IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
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Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
Περίληψη :
The armies of Armenia and the East, as well as the tagmata of the imperial guard, were stationed in Asia Minor in order to protect Constantinople
from Arab invasions. The themata had evolved, from the 8th century onward, and proven more effective, however, they were later devitalised during
the 10th century, and had ceased to exist at the end of the 11th century. The army of the tagmata had prevailed, making possible the territorial
recoveries of the 10th century; however, it was not able to resist the advances of the Turkish invaders due to civil strife. Nevertheless, this army
managed to secure the Byzantine presence in the Western Asia Minor for almost two centuries after the Turks had captured this area.
Χρονολόγηση
7th - 14th century
Γεωγραφικός εντοπισμός
Asia Minor
1. Introduction
In 636, after the disastrous battle of Yarmouk, in which the essential part of the imperial army was devastated, Heraclius and his
immediate successors found themselves facing a critical situation. They had to confront their most powerful rival, the
Umayyad Chaliphate, which had established Damascus as its capital, very close to the new borders, at a time when the fiscal
revenues of Byzantium were severely reduced, after the loss of the eastern provinces (Egypt, Syria, Palestine). With most of the
western territories of the Empire seized by the Slavs, the Avars and, later on, by the Bulgarians, Asia Minor was contested land
between the Byzantines and the Musulmans. Defending this vast territory, which would become the main source of Byzantine soldiers,
was essential to the Empire.
2. Installation of the army in the provinces of Asia Minor
The defeat in Yarmouk led to the progressive reintroduction of the troops that until then were stationed to the conquered provinces.
The commander of the troops of the Eastern provinces (magister militum per Orientem) and the remains of this army were installed in
the heart of Asia Minor, on the Anatolian plateau, in the area of the future theme of Anatolikon. The units that had been positioned in
Caucasus and east of the Empire, where the population was mainly Armenian, either remained north east of the Empire, or they were
removed from Armenia, which was under Arab control, and formed the theme of Armeniakon. The tagmata of select members of the
imperial guard (obsequium) were reformed in the north-western Asia Minor, in Bithynia, in order to provide protection for the
capital; they were the core of the future theme of Opsikion. Finally, having been recruited in vain for the recapture of Egypt before the
death of Herakleios, the army of Thrace was stationed in Western Asia Minor before 711, in the place of the future theme of
Thrakesion. We do not know the exact number of the armies that were merged together in that way, but the wars against the Arabs
had caused significant losses.
3. The formation of the navy
The Arabs, who had conquered Egypt and the coast of Lebanon, were able to establish an effective fleet quickly that threatened the
island of Cyprus and, soon after, ravaged the southern coast of Asia Minor. In 655, after an initial confrontation, in which the
Emperor Constans II nearly perished, the Byzantines in turn built a fleet, that of Karavisianoi that recruiting seafarers from throughout
the empire, including the eastern coast.1 This fleet was not able to restrain the Muslims, when they headed against Constantinople and
laid siege to the city in 717. Therefore, the Byzantines had created a theme, that of Kibyrrhaiotai, situated in southwestern Anatolia,
which provided them with sailors instead of soldiers. Later, new maritime themes, those of Samos and of the Aegean, were
responsible for raids against the Arabs of Crete, after the island had fallen into their hands, in the first half of the 9 th century.2
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Συγγραφή :
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Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
4. The role of the thematic army
Initially the ‘theme’ designated a professional army corps, which was no longer governed by a magister militum but by a strategos.
