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THE ARMIES OF THE EARLY BYZANTINE EMPIRE Just as the or, more properly, ''Βασιλεία Ρωμαίων'') was a continuation of the Roman Empire , so the Byzantine army was an outgrowth of the earlier Roman Structure . Provinces (''provinciae'') were originally under civilian jurisdiction, with governors appointed by the Roman Senatus or by the Emperor himself; the army consisted of thirty-odd legions quartered along the inhabited borders of the empire (See List Of Roman Legions ). The old Roman systems lasted until the early 7th century AD. The System of Diocletian and Constantine The Eastern Empire dates from the creation of the Tetrarchy (''Quadrumvirate'') by the emperor Diocletianus in AD 293. His plans for succession did not outlive his lifetime, but his reorganization of the army did by centuries. Rather than maintain the traditional infantry-heavy legions, Diocletian reformed it into border and field units. There was an expansion of the importance of the Cavalry , though the Infantry still remained the major component of the Roman armies, in contrary to common belief. For example, in 478, an Eastern field army consisted of 8,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry and it can be calculated that in 357 Julian had 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry at Strasbourg. But the importance of cavalry for the commanding officers, though not the numbers, did increase, and by the time of Justinian, the numbers had increased, too. Precisely why and when is unknown, but this was surely assisted by the introduction and development of the Saddle and the Stirrup in the early Dark Ages and by the development of horses on the Iranian Plateau sturdy enough to carry a man in full armor. The border (''limitanei'') units were to occupy the '' Limes '', the Roman border fortifications. The field units, by contrast, were to stay well behind the border and move quickly where they were needed, whether for offensive or defensive roles, as well as forming an army against usurpers. The field units were held to high standards and took precedence over Limitanei in pay and provisions. Cavalry formed about 1/3 of the units, but as a result of smaller units, about 1/4 of the Roman armies consisted of cavalry. About half the cavalry consisted of heavy cavalry, wearing varying names: ''scutarii'', ''promoti'' and ''stablesiani'' to name some. They were basically spear or lance and sword armed, mail-armoured cavalry. Some had bows, but they were meant for mêlée. In the field armies there was a component of some 15% of Cataphract i or Clibanarii , heavily armoured cavalry who used shock tactics. There were also horse archers (''Equites Sagitarii'') and several sorts of light cavalry. The light cavalry featured high amongst the Limitanei, being very useful troops on patrol. The infantry of the ''Comitatenses'' was organized in regiments (inconsequently named ''Legio'', ''Auxilia'' or just ''Numerus'') of about 1,200 men. They were still the heavy infantry of old, with a spear, sword, body armour and a helmet. But now each regiment was supported by a detachmment of archers and some skirmishers. But if needed, the infantry could lay off (some of) their armour to act in a more flexible way as Modares did (according to Zosimus) during the Gothic wars of the 370s. The regiments were commanded by a Tribune (''tribunus'') and brigaded in pairs (cavalry units did, too) under a ''Comes''. These brigades probably were tactical and strategic units only, as no traces survive of brigade staff corps. On the other hand, little is known of the Liminatei. The old legions, Cohort s and cavalry Ala e survived there, and newer units were created (the new legions, or ''auxilia'' and ''vexhillationes'', amongst the cavalry.) Possibly the Limitanei infantry was lighter-equipped than the Comitatenses infantry, but again, there is no evidence whatsoever. They were paid less than the field troops and recruited locally. Consequently, they were of inferior quality. However, they were in the line of fire. They countered most incursions and raids. Thus, it can be assumed they did have superior field experience (except in periods of long campaigning for the Comitatenses), though that experience did not extend to large battles and sieges. '' Schola e'' units, which were more properly known as the ''Schola Protectores Domestici'' and the "Protective Association of the Royal Escort" (also called the ''Obsequium''), were the personal guard of the Emperor, and were created to replace the Praetorian Guard disbanded by Constantine I . The legions in the third and fourth century consisted of:
(Source: Notitia Dignitatum ) Again note, however, that these were not the legions of the Republic or earlier Roman empire, that they consisted largely or solely of equites troops, and that they tended to be far short of the Augustinian legion component of 5,000 men. The Armies of Justinian and his Successors THE ARMIES OF THE MIDDLE BYZANTINE PERIOD The Themata
The five original themata were all in Asia Minor and designed to counter the Arab '' Jihad '' that had already consumed the Egyptian and Syrian provinces. They were:
