Byzantine military manuals
Encyclopedia
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Military science
Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for...
produced in the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
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Background
The East Roman or Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
was, for much of its history, one of the major powers of the medieval world. The inheritor of the traditions and institutions of the Roman Empire, throughout its history it was assailed on all sides by various numerically superior enemies. The Empire therefore maintained a highly sophisticated military system, which relied on discipline, training, knowledge of tactics and a well-organized support system. A crucial element in the maintenance and spreading of this military know-how, along with traditional histories, were the various treatises and practical manuals. These continued a tradition that stretched back to Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
and Aeneas the Tactician
Aeneas Tacticus
Aeneas Tacticus was one of the earliest Greek writers on the art of war.According to Aelianus Tacticus and Polybius, he wrote a number of treatises on the subject. The only extant one, How to Survive under Siege , deals with the best methods of defending a fortified city...
, and many Byzantine military manuals excerpt or adapt the works of ancient authors, especially Aelian
Aelianus Tacticus
Aelianus Tacticus was a Greek military writer of the 2nd century, resident at Rome.Aelian's military treatise in fifty-three chapters on the tactics of the Greeks, titled "On Tactical Arrays of the Greeks" , is dedicated to Hadrian, though this is probably a mistake for Trajan, and the date 106...
and Onasander
Onasander
Onasander, Onisander or Onosander was a Greek philosopher. He was the author of a commentary on the Republic of Plato, which is lost, but we still possess his Strategikos , a short but comprehensive work on the duties of a general. It is dedicated to Quintus Veranius Nepos, consul in AD 49, and...
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List of works
A large corpus of Byzantine military literature survives. Characteristically Byzantine manuals were first produced in the sixth century. They greatly proliferate in the tenth century, when the Byzantines embarked on their conquests in the East and the Balkans, but production abated after the early eleventh century. There is some evidence of similar works being written in the Palaiologan era, but with one exception, none survives.- Urbicius wrote a military pamphlet addressed to Anastasius I (r. 491–518). In the manuscripts it is transmitted as two independent tracts. First, the Tacticon is an epitome of the first part (chs. 1–32) of ArrianArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
’s Ars Tactica (AD 136/7), a conventional treatment of an idealised infantry phalanx. Second, the Epitedeuma or 'Invention' is Urbicius’ own design for a type of portable cheval de friseCheval de friseThe cheval de frise was a Medieval defensive obstacle consisting of a portable frame covered with many long iron or wooden spikes or even actual spears. They were principally intended as an anti-cavalry obstacle but could also be moved quickly to help block a breach in another barrier...
. The attribution to Urbicius of a third work, the so-called ‘Cynegeticus’, is spurious and results from confused scholarship in the 1930s. One manuscript (M) ascribes Maurice’s Strategikon to Urbicius, but this is demonstrably the copyist’s error.
- Syrianus (formerly the “Sixth-Century Byzantine Anonymous” or Anonymus Byzantinus) wrote a large, wide-ranging military compendium. Three substantial sections survive, which are transmitted independently in the manuscript tradition and have been edited in separate publications. Scholarship dating as far back as the seventeenth century has consistently recognised the textual unity of these three pieces, but errors in mid twentieth-century studies prolonged their separation. The three components are: 1: a treatise on land warfare under the modern titles or De Re Strategica, most recently published as "The Anonymous Byzantine Treatise on Strategy". 2: a treatise on military oratory under the modern title Rhetorica Militaris, often ascribed to the same "Anonymous". 3: the Naumachia (Ναυμαχίαι), a treatise on naval warfare, which in the unique manuscript bears an ascription to a Syrianus Magister . Recognition of the common authorship of all three sections necessarily assigns the entire compendium to this author. A new edition of the complete compendium is in preparation. The constituent parts of the compendium have traditionally been dated to the sixth century, but the evidence is weak and all recent studies have identified features more congruent with a date of composition in the ninth century.
- The Strategikon attributed to the Emperor MauriceMaurice (emperor)Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...
(r. 582–602) was compiled in the late sixth century. It is a large twelve-book compendium treating all aspects of contemporary land warfare. The author is especially concerned to clarify procedures for the deployment and tactics of cavalry, particularly in response to AvarEurasian AvarsThe Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
victories in the 580s-590s. He favours indirect forms of combat - ambushes, ruses, nocturnal raids and skirmishing on difficult terrain - and he also exhibits a good understanding of military psychology and morale. Book XI offers an innovative analysis of the fighting methods, customs and habitat of the Empire's most significant enemies, as well as recommendations for campaigning north of the Danube against the Slavs, another strategic concern of the 590s. The Strategikon exercised a profound influence upon the subsequent Byzantine genre.
- The Problemata of the Emperor Leo VI the WiseLeo VI the WiseLeo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
(r. 886–912), compiled ca. 890s, comprise excerpts of Maurice's Strategikon arranged in a question-and-answer format.