Later, the theme referred to the area from which the troops drew their new recruits, the tagmata remaining stationed to the same
place on a permanent basis ever since. For more than two centuries, Byzantium was conducting defensive wars, while the thematic
soldiers were obligated to protect the Empire, receiving very low payment, since the finances of the Empire were considerably
reduced after the loss of the Eastern provinces. The soldiers of the themes were eligible for recruitment from the age of eighteen and
over, and they served in the army for twenty-four years. The soldiers owned his armour and at least one horse, which implies that he
possessed a certain capital that distinguished him from the mass of villagers. The regiments comprised almost exclusively of riders: the
sources speak of kaballarika themata (equestrian themes). However, during battle, part of the army was fighting on foot, since a
combined use of cavalry and infantry had been proven more effective. A soldier was recorded in a military catalogue and was
obligated to present himself in the adnoumion (from the latin ad nomen), bringing with him a reserve of food for several weeks.
Gradually, the soldiers became owners of their lands, which, under the Macedonian dynasty, were placed under a more favourable
tax status, which allowed each soldier to cover his own expenses.3
As a rule, in the spring, the strategos gathered his soldiers in one of the camps and the army gathered following specific rules: the
strategoi of the Thrakesionand Anatolikon joined the emperor in Malagina, followed by the strategos of Cappadocia, if the
expedition was to take part in the East, while the strategoi of the Charsianon and Boukellarion were joined by the emperor in
Koloneia.4
For many years, the main obligation of the thematic army was to intercept the Arab invasions and, given the chance, to counter
attack. For nearly a century, the Arabs had the upper hand, despite the efforts of the thematic army; its victories appeared to be
without an actual future, while it proved unable to block the Arab army from marching against Constantinople by land twice in order
to besiege it. From the second half of the 9th century, war was conducted in a smaller scale, which often only involved the frontier
themes. This type of war, called acritic, was practiced by both opponents. It consisted of quick raids by riders, without any luggage
or additional provisions, with the purpose of taking prisoners, who would be sold as slaves, and looting, while also avoiding the
surprise attacks in the mountainous passes of Taurus. The defenders must have received information on the raids from experienced
soldiers, who were responsible for evacuating the villages and leading the villagers and their livestock to underground passes at the
time of the invasion. During the 10th century, some soldiers opted to no longer offer their services by paying a tax charge, which
reduced the military value of the themes.5 However, a number of soldiers, especially members of the aristocracy, continued to
surround the strategos and his subordinates, the tourmarchs, droungarioi and comites. What is more, Nikephoros II Phokas selected
a few hundreds of riders, among the wealthier soldiers, who could maintain good steeds and servants; these were called kataphraktoi,
because of their heavy armour. These soldiers formed the main attacking troops, at the time of this emperor’s great victories.6
5. The formation of the tagmata
The advantage of having a army of themes was that it was not an excessive burden on state finances; however, it had become less
flexible and incapable of offensive campaigns. As soon as the financial situation of the Empire improved, the emperors reorganised a
central army, the tagmata, which, at first, was moderate in number.7Constantine V transformed the Scholes, an old regiment that
appeared only in parades, into a unit of elite fighters. Several of these tagmata were stationed in Bithynia. Their leader, the
domestikos ton Scholon, acquired an increasingly significant position, and, already in the 9th century, he was considered head of the
army, in the absence of the emperor.
From the 9th century, the tagmata formed the core of the provincial army, when the emperor led it into battle. Its units were still
stationed in Constantinople or in the environs, in Thrace and Bithynia. In the following century, when the Byzantines resumed the
offensive, the tagmata, which had multiplied and now included several ethnic units, participated in all major operations, under the
authority of the domestikos ton Scholon. The Muslims, led by the infamous emir Sayf ed Dawla, marvelled at the different languages
that could be heard in the battlefield: their opponents were Bulgarians, Russians, Arabs.
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Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
To diminish the importance of the domestikos ton Scholon, this office was divided by Romanos II in two, the domestikos of the
East and the one of the West; later on, other offices were introduced, such as the stratopedarches or the stratelates, who were more
or less equivalent to the domestikoi. The same went for the tagmata too, which had been divided at some point, to those of the
Scholae, the Hikanatoi. The infantry of the tagmata was the jurisdiction of the domestikos of the East.
