Droungos
(
Greek
:
δρο?γγο?
, sometimes δρ?γγο?,
drongos
) or
drungus
is a late
Roman
and
Byzantine
term for a battalion-sized military unit, and later for a local command guarding mountain districts. Its commander was a "
droungarios
" or "
drungarius
" (δρουγγ?ριο?), anglicized as "Drungary".
History and functions
[
edit
]
The term
drungus
is first attested in
Latin
in the late 4th century AD. It derives from
Gaulish
*
dhrungho
(see
Old Irish
drong
;
Old Breton
drogn
or
drog
), meaning "tribe", "group", "throng" or "crowd". An alternative
Germanic
etymology (
thrunga
) cited by some historians,
[1]
originates in 17th-century guesswork which has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of philologists.
[2]
The earliest usage of
drungus
in Latin is non-technical and similarly signifies a generic "band" or "troop", which Vegetius equates to Latin
globus
.
[3]
The term first occurs in Greek as
droungos
(
δρο?γγο?
) or
drongos
(δρ?γγο?), with the same meaning, in the early 5th century.
[4]
In the late 6th century, the Emperor
Maurice
(r. 582?602) applies
droungos
to a specific tactical deployment, usually of cavalry, characterised as a compact non-linear grouping suited to outflanking tactics, ambushes and irregular operations. He is the first author to employ the cognate adverb
droungisti
(Greek: δρουγγιστ?), with the sense of "in group formation" or "small-group tactics".
[5]
Maurice also occasionally employs
droungos
as a generic expression for larger "groupings" or "formations" of troops, though in this sense he refers only to a "division" (
meros
) and never to a "brigade" (
moira
) with which
droungos
became associated in later sources.
[6]
By the middle of the 7th century, this meaning had been superseded by a new meaning, which it held until the 11th century. The
droungos
, alternatively known as a
moira
(μο?ρα), was now formalized as a regular subdivision of a
tourma
, the chief subdivision of the new
themata
(θ?ματα, singular: θ?μα). In turn, each
droungos
was composed of several
banda
(singular:
bandon
). Thus each
moira
or
droungos
was the analogue of a modern regiment or brigade, initially circa 1000 men strong (and hence also referred to as a
chiliarchia
). On occasion, it could rise to 3000 men, and Emperor
Leo VI the Wise
(r. 886?912) is recorded as having established
droungoi
of only 400 men for the new smaller themes created during his reign.
[7]
From the late 12th century onwards, the term
droungos
was applied to mountainous areas in
Greece
, and was associated with the meaning of "pass" or "mountain range" (
zygos
). In the 13th century, it also came to designate the military units detailed to guard these locations, similar to the earlier
kleisourai
.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
---|
Preceding
| |
---|
Early
(330–717)
| |
---|
Middle
(717–1204)
| |
---|
Late
(1204–1453)
| |
---|
By modern region
or territory
| |
---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
---|
Modern
| |
---|
Defunct
| |
---|
Historical
| |
---|