- The TacticaTactica of Emperor Leo VI the WiseThe Tactica is a military treatise written by or on behalf of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise in ca. 895-908. Drawing on earlier authors such as Aelian, Onasander and the Strategikon of emperor Maurice, it is one of the major works on Byzantine military tactics, written on the eve of Byzantium's...
of Leo VI was written ca. 895-908. At its core is a re-edition of Maurice's Strategikon, often reproduced verbatim, and additional material drawn from Hellenistic military treatises, especially OnasanderOnasanderOnasander, Onisander or Onosander was a Greek philosopher. He was the author of a commentary on the Republic of Plato, which is lost, but we still possess his Strategikos , a short but comprehensive work on the duties of a general. It is dedicated to Quintus Veranius Nepos, consul in AD 49, and...
. However, it also includes expansions and modifications to reflect contemporary practice, especially against the Arabs and the Hungarians, as well as chapters on naval warfare (peri naumachias). A new critical edition with translation is forthcoming from Dumbarton Oaks (2010).
- The Sylloge Tacticorum , compiled in the latter half of the 10th century, possibly during the reign of Constantine VIIConstantine VIIConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
. The text is divided into two major sections: the first (chapters 1 to 56) draws upon various earlier authors and provides advice on generalship, battle formations and tactics, and siege warfare. The second half (chapters 57 to 102) deals with mechanival devices employed by past generals, drawing chiefly from ancient authors. Nevertheless, sections on contemporary warfare and comparison with earlier models (chapters 30-39 and 46-47) are also included, and were used as a basis for the later Praecepta Militaria.
- The so-called "Three Treatises on Imperial Military ExpeditionsThree Treatises on Imperial Military ExpeditionsThe Three Treatises on Imperial Military Expeditions is the conventional title given to a Byzantine literary treatise on warfare associated with Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos , giving advice on how an emperor should prepare and mount a military campaign...
", an appendix to the De CeremoniisDe CeremoniisDe Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a description of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. It is sometimes called De ceremoniis aulae byzantinae...
of Emperor Constantine VIIConstantine VIIConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
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- The De velitatione bellicaDe velitatione bellicaDe velitatione bellica is the conventional Latin title for the Byzantine military treatise on skirmishing and guerrilla-type border warfare, composed ca. 970. Its original Greek title is .- Historical context :...
attributed to Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969), but actually written on his orders, possibly by his brother Leo. It is an essay on light infantry and skirmishing warfare, written ca. 975 based on Phokas' notes on the cross-border raids and skirmishes between Byzantines and Arabs during the first half of the 10th century. Emphasis is given on reconnaissance, the use of the terrain and night, and instructions are provided on various scenarios, from countering raids or large-scale invasions to sieges.
- The Praecepta militariaPraecepta MilitariaThe Praecepta Militaria is the Latin conventional title given to a Byzantine military treatise, written in ca. 965 by or on behalf of Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phokas...
of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, six chapters written in c. 965, which presents the army of the latter 10th century during the "Byzantine Reconquest" in the East. Various operational scenarios are discussed; for a pitched battle, Phokas describes the use of a strong infantry formation that anchors the battle line and the use of heavy cavalry, especially cataphracts, as the main striking force. The text also includes information on the setting up of camps, reconnaissance and the use of spies, as well as the army's religious ceremonies. The chapters are included and partially amended to account for the early 11th-century situation in the later Tactica of Nikephoros Ouranos.
- The Parangelmata Poliorcetica, a manual on siege warfare, by the so-called Hero of ByzantiumHero of ByzantiumHero of Byzantium is believed to be the literary pseudonym of an otherwise anonymous Byzantine author of a poliorketikon, an illustrated manual of siegecraft, dating from circa 950. He is also credited with the Geodaesia, a work in practical geometry and ballistics which makes use of locations...
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- The Tactica of Nikephoros OuranosNikephoros OuranosNikephoros Ouranos was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II. One of the emperor's closest associates, he was active in Europe in the wars against the Bulgarians, scoring a major victory at Spercheios, and against the Arabs in Syria, where he held...
, one of the best generals of Basil IIBasil IIBasil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
, written ca. 1000. It draws upon the Praecepta, Leo VI's Tactica and other works, but also includes chapters from Ouranos' own experience on raiding and sieges.
- The StrategikonStrategikon of KekaumenosThe Strategikon of Kekaumenos is a late 11th century Byzantine manual offering advice on warfare and the handling of public and domestic affairs.The book was composed between 1075 and 1078 by its author, a Byzantine general of partly Armenian descent...
of KekaumenosKekaumenosKekaumenos is the family name of the otherwise anonymous Byzantine author of the Strategikon, a manual on military and household affairs composed c. 1078. He was apparently of Graeco-Armenian origin and the grandson of the doux of Hellas...
, written ca. 1075–1078. Not strictly a military manual, it contains general advice in military, administrative and household affairs, often illustrated by examples from 11th century events.
- Instructions and Prescriptions for a Lord who has wars to fight and government to exercise, written by Theodore Palaiologos, Marquess of MontferratTheodore I, Marquess of MontferratTheodore I Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Marquess of Montferrat from 1306 until his death.He was a son of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and Irene of Montferrat...
in Greek and then translated into Latin (in the 1320a) and French. It is however more influenced by Western models, rather than reflecting Byzantine tradition.