In the 11th century, the army consisted almost exclusively of tagmata, to the point that the former elite soldiers of the thems were
part of the tagmata of the themes. For this reason, around the second half of the 11th century, the strategoi of the themata began
to give way to the doukes: Nikephoros Botaneiates, shortly before ascending to the throne, held the offices of kouropalates and
doukas of Anatonikon.8
6. Power in numbers
The number of soldiers that could be mobilised by the strategoi of the themata in Asia Minor is uncertain,9 due to limited
information. To attempt a reasonable estimate, we must take into account the few figures provided by the sources, as well as the
logistical conditions that imposed strict limitations on the number of combatants. According to the Taktika of the 10th century, an
army led by the emperor himself consisted only of 16000 men. The most numerous thematic army in the 8th century, that of the
Anatolikon, assumingly consisted of 15000 to 18000 soldiers, while the base of its strategos was in Amorion.10 According to
Theophanes, the thematic army of all of Asia Minor comprised of 80000 men;11 of course these numbers are theoretical. During the
call of the army (the adnoumion), there were always men missing, while many arrived without the proper equipment (weapons and
horse).
The quality of soldiers should also be taken into account. The 10th century Taktika clearly distinguish the majority of the thematic
troops, composed of soldiers, who were lightly armed and poorly motivated, from the elite soldiers, the epilektoi, members of the
aristocracy, who surrounded the strategos. In 863, the battle of River Lalakaon (in the area of Poson), a decisive Byzantine victory
over the emir of Melitene, was won by the epilektoi from two themes, the Armeniakon and the Charsianon; sources inform us that
each of those themes provided only 600 men.12
With the exception of the Varangians, who accounted 4000-6000 men according to contemporary sources, the epilektoi did not
surpass 1000 men, a number that seemed to correspond to their manoeuvring capabilities on the battlefield. The Frankish cavalry was
comprised of several hundred riders.13 In the 11th century, they were probably a few thousand, in order to defend Asia Minor from
the Seljuk Turks.
7. The Turkish invasion
The major offensive campaigns of the Byzantines in the second half of the 10th and the first half of the 11th century extended the
borders of the Empire to the East until northern Syria and Caucasus, with the absorption of the Armenian kingdoms. The Byzantine
troops were being trained mostly in the frontier katepanata or doukata (duchies). The doukaton of Antioch and its markets of Edessa
and Melitene were defended largely by the Armenian troops. The old themes of the central and western Asia Minor had been
demilitarised, because, with the exception of some naval raids by the Arabs, they had remained safe for centuries. When the Seljuk
sultan Toghrul Beg captured Baghdad, he did not intend to attack the empire, except to restore Muslim territories that had been lost
during the previous century; he aspired to reunite the Muslim world by absorbing the Shi’ite Fatimid caliphate, based in Cairo.
However, in order to put to use all the auxiliary Turkmen, who had assisted in his conquests, but were not integrated into the regular
army, he allowed them to plunder the neighbouring Christian territories.
The Byzantine army had not exactly adapted to this type of war mobility, and the Turks led raids deep into Anatolia, looting Melitene,
Caesarea, even the area of Chonai. Often the Turkmen were able to return to their bases safely, taking prisoners, livestock and
precious objects, evading the troops that were guarding the mountain passes. However, the Byzantines were not really military
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
inferior in the middle of the 11th century. When the Sultan Toghrul Beg went in person to the siege of the fortress of Mantzikert, its
defender, a katepano of Georgian origin, Basil Apokapes, managed to repel him successfully. Similarly, when Turkish troops were
trapped in mountain passes, they were often annihilated. The successors of Basil II did not neglect the army.14 Constantin IX
Monomachos was blamed for the dissolution of the «army of Iberia» (Georgia), with the demobilization of Armenian and Georgian
troops, something that would have aided the Turkish invaders. In reality, he had striven to maintain a powerful army. The troops of
Asia Minor were often called upon to fight in Europe against the Pechenegs. The tagmata also maintained guards in the East: for
example, the Varangians were present in Paypert, in Antioch of Syria, and the Franks in the theme of Armeniakon in Edessa.
