droungos
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Droungos (Greek: , sometimes δρόγγος, 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 "" or "" (δρουγγάριος), anglicized as "Drungary".
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Droungos (Greek: , sometimes δρόγγος, 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 "" or "" (δρουγγάριος), anglicized as "Drungary".
==History and functions== The term is first attested in Latin in the late 4th century AD. It derives from Gaulish * (see Old Irish ; Old Breton or ), meaning "tribe", "group", "throng" or "crowd". An alternative Germanic etymology () cited by some historians, originates in 17th-century guesswork which has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of philologists. The earliest usage of in Latin is non-technical and similarly signifies a generic "band" or "troop", which Vegetius equates to Latin .