The paper is devoted to John the Scythian – one of the chiefs of the Byzantine army in the eighties and nineties of the 5th century. Based on the sources, the military career of John the Scythian lasted 16 years. He spent less time defending the borders of the empire and more fighting (often, victoriously) against usurpers and peoples who either had lived in its territory for centuries (the Isaurians) or sought a place to settle there (the Ostrogoths), and whose status kept changing from ally to enemy. John, as evidenced by his nickname, came from a barbarian people, but this did not prevent him from serving the emperor loyally and building his position in the circles of the empire's elite.
The paper is devoted to John the Scythian – one of the chiefs of the Byzantine army in the eighties and nineties of the 5th century. Based on the sources, the military career of John the Scythian lasted 16 years. He spent less time defending the borders of the empire and more fighting (often, victoriously) against usurpers and peoples who either had lived in its territory for centuries (the Isaurians) or sought a place to settle there (the Ostrogoths), and whose status kept changing from ally to enemy. John, as evidenced by his nickname, came from a barbarian people, but this did not prevent him from serving the emperor loyally and building his position in the circles of the empire's elite.
The present text focuses on presenting opinions of the Byzantines about the rulers of pagan Bulgaria as military leaders and reasons given by Byzantine authors explaining mishaps of their troops in battles against Bulgaria. The author concludes that, in general, the Byzantines did not allow for a thought that they could be defeated by any external power, in the least by the barbarian Mysians/ Bulgarians. However, if such occurrences took place, they were considered to be caused by divine intervention or negligence of the Byzantines themselves (i.e. disloyalty, lack of cooperation between commanders, low morale of the army etc.) and never result from genuine capability of the enemy, actual courage of the hostile forces or the adversaries' leadership skills (which were generally discounted). ; The present text focuses on presenting opinions of the Byzantines about the rulers of pagan Bulgaria as military leaders and reasons given by Byzantine authors explaining mishaps of their troops in battles against Bulgaria. The author concludes that, in general, the Byzantines did not allow for a thought that they could be defeated by any external power, in the least by the barbarian Mysians/ Bulgarians. However, if such occurrences took place, they were considered to be caused by divine intervention or negligence of the Byzantines themselves (i.e. disloyalty, lack of cooperation between commanders, low morale of the army etc.) and never result from genuine capability of the enemy, actual courage of the hostile forces or the adversaries' leadership skills (which were generally discounted).
Translated by Katarzyna Gucio ; The article is devoted to a few problems: 1. how Symeon and Leo the Philosopher looked at the Bulgarian-Byzantine war of 894–896; 2. what place it took in their life ex- periences; 3. how it was inscribed in the concept of relations between countries whose inhabitants follow the same religion. The war of the years 894–896 showed that Symeon was not only a cabinet scholar and a former monk, but a statesman, a gifted leader, skillful and ruthless negotiator. This war made him realize his own strength and gave him an opportunity to test his skills as a leader and a ruler. The war also demonstrated to the Byzantines that the Bulgarians, although they were Christians, were still dangerous opponents. Leo VI, a wise man and a scholar suffered a great defeat in dealing with just as scholarly but much more determined and gifted with military talents Bulgarian ruler. The former Monk defeated the Philosopher.
The article is devoted to a few problems: 1 how Symeon and Leo the Philosopher looked at the Bulgarian-Byzantine war of 894–896; 2. what place it took in their life experiences; 3 how it was inscribed in the concept of relations between countries whose inhabitants follow the same religion. The war of the years 894–896 showed that Symeon was not only a cabinet scholar and a former monk, but a statesman, a gifted leader, skillful and ruthless negotiator. This war made him realize his own strength and gave him an opportunity to test his skills as a leader and a ruler. The war also demonstrated to the Byzantines that the Bulgarians, although they were Christians, were still dangerous opponents. Leo VI, a wise man and a scholar suffered a great defeat in dealing with just as scholarly but much more determined and gifted with military talents Bulgarian ruler. The former Monk defeated the Philosopher.
The book presents the biography of Maria, daughter of Christopher Lekapenos (the eldest son of emperor Romanos I). For about 35 years, she was the tsaritsa of the Bulgarians at the side of her husband, tsar Peter (927–969). Her character is but dimly visible in the sources; interestingly, the few sources that do mention her are almost exclusively of Byzantine provenance. Most scholars who have dealt with her life – usually, we may add, as a side note to their studies on Peter's reign – saw in her a representative of the interests of Constantinople and a propagator of Byzantine culture. Some have gone so far as to call her a Byzantine agent at the Bulgarian court. Through their meticulous analysis of the primary sources and profound knowledge of the literature on the subject, the authors of the book – the first monograph on Maria ever to have been written – are able to construct a balanced narrative of the tsaritsa's life and her role in 10th century Bulgaria, putting aside biases and negative emotions. The publication is supplemented by a translation of the fragments of the Hellenic and Roman Chronicle of the second redaction devoted to Maria and Peter. Zofia A. Brzozowska and Mirosław J. Leszka treat the protagonist of their book with undeniable sympathy (as signaled already in the title). Following the footprints of Maria Lekapene, the authors paint a vivid picture of Byzantium in the first half of the 10th century, as well as present the history of its neighbor – the Bulgarian state; for it is there that the grand political game of the Constantinople court 'cast' Maria, daughter of Romanos Lekapenos. The biography of Maria Lekapene (.) is an eagerly awaited publication in the international Byzantinological and Slavicist community; I predict that it will be a scholarly success. (.) The authors of the book (.) are eminent experts in the field of Byzantine history, which guarantees the factual accuracy and high scholarly level of the work (.). Prof. Ireneusz Milewski University of Gdansk ; Udostępnienie ...