8. Mantzikert and Myriokephalon, decisive defeats?
The Byzantines, exasperated by the success of Turkish raids, from which many cities of Asia Minor suffered, elevated to the throne
an energetic strategos, Romanos IV Diogenes. The latter, surrounded by Cappadocian troops, rebuilt a strong army, but was beaten
in Mantzikert by the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan, perhaps due to the betrayal of Andronikos Doukas, his political opponent. There
followed a series of civil wars, whose protagonists, Romanos Diogenes, the kaisar John Doukas, Emperor Michael VII himself, later
Nikephoros Melissenos and finally Nikephoros Botaneiates called upon Turkish armies, which they established as garrisons in
already impregnable fortresses, like Nicaea, placed by Melissenos. The army of Byzantine Asia Minor evaporated within one
decade, despite the efforts of Nikephoritzes, the logothetes tou dromou under Michael VII, to reconstitute the tagma of the
Immortals (Athanatoi) and to receive help from the Alans, fearsome warriors of the Caucasus.15 It was not until the arrival of
Frankish Crusaders, that the Byzantine guards in the cities of western Asia Minor or in ports like Antalya and Trebizond were
restored.
The Komnenoi fortified the new frontier that passed through the edge of the Anatolian plateau, where the Turks had established their
capital at Ikonion (Konya). Philadelphia, Chonai, Laodikea, Sozopolis and the fortresses of the new theme of Neokastra temporarily
blocked the Turkish access to the sea through the plains. Manuel aspired to obtain a foothold on the plateau, by fortifying Soublaion
and Dorylaion, and sparking hostilities with the sultan. The emperor’s powerful army, heavily equipped for a siege, was ambushed on
the way to Konya, in Myriokephalon in 1176. However, the Byzantine army of Asia Minor, once again under the command of a
domestikos ton Scholon of Oriens, remained strong after this serious setback, and managed to defeat significant Turkish armies, as
in 1177 in the Meander valley. However, Manuel’s death in 1180 led to important problems. The two defeats, in Mantzikert and in
Myriokephalon16 do no reflect the Byzantine inferiority in battle but the errors of their leaders. The army was weakened more by the
internal struggles, with the elimination of competent officers, especially during the reign of Andronikos I Komnenos, and due to the
significant loss of soldiers.
9. The Laskarids
The fall of Constantinople in 1204 left the population of Asia Minor broken and crippled. Theodore I Laskaris and his son in law
John III Vatatzes, emperors of the newly-established Empire of Nicaea managed to organise a large army. Yet in 1211, when the
decisive victory of Theodore Lascaris caused the death of the Seljuk sultan of Antioch, the emperor had little more than 2,000 men
including 800 Latins, as the core of his army. Vatatzes’ troops were composed in part of indigenous population, some defending the
border for an exemption from taxes and the freedom to loot, and partly of mercenaries, among which the Franks were the most
infamous.
10. The end of the Byzantine army in Asia Minor
When Michael VIII Palaiologos re-conquered Constantinople, he literally abandoned Asia Minor, and especially the frontier of
Sangarios, leaving behind even the akritai, in his effort to obtain money. Unfortunately, the Mongol victories defeated the Seljuk state
and brought new Turkish tribes toward the Byzantine territories. Byzantine resistance against these emirates of Ghazi warriors was
greater than is sometimes recognised: Michael VIII, Andronikos II and Andronikos III all sent armies to help. The most infamous of
those was the Catalan Company, comprised of 6000 men, and it managed to gain great victories over the Turks, even though it
proved to be greatly unruly. From 1305, the armed resistance in the area was limited to defending the remaining strongholds. The final
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Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
effort came from Europe where Andronikos III mobilized troops to try to repel the advance of Osman, leader of the future Ottomans,
but in 1329, he was defeated in Pelekanon in Bithynia, ending the organised resistance of the Byzantine army in Asia Minor. Soldiers
of Asian origin, however, continued to fight in Europe as mercenaries, such as the Klazomenites.17
1. For the creation of this navy see the most recent hypotheses by Zuckerman, C., ‘Learning from the Enemy and More: Studies in ‘Dark-Centuries’
Byzantium », Millenium 2 (2005), pp. 79-135.