Within each theme, eligible men were given grants of land to support their families and to equip themselves (πρόνοια). The population of the first four were directed into the army; Karabisianon supplied the men for the Navy , although shipbuilding itself was subsidized (intermittantly) by various departments of the Imperial treasury. The pattern was adopted in short order for the Empire's holdings in the West as well. Following revolts strengthened by the large size of these divisions, Leon III , Theophilos , and Leon VI all responded by breaking the themes up into smaller areas and dividing control over the armies within each theme into various ''tourmai''. Further, instead of expanding existing themes, the emperors of the resurgent Macedonian Dynasty tended to create new ones in the areas they conquered. By the time of the writing of De Thematibus in the tenth century, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus listed twenty-eight themata: In Asia:
In Europe:
Note that this is a traditional list; Sicily had been completely lost to the Arabs at the beginning of Constantine's reign in 905 and Cyprus was a Condominium jointly administered with the Muslim Khalifa until its reconquest by Nicephorus II Phocas in 965 . Constantinople itself was under an Eparchos (earlier the ''praefectus urbi'') and protected by the numerous ''tagmata'' and police forces. Under the direction of the thematic ''strategoi'', ''tourmarchai'' commanded from two up to four divisions of soldiers and territory, called ''tourmai''. Under them, the ''droungarioi'' headed subdivisions called ''droungoi'', each with a thousand soldiers. On the field, these units would be further divided into ''banda'' with a nominal strength of 300 men (although at times reduced to little more than 50.) Again, the fear of empowering effective revolts was largely behind these subdivisions (cf. Treadgold .) The Imperial Tagmata The Tagmata (τάγματα, “Battalions”) were the standing army of the Empire, typically headquartered in or around Constantinople, although in later ages they sent detachments to the provinces. The remains of Diocletianus' armies became the first tagmata, which were turned into the thematic forces under the . Around the same time, some tagmata were formed as social clubs for the well-connected nobles of the capital. Justinian, for instance, is said to have amused himself by including one of these units, the ''Scholae'', in mock active deployment lists, thus causing a panic amongst their upper class gentlemen-soldiers, who had no desire to leave the safety of Constantinople for the discomfort and danger of an actual military campaign. After the first set of thematic revolts reminded the emperors of the utility of a loyal standing force, however, the tagmata were reformed under a separate administration, improved in equipment and training, and continued to be used until the end of the empire. The four most prestigious tagmata, in order, were
All of these were cavalry units consisting of 1,000-6,000 men each. A strength of 4,000 each appears to have been standard. The ''Numeroi'' (Gr. Νούμεροι, "Bathhouse boys" for their base of operations in the city), the ''Optimatoi'' (Gr. Οπτιμάτοι, "the Best"), and the ''tagma ton Teikhon'' (Gr. Τειχών, "of the Walls") were infantry ''tagmata''. The Vigla and the Numeroi assisted in the policing of Constantinople; the tagma ton Teikheon, as the name suggests, manned the Theodosian walls and was generally responsible for the defense of the capital. In addition to these more or less stable units, any number of shorter-lived tagmata were formed as pet units of various emperors. Mikhael II raised the ''Tessarakontarioi'', a special marine unit, and John I Tzimisces created a corps called the ''Athanatoi'' (Gr. Αθάνατοι, the "Immortals") after the old Persian unit. The tagmatic units were commanded by a ''domestikos'', with a ''topoteretes'' as a lieutenant, except for the Vigla, which was commanded by a ''drungarios''. The heads of the ''banda'' comprising the units, were headed by a ''komes''. The ''Domestikos ton Scholon'', the head of the Scholae regiment, became gradually more and more important, eventually coming to be the most senior officer by the end of the 10th century. Foreign and Mercenary Soldiers Foreign troops during the late Empire were known as the ''Foederati'' ("Allies") and continued to be known as such until about the ninth century (although the title had by then been Hellenized to Phoideratoi (Gr. Φοιδεράτοι). From this point, foreign troops (mainly mercenaries) were known as the by Konstantinos Porphyrogenitos ) Additionally, during the . These mercenary units, especially the Skythikoi, were also often used as a police force in Constantinople. But, of course, the most famous of all Byzantine regiments was the legendary Varangian Guard . This unit traced its roots to the 6,000 Rus sent to Emperor Basil II by Vladimir Of Kiev in 988 . The tremendous fighting abilities of these axe-wielding, barbarian Northerners and their perceived loyalty (bought with much gold) established them as an elite body, and indeed, rose to become the Emperors’ personal bodyguard. This is further exemplified by the title of their commander, ''Akolouthos'' (Ακόλουθος, “Acolyte” to the Emperor). Initially the Varangians were mostly of Rus origin, but later many Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons (after the Norman Conquest) entered the Guard. The Varangian Guard is thought to have been