A droungarios, also spelled drungarios (Greek: δρουγγάριος, Latin: drungarius) and sometimes anglicized as Drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine empires, signifying the commander of a formation known as droungos.
In the late 6th century, the Emperor Maurice (r. 582–602) in his Strategikon used droungos to refer to a specific tactical deployment, usually of cavalry, although still in the general sense of "grouping, division".
The office and the corresponding unit appear to have initially referred to ad hoc arrangements, but during the early 7th century these were formalized, like much of the Eastern Roman army's rank structure.
[4] [5] The prefix megas ("grand") was added to the title, reflecting the fact that in the Komnenian period, its holders, men like Andronikos Kamateros, were among the Byzantine emperor's senior aides.
The droungarios tou [basilikou] ploïmou (δρουγγάριος τοῦ [βασιλικοῦ] πλοΐμου) was the commander of the central Imperial Fleet, based at and around Constantinople.