2. On the subject of Crete see Tsougarakis D., Byzantine Crete : From the 5th century to the Venetian conquest (Athens 1988).
3. Haldon J. F., Recruitment and Conscription in the Byzantine Army c. 550-950. A study on the origins of the stratiotika ktemata, (Österr. Akad. d.
Wiss., philos.-hist. Kl., Sitzungsberichte 357, Wien 1979), pp. 41-65.
4. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Three Treatises on imperial military Expeditions, introd., ed., trans. and comm. by J. Haldon (CFHB, Series
Vindobonensis 28, Wien 1990), pp. 80-81.
5. Magdalino, P., "The byzantine Army and the Land: From stratiotikon ktema to military pronoia", in: Το Εμπόλεμο Βυζάντιο (9ος-12ος αι.) =
Byzantium at War (9th-12th c.), Πρακτικά Διεθνούς συμποσίου, Εθνικό Ιδρυμα Ερευνών, 28-30 Μαρίου 1996 (Athens 1997), pp. 15-36.
6. Kolias T., Nikephoros II Phokas (963-969): der Feldherr und Kaiser und seine Reformtätigkeit (Historical monographs 12, Athens 1993).
7. On the formation of the tagmata, see Haldon J. F., Byzantine praetorians : an administrative, institutional and social survey of the Opsikion and
Tagmata, c. 580 – 900 (Poikila byzantina 3, Bonn 1984), pp. 228-256.
8. Cheynet J.-Cl., «Du stratège de thème au duc: chronologie de l'évolution au cours du XIe siècle», Travaux et Mémoires 9 (1985), p. 181-194, reprint.
in Cheynet J.-Cl., The Byzantine Aristocracy and its Military Function (Variorum Reprints, Aldershot 2006), no. XI.
9. Concerning the size of the army, Cheynet J.-Cl., «Les effectifs de l'armée byzantine (Xe-XIIe s.)», Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale 38.4 (1995), pp.
319-335, reprint. in Cheynet J.-Cl., The Byzantine Aristocracy and its Military Function (Variorum Reprints, Aldershot 2006), no. XII.
10. Lightfoot C. S., «The Survival of Cities in Byzantine Anatolia, The Case of Amorium», Byzantion 68 (1998), pp. 56-71.
11. Θεοφάνης, Χρονογραφία, C. de Boor (επιμ.), Theophanis Chronographia 1 (Leipzig 1883), p. 447.
12. For references see Haldon, J. F., Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204 (London 1999), p. 103.
13. Shepard, J., «The Uses of the Franks in Eleventh-Century Byzantium», in Anglo-Norman Studies 25 (1993), pp. 275-305.
14. Cheynet, J.-Cl., «La politique militaire de Basile II à Alexis Comnène», Zbornik Radova Vizantoloskog Instituta 29-30 (1991), pp. 61-74, reprint. in
Cheynet J.-Cl., The Byzantine Aristocracy and its Military Function (Variorum Reprints, Aldershot 2006), no. X. For a somewhat different opinion see
Vryonis, Sp., «The Eleventh Century : was there a Crisis in the Empire?: the Decline of Quality and Quantity in the Byzantine Armed Forces» in Β.
Βλυσί δου (ed.), Η Αυτοκρατορί α σε Κρί ση (;): Το Βυζά ντιο τον 11ο αιώ να (1025-1081), (ΙΒΕ/EIE, Διεθνή Συμπό σια 11, Athens 2003), pp. 17-43.
15. Lemerle, P., Cinq études sur le XIe siècle byzantin (Le Monde byzantin, Paris 1977), pp. 300-302.
16. Among the extensive bibliography on the battle of Mantzikert and its aftermath, we note: Cheynet, J.-Cl., «Mantzikert: un désastre militaire?»,
Byzantion 50 (1980), pp. 410-438, reprint. in Cheynet J.-Cl., The Byzantine Aristocracy and its Military Function (Variorum Reprints, Aldershot 2006),
no. XIII and Vryonis, Sp., «A personal history of the history of the battle of Mantzikert» in Λαμπάκης, Σ., Η Βυζαντινή Μικρά Ασία (6ος-12ος αι.)
(ΙΒΕ/EIE - Κέντρο για Μελέτη Ελληνισμού Σπύρος Βρυώνης, Διεθνή Συμπόσια 6, Athens 1998), pp. 225-244. On the battle of Myriokephalon, see Lilie
R.-J., «Die Schlacht von Myriokephalon (1176). Auswirkungen auf das byzantinische Reich im ausgehenden 12. Jahrhundert», Revue des Études
Byzantines 35 (1977), pp. 257-275.
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Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
17. Oikonomides N., «A propos des armées des premiers Paléologes et des compagnies de soldats», Travaux et Mémoires 8 (1981), reprint. in
Oikonomides N., Society, culture and politics in Byzantium, ed. El. Zachariadou, (Variorum Reprints, Aldershot 2005), no. XVI.
Βιβλιογραφία :
Haldon J.F., Warfare, State and Society, in the Byzantine World 565-1204, London 1999
Kühn H.J., Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert, Wien 1991
Ahrweiler H., Byzance et la mer. La marine de guerre, la politique et les institutions maritimes de
Byzance au VIIe-XVe siècles, Paris 1966
Bartusis M.C., The Late Byzantine Army. Arms and Society 1204-1453, Philadelphia 1992
Treadgold W.T., Byzantium and its Army (284-1081), Stanford 1995
Birkenmeier J.W., The Development of the Komnenian Army 1081-1180, Leyden - Boston - Köln 2002
McGeer E., Sowing the Dragon's Teeth. Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century, Washington DC 1995
State, Army and society in Byzantium, Aldershot 1995, Variorum Reprints
Zuckerman C., "Learning from the Enemy and More: Studies in “Dark Centuries” Byzantium", Millenium, 2,
2005, 79-135
Lilie R.J., "Araber und Themen. Zum Einfluss der arabischen Expansion auf die byzantinische
Militärorganisation", Cameron, A. (ed.), The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East. III, States, Army,
Ressources, Princeton NJ 1995, Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, 1, 425-449
Δικτυογραφία :
Battle of Yarmouk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yarmouk
Military Intelligence in Arabo-Byzantine Naval Warfare
http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/pdfs/christides.pdf
Ninth-century Byzantine Army
http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/pdfs/treadgold.pdf
The Battle of Manzikert: Military Disaster or Political Failure?
http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/markham.htm
The Byzantines in Battle
http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/pdfs/dennis1.pdf
The Organisation and Support of an Expeditionary Force: Manpower and Logistics in the Middle Byzantine
Period
http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/ARTICLES/haldon1.htm
Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204
http://books.google.gr/books?id=-R0G0Enf58AC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPP1,M1
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Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
Γλωσσάριo :
Alans
A Sarmato-Iranian people who appeared during the Early Byzantine period. The settled in SE Europe and were quickly assimilated by the
Visigoths. During the reign of Andronikos II Palaiologos they offered, in return for permission to settle in imperial territory, to fight against
the Ottomans, who were spreading across the Byzantine provinces of Asia Minor. After their defeat, they retreated and turned to looting.
Catalan Company, the
(almugavares, compagnia) A group of fully-armed and highly-trained Catalans mercenary warriors, who numbered a few thousand. In 1303
they came to the assistance of Byzantium against the Turks, but soon they turned against the Empire and took to large-scale looting. They
conquered the Burgundian duchy of Athens, after the battle of Orchomenos in Copais, in 1311.
comes
1. A title in the Roman and the Byzantine Empires, designating an official with political but mostly military jurisdiction. Especially the comes Orientis
held the position corresponding to that of a vicar in Early Byzantine period. In the years of Justinian I, the comes in head of wider provinces assumed
political and military powers, while in the Middle Byzantine period the Opsikion theme was one of the few themes which was the jurisdiction of a
comes instead of a strategos.
2. A nobility title in medieval Europe.
domestikos ton scholon
Commander of the regiment of scholae. The first officer with this title appears in 767/8. In the 10th C the domesticos became very powerful among the
army of the themata; in mid-10th C the office was divided in two, domestikoi ton scholon of the East and those of the West, commanders in chief of
the eastern and the western provinces´ army respectively.
doukas (lat. dux)
Antiquity: Roman military commander who, in some provinces, combined military and civil functions.
Buzantium: a higher military officer. From the second half of the 10th c. the title indicates the military comander of a larger district. After the 12th c.,
doukes were called the governors of small themes.
droungarios
A military rank, first mentioned in the 7th century. This officer was in command of a droungos, a subdivision of the provincial army (thema).
emir
(from Arabic amir) Emir meaning "commander" or "general", later also "prince". Also a high title of nobility or office in some Turkic historical states.
kaballarikon thema
(lit. «equestrian theme»). The term occurs in the Byzantine sources from the Middle Byzantine period on, and designates the thematic armies, not
referring to any administrative division or theme in particular. The name implies that the soldiers forming the regiments were equestrian
(kaballarikon<equus caballus); however, the term was used to designate the army corps in general, equestrian and common foot soldiers alike.
kataphraktoi
Heavy armored horsemen ridind armored horses. They are mentioned in Emperor Maurice's Strategikon in the 6th c., but in the following four
centuries they are not reported. Nikephoros II Phokas organised again the corps of the kataphraktoi, which he greatly relied on; he describes it
thoroughly in his military treatise Praecepta militaria.
katepano
(from "epano","above") Governor of a katepania. Title that from the end of the 10th century characterized the commanders of large
provinces as Italy or Mesopotamia and from the 11th century, it was used also in the regions of Bulgaria, Antioch etc.
kouropalates
A high-ranking dignity, which from Justinian I was conferred on members of the imperial family and on foreign princes. During the 11th c.
it was conferred on several generals, not belonging to the imperial family.
logothetes tou dromou
Administrative Byzantine title. Initially official in charge of the public post. From the 7th C he acquired a new role and his responsibilities
included ceremonial duties, protection of emperor, general supervision of diplomatic relations and collection of political information.
magister militum per Orientem
Military commander during the Roman and Early Byzantine periods of the Eastern provinces.
strategos ("general")
During the Roman period his duties were mainly political. Οffice of the Byzantine state´s provincial administration. At first the title was given to the
military and political administrator of the themes, namely of the big geographic and administrative unities of the Byzantine empire. Gradually the title
lost its power and, already in the 11th century, strategoi were turned to simple commanders of military units, responsible for the defence of a region.
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
stratelates
A high-ranking military official of the 10th and 11th centuries, commanding a military unit called "tagma of the stratelatai".
stratopedarches
1. Commander in chief (1st-2nd c.), general (5th-9th c.)
2. stratopedarches of the East and stratopedarches of the West: official designation of the eunuch domesticos ton scholon (10th c.) and of the
military commnder (11th-12th c.)
3. megas stratopedarches was initially a high-ranking official and afterwards defined the commander of troops (13th - 14th c.).
tagmata (pl.)
Military units stationed in Constantinople and its outskirts during the Middle Byzantine period. The most important tagmata were that of the Scholae,
the Excubitors (these originated from respective units of the Early Byzantine period and were organized into an imperial guard and a central strike
force by Constantine V), the Vigilia (established by Irene the Athenian) and the Hikanatoi (established by Nicephorus I).
taktikon
1. Adm.: A major source for the organization and development of Byzantine administration. In the Middle Byzantine period the taktika, as presedance
lists ( τακτικά πρωτοκαθεδρίας or τακτικά της καθέδρας or κλητορολόγια or κλητοροθέσια) catalogued the officials who participated to the formal
ceremonies of the imperial palace. Four precedence list are still preserved: Uspenskij, Philotheos', Benescevic, de l' Escurial.
2. Mil.: A "Taktika" is a famous manual for strategic and tactical military operations by land and by sea. Author in the early 10th century. at Leo F.
The text preserved in a compendium and complete the form and influenced the drafting of such handbooks as downstream strategic.
3. Eccl.: The “taktiko”, known also as “Notitia episcopatuum” or syntagmation , in the administration of the Church is a classification list of
ecclesiastical authorities according to hierarchy.
theme
A Byzantine term that signifies wide military and administrative units under the administration of a strategos (general). The institution was
consolidated in the 7th century and was characteristic for the organization and the division of Byzantine Empire at the Middle Byzantine period. The
term applies also to the army unit that resided in each administrative unit and was staffed by farmer-soldiers. The thematic system was maintained
until the end of Byzantine period. However, in the Later Byzantine period it was used in order to declare mostly tax units.
tourmarch
Civilian and military commander of a tourma, subdivision of a theme.
Πηγές
Λέων ΣΤ΄, Τακτικά, in J. P. Migne (ed.), Patrologia Graeca 107, col. 669‑1120. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Three Treatises on imperial military Expeditions, ed., trans. J. Haldon (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Vindobonensis 28 (Wien 1990).
Dagron G. – Mihàescu H., Le traité sur la guérilla (De velitatione) de lʹempereur Nicéphore Phocas (Paris 1986). Dennis, G. T., Three byzantine military treatises (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Washingtoniensis 9 (Washington D.C. 1985).
Vasiliev, A. A., Byzance et les Arabes, 1: La dynastie dʹAmorium (820‑867) (Corpus bruxellense historiae byzantinae 1 Bruxelles 1935). Vasiliev, A. A. Byzance et les Arabes, 2.1: La dynastie macédonienne (867‑959), France translation M. Canard (Corpus Bruxellense historiae Byzantinae 2.1, Bruxelles 1968).
Χρονολόγιο
740: Victory over the Muslims in Akroenon
838: The caliph Al Mu’tasim occupies and destroys Amorion Δημιουργήθηκε στις 18/6/2017
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Μετάφραση :
Για παραπομπή :
Cheynet Jean-Claude
Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα
Cheynet Jean-Claude , "Byzantine army in Asia Minor",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12467>
863: Victory over the emir of Melitene in Lalakaon
934: Occupation of Melitene by the domestikos ton Scholon, John Kourkouas
965: Military campaign of Nikephoros II Phokas, which results in the recovery of Tarsos and Cilicia
1045: Absorption of the Armenian kingdom o Anion
1054: Interception of the sultan Toghrul Beg in front of the fortress of Mantzikert
1071: Defeat and capture of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes in Mantzikert
1097: Recovery of Nicaea from the Seljuks
1176: Defeat in Mantzikert
1211: Victory of Theodoros Laskaris over the Sultan Kaykhusraw
1304: Catalan campaign in Asia Minor
1329: Defeat of Andronikos III in Pelekanos of Bithynia in battle against the Ottomans
1331: Fall of Nicaea
1337: Fall of Nikomedia
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