disbanded after the sack of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 . THE COMNENIAN ARMY A powerful new force Under Alexius, John and Manuel Comnenus , the power of the Byzantine Empire was restored by a new professional army, which was largely composed of Byzantine citizens and powerful mercenaries. It contained formidable guards units such as the Varangian Guard and the 'Immortals' (a unit of heavy cavalry) stationed in Constantinople, and also levies from the provinces. These levies included Kataphraktoi cavalry from Macedonia, Thessaly and Thrace, and various other provincial forces such as Trebizond Archers from the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor. Under John II , a Macedonian division was maintained, and new native Byzantine troops were recruited from the provinces. Soldiers were also drawn from defeated peoples, such as the Pechenegs, who fought as cavalry archers. Native troops were organised into regular units and stationed in both the Asian and European provinces. Units of archers, infantry and cavalry were grouped together so as to provide combined arms support to each other. This Comnenian army was a highly effective, well-trained and well-equipped force, capable of campaigning in Egypt, Hungary, Italy and Palestine. However, like many aspects of the Byzantine state under the Comneni, its biggest weakness was that it relied on a powerful and competent ruler to direct and maintain its operations. While Alexius, John and Manuel ruled (c.1081 to c.1180), this was not a problem. Yet, as we shall see, at the end of the twelfth century this competent leadership largely disappeared. The consequences of this breakdown in command were to prove disastrous for the Byzantine Empire. The limitations of the twelfth century army The decline of the 'theme' system, which had supplied large numbers of troops for the empire in earlier centuries, may have been an important factor in the eventual collapse of the empire. It is thought that the Byzantine field army under Manuel Comnenus (1143-1180) numbered some 40,000 men. Comparison with the thematic army that had existed in the ninth century shows that, at least on paper, considerably more men had been available for duty under the theme system. And like the late Roman army, the late Byzantine army was more costly than its earlier counterpart (although still less expensive than the large standing army of Basil II ). Although the role of Mercenaries in the Byzantine army has been the subject of much debate, it is a common misconception that they formed the entire Byzantine army in this period. In fact, as we have seen, the Comneni emperors made significant efforts to recruit native units as well as mercenaries. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that mercenaries and Auxiliary units provided by subject states did make up a substantial part of the army (perhaps one-third). Yet some mercenary units could be expensive. One of the advantages of the theme system was that it provided a means of mobilising large numbers of men cheaply. The collapse of the theme system, therefore, appears to have reduced the number of soldiers that the empire could afford. Another advantage of the theme system may have been its simplicity. However, mobilising the Comneni an army of the twelfth century was a more complex affair, involving the raising of provincial levies, the mobilisation of guards units from the capital, divisions from the provinces, and summoning troops from subject states. This is not to say that the Comnenian army was any less effective (the thematic army's success rate was just as varied as that of its Comnenian counterpart); it is more the case that, although formidable under a competent leader, the twelfth century army was unable to protect the empire on its own. When incompetent or disinterested emperors took power, the Comnenian army was effectively leaderless. It is even possible to argue that, with the demise of the theme system, one of the main strengths of the Byzantine state had been lost, and that therefore it is perhaps unsurprising that the empire disintegrated soon after the death of Manuel Comnenus . It was not the army itself that was to blame, but rather the system that supported it. Byzantium had come to rely too much on individual emperors. Without strong underlying institutions that would always be there, whether the emperor was good or bad, the state was extremely vulnerable in times of crisis. The Armies of the Realms-in-Exile Byzantine Army under the Paleologi BYZANTINE MILITARY PHILOSOPHY Despite the importance the Byzantine Empire (or ''Ρωμανία'', as it called itself) attached to its position as the defender of true, orthodox Christianity against Muslim and Catholic alike, it is worth noting that the Empire never developed or understood the concept of a " Holy War ." Its neighbours' concepts of Jihad and Crusade seemed to it gross perversions of scripture or simple excuses for looting and destruction. Emperors, generals and military theorists alike found war to be a failing of governance and political relations, to be avoided whenever possible. Only wars waged defensively or to avenge a wrong could in any sense be considered just, and in such cases the Byzantines felt that God would protect them. REFERENCES
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