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The Stratioti or Stradioti (Italian: stradioti or stradiotti), were Albanian, Croatian, Greek and Serbian mercenary units recruited mainly by states of southern and central Europe from the 15th until the early 17th century. The Venetians used them first in their campaigns against the Ottomans and, from c. 1475, as frontier troops in Friuli. Starting from that period, they began to replace almost entirely the Venetian light cavalry in the army of the Republic of Venice. Impressed by the unorthodox tactics of the Stradioti, other European powers (such as France and Spain) quickly began to hire mercenaries from the same region.

Name

The Italian term stradioti is either a loan from the Greek word stratiotai (Greek: στρατιώται), or soldiers, or derives from the Italian word strada ('street'), meaning 'wayfarer'.

History

The stradioti were recruited in Albania, Greece, Dalmatia, and later Cyprus. Among their leaders there were also members of some old Byzantine Greek noble families such as the Palaiologi and Comneni. Around 80% of the listed names attributed to the stradioti were of Albanian origin while most of the remaining ones, especially those of officers, were of Greek origin; a small minority were of South Slavic origin.

Tactics and Equipment

Stratioti were pioneers of light cavalry tactics during this era. In the early 16th century heavy cavalry in the European armies was principally remodeled after Albanian stratioti of the Venetian army, Hungarian hussars German mercenary cavalry units. They employed hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, feigned retreats and other complex maneuvers. In some ways, these tactics echoed those of the Ottoman Sipahis and Akinci. They had some notable successes also against French heavy cavalry during the Italian Wars. They used spears called Assegai, as well as swords, maces, crossbows and daggers. They traditionally dressed in a mixture of Ottoman, Byzantine and European garb: the armor was initially a simply mail hauberk, but became heavier as years passed. Stradioti were mercenaries and received wages only as long as their military services were needed.

Notable Stratioti

• Mercurio Bua
• Krokodeilos Kladas

References

1. Tardivel, Louis (1991). Répertoire des emprunts du français aux langues étrangères (in French). Québec : Septentrion: Sillery. p. 134.
2. B. N. Floria, "Vykhodtsy iz Balkanakh stran na russkoi sluzhbe," Balkanskia issledovaniia. 3. Osloboditel'nye dvizheniia na Balkanakh (Moscow, 1978), pp. 57-63.
3. Hungary and the fall of Eastern Europe 1000-1568 by David Nicolle, Angus McBride: "John Comnenus settled Serbs as stratioti around Izmir..."
4. Nicol, Donald M. (1988). Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural relations. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 37. "Young men recruited from among Greeks and Albanians. They were known as stradioti from the Greek word for soldier."
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pappas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. Nicolle, 1989.
7. Nicolle, 2002
8. Downing, Brian (1992). The military revolution and political change: origins of democracy and autocracy in early modern Europe. Princeton University Press. p. 66. ISBN 0691024758.
9. Nicolle, 1989.
10. Hoerder, p. 63. "Throughout Europe footmen replaced knights, that is, cavalry. They used new weapons and came with regionally varying skills: English archers and crossbowmen, Swiss pikemen, Flemish burgher forces, and, later, Italian gunfighters or exiled Albanian and Greekstradioti on light horse (from Italian strada: street). Mercenaries hired on for pay under "military enterprisers" received wages only as long as work was available."

Sources

• Nicholas C. J. Pappas, "Stradioti: Balkan mercenaries in fifteenth and sixteenth century Italy"
• R. Lopez, Il principio della guerra veneto-turca nel 1463. "Archivio Veneto", 5 serie, 15 (1934), σ. 47-131.
• Αντ. Γ. Μομφερράτου, Σιγισμούνδος Πανδόλφος Μαλατέστας. Πόλεμος Ενετών και Τούρκων εν Πελοποννήσω κατά 1463-6. Αθήνα, 1914.
• David Nicolle, The Venetian Empire, 1200-1670, 1989 ISBN 0-85045-899-4.
• Donald M. Nicol, The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans, 2002. ISBN 0-521-46717-9.
• Hoerder, Dirk. Cultures in Contact: World Migrations in the Second Millennium. Duke University Press, 2002. ISBN 0822328348
• Nasa Patapiou "Η κάθοδος των ελληνοαλβανών Stratioti στην Κύπρο (16αι)" ('The migration of the Greek-Albanian Stratioti to Cyprus, 16th century'). Επετηρίδα του Κέντρου Επιστημονικών Ερευνών 24 (1998) 161-209.
• Diana Gilliland Wright, Bartolomeo Minio: Venetian administration in 15th-Century Nauplion. Doctoral dissertation, The Catholic University of America, Washington DC, 1999. pp. 64-68 et passim (Online Chapter).

External links

• Κ. Ν. Sathas, Documents inédits relatifs à l' histoire de la Grèce au Moyen Âge, publiés sous les auspices de la Chambre des députés de Grèce. Tom. VI: Jacomo Barbarigo, Dispacci della guerra di Peloponneso (1465-6), Paris, 1880-90, σ. 1-116.
• Αντ. Χ. Χατζή, Οι Ραούλ, Ράλ, Ράλαι 1080-1800. Ιστορική Μονογραφία, Μόναχο, 1909, σ. 48-50.
• Curt Johnson :The French Army of the Early Italian Wars

• Mercenary units and formations
• Military history of the Republic of Venice
• History of Naples
• Italian people of Croatian descent
• Arvanites
• Italian people of Albanian descent
• Greek people
• Italian people of Greek descent
• People of Cypriot descent