian title appears as “страторь”, with the plural forms “стратори” and “страторѣ”. The word is of Greek origin and belongs to military and equestrian terminology. In Bulgarian sources, the strator occurs only in the protective clauses of three royal charters—lists of officials forbidden to infringe the rights and property granted by the ruler. The office stands ninth in the Virgino Charter, fourteenth in the Rila Charter, and fifteenth in the Vitosha Charter. No individual holder is named.
The Byzantine predecessor is well attested in earlier lists of offices and court ranks, including the Uspensky Taktikon and the treatise of Philotheos. The stratores originally formed the emperor’s mounted escort and were organized as a court schola, or official corps, headed by the protostrator. The office later became predominantly honorary and occupied the thirteenth position in the relevant hierarchy. The last Byzantine references to these stratores date from the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.
The title survived longer in some Balkan states. In King Milutin’s charter of 1300 for the monastery of St George Gorgos near Skopje, the Serbian strator stands sixth among the listed officials. The document, however, does not explain his duties. Serbian usage in the recently annexed Macedonian territories may have been influenced by Bulgarian practice. North of the Danube, the similar title “stratornic” is also found, but it denoted a different institution: a court office equivalent to the postelnic, originating in personal service to the ruler and gradually developing into a largely titular dignity.
The Bulgarian strator cannot be directly identified with his Byzantine counterpart. The Constantinopolitan office belonged to the imperial court and became increasingly honorary, whereas the Bulgarian charters present the strator as a low-ranking provincial official. The Greek origin of the title and its probable connection with Byzantine tradition are clear, but institutional continuity cannot be demonstrated. It is not known whether the court at Tarnovo included a separate corps of stratores comparable to that of the Byzantine emperor. A palace office may conceivably have had provincial counterparts, but this remains conjectural.
The most likely interpretation is that the Bulgarian strator was a junior military official concerned with the organization or command of cavalry within a particular territorial district. This conclusion rests chiefly on the meaning and history of the title rather than on any direct description of his duties. His position near the bottom of the lists in all three charters confirms his relatively low rank. The surviving evidence records no insignia, seals, or coins associated with stratores and does not establish when the office was introduced or when it disappeared.
The Middle Bulgarian title appears as “страторь,” with the plural forms “стратори” and “страторѣ.” It comes from Greek and belongs to military and horse-related language. In Bulgarian sources, the strator appears only in the protective clauses of three royal charters—lists of officials who were forbidden to interfere with the rights and property granted by the ruler. In the Virgino Charter, the office is ninth; in the Rila Charter, fourteenth; and in the Vitosha Charter, fifteenth. No named holder of the office survives.
The Byzantine predecessor is much better documented in earlier lists of offices and court ranks, including the Uspensky Taktikon and the treatise of Philotheos. At first, the stratores made up the emperor’s mounted escort and were organized as a court schola, meaning an official corps, led by the protostrator. Later, the office became mainly honorary and took the thirteenth place in the relevant ranking. The last Byzantine references to these stratores come from the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.
The title lasted longer in some Balkan states. In King Milutin’s charter of 1300 for the monastery of St George Gorgos near Skopje, the Serbian strator stands sixth among the listed officials. The document, however, says nothing about his duties. Serbian use of the title in the recently annexed Macedonian territories may have been influenced by Bulgarian practice. North of the Danube, the similar title “stratornic” also appears, but it referred to a different institution: a court office equivalent to the postelnic, which began as personal service to the ruler and gradually turned into a mostly honorary dignity.
The Bulgarian strator cannot be directly identified with the Byzantine one. The office at Constantinople belonged to the imperial court and became more and more honorary, while the Bulgarian charters present the strator as a low-ranking provincial official. The Greek origin of the title and its likely link to Byzantine tradition are clear, but there is no proof of a direct institutional connection. It is not known whether the court at Tarnovo had a separate group of stratores like the Byzantine emperor’s. A palace office may have had provincial counterparts, but that remains only a possibility.
The most likely explanation is that the Bulgarian strator was a junior military official responsible for organizing or commanding cavalry in a particular district. This view rests mainly on the meaning and history of the title, not on any direct description of his tasks. His place near the bottom of the lists in all three charters shows that he held a relatively low rank. The surviving evidence mentions no insignia, seals, or coins linked to stratores, and it does not show when the office began or when it disappeared.
This Bulgarian title appears only in three royal charters from the medieval Bulgarian kingdom. It is listed low in the ranks each time, and no person who held it is named.
The word came from Greek and had an older Byzantine model. In Byzantium, it first meant a mounted guard officer, then became mostly an honor title. But the Bulgarian office was not the same thing. It seems to have been a lower local post.
The most likely meaning is that it was a junior military officer linked to cavalry in a district. It is important because it shows how Bulgarian rule borrowed and changed older Byzantine titles, but the exact duties and start and end dates are still unknown.