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The first comprehensive history of Byzantine warfare in the tenth centuryThis book examines the strategies and military tactics of the Byzantines and their enemies in Eastern Anatolia, Syria and in Upper Mesopotamia in the tenth century. This period of conflict is difficult to define: it was too inactive to be called a 'war' but too active to be called a 'cold war'. Nevertheless, it was a 'war', even if it lacked the numerous pitched battles or protracted sieges that defined other periods or other operational theatres of war. This study examines the way the Byzantines innovated and adapted their strategies and tactics to those of their enemies in the East, giving a rich picture of tenth-century Byzantine warfare.Key FeaturesExamines the major and most important pitched battles of this period and the Byzantine and Arab military manuals which show how armies were organized and deployed in the battlefield Looks at how the Byzantines adapted their strategies and tactics to those of their enemies in the 10th century Anatolia, Syria and MesopotamiaShows the transmission of military knowledge through the ages by comparing the military treatises of the 10th century with those from the Roman and Ancient Greek periods

This study will attempt to examine two significantly different types of mercenaries serving the Byzantine Emperors - the Varangians and the Franks - from the mid-10th to the mid-11th centuries. Not structuring my analysis on a chronological basis but rather on the different enemies that these mercenaries were facing in different geographical conditions, the main objective of my research is to give answers to a series of questions; what evidence do we have about the organisation of the mercenary units of the Rus, the Varangians and the Franks and in what numbers were they descending at Constantinople? What were the political circumstances that led to their employment by the Emperors throughout our period of study? What was their standing in the Byzantine military establishment? Did they pose any threat to the central government? What evidence do we have about their battle and siege tactics and their overall role in each operational theatre? ; This study will attempt to examine two significantly different types of mercenaries serving the Byzantine Emperors - the Varangians and the Franks - from the mid-10th to the mid-11th centuries. Not structuring my analysis on a chronological basis but rather on the different enemies that these mercenaries were facing in different geographical conditions, the main objective of my research is to give answers to a series of questions; what evidence do we have about the organisation of the mercenary units of the Rus, the Varangians and the Franks and in what numbers were they descending at Constantinople? What were the political circumstances that led to their employment by the Emperors throughout our period of study? What was their standing in the Byzantine military establishment? Did they pose any threat to the central government? What evidence do we have about their battle and siege tactics and their overall role in each operational theatre?

By 1060 the Normans of Melfi had greatly expanded their dominions in Apulia and Calabria. The next step in their ambitious plans in the Italian peninsula, the invasion of Sicily, took place in 1061: it was not completed before 1091, mostly owing to a combination of political setbacks in the mainland, along with several inefficiencies in Norman military organization. No comprehensive study of the military aspects of the Norman conquest of Sicily has been written, and this paper intends to cover this specific gap. It deals with the first two stages of the Sicilian conquest, the period between the first invasion of 1061 and the first unsuccessful siege of Palermo in 1064, and the second period, which is marked by the five-month siege and capture of the Muslim capital in 1072. It examines the composition of the Norman and Muslim armies, in terms not only of numbers but also of the ration of cavalry, infantry and auxiliary units. It also considers how far the Normans had been willing to adapt to the Mediterranean reality of warfare, more specifically the construction of siege engines and of a navy capable of imposing a blockade and transporting troops and horses from the Italian mainland to Sicily; the Norman fighting tactics used in the field of battle against the Muslims; and whether those tactics changed during the several stages of the Sicilian conquest.

"War in Eleventh-Century Byzantium presents new insights and critical approaches to warfare between the Byzantine Empire and its neighbours during the eleventh century. Modern historians have identified the eleventh century as a landmark era in Byzantine history. This was a period of invasions, political tumult, financial crisis and social disruption, but it was also a time of cultural and intellectual innovation and achievement. Despite this, the subject of warfare during this period remains underexplored. Addressing an important gap in the historiography of Byzantium, the volume argues that the eleventh century was a period of important geo-political change, when the Byzantine Empire was attacked on all sides, and its frontiers were breached. This book is valuable reading for scholars and students interested in Byzantium history and military history"--

Preliminary Material -- Introduction: War, Warfare, and the Mediterranean Military History /Georgios Theotokis and Aysel Yıldız -- 1 The Byzantine War Navy and the West, Fifth to Twelfth Centuries /Tilemachos C. Lounghis -- 2 The Defence of the Venetian Dominio Da Mar in the Sixteenth Century: Ship Design, Naval Architecture, and the Naval Career of Vettor Fausto's Quinquereme  /Lilia Campana -- 3 Sea Power and the Ottomans in the Early Modern Mediterranean World /Elina Gugliuzzo -- 4 Conflict and Collaboration: The Spanish and Ottoman Navies in the Mediterranean, 1453-1923 /Wayne H. Bowen -- 5 A Sixth or Early Seventh Century Ad Iconography of Roman Military Equipment in Egypt: The Deir Abou Hennis Frescoes /Raffaele D'Amato -- 6 Σῶκος: An Unusual Byzantine Weapon /Georgios Theotokis -- 7 Post-Byzantine Art and Western Influences in Military Iconography: The Case of Staff Weapons in the Work of Michael Damaskenos /Iason-Eleftherios Tzouriadis -- 8 The Middle Ground: The Passage of Crusade Armies to The Holy Land By Land and Sea (1096-1204) /Alan V. Murray -- 9 The Theory of the Passagium Particulare: A Commercial Blockade of the Mediterranean in the Early Fourteenth Century? /Cornel Bontea -- 10 Faith and Authority: Guy of Lusignan at the Battle of Acre (4th October 1189) /Stephen Bennett -- 11 By the Sword or by an Oath: Siege Warfare in the Latin East 1097-1131 /Ian Wilson -- 12 Late Byzantine Elites and Military Literature: Authors, Readers and Manuscripts (c.1050-c.1450) /Philip Rance -- 13 The Byzantine Influence on the Military Writings of Theodore I Palaiologos, Marquis of Montferrat /Nikolaos Kanellopoulos -- 14 Warfare in the Histories of John Kantakouzenos /Savvas Kyriakidis -- 15 Stradioti, Cappelletti, Compagnie or Milizie Greche: 'Greek' Mounted and Foot Mercenary Companies in the Venetian State (Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries) /Stathis Birtachas -- 16 A Secret War: Espionage in Venetian Corfu during the Construction of the San Marco Fortress /Chrysovalantis Papadamou -- 17 "Rather the Wealth to Support Their Status than Their Quality as Soldiers". The Social Position of the Officers in Lucca's Ordinanze della Montagna, 1550-1600 /Jacopo Pessina -- 18 Commanders of the Janissary Army: The Janissary Ağas, Their Career and Promotion Patterns /Aysel Yıldız -- Index /Georgios Theotokis and Aysel Yıldız.

"Byzantine Military Rhetoric in the Ninth Century is the first English translation of the ninth-century Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris. This influential text offers a valuable insight into the warrior ethic of the period, the role of religion in the justification of war, and the view of other military cultures by the Byzantine elite. It also played a crucial role in the compilation of the tenth-century Taktika and Constantine VII's harangues, during a period of intense military activity for the Byzantine Empire in its eastern borders. Including a detailed commentary and critical introduction to the author and the structure of the text, this book will appeal to all those interested in Byzantine political ideology and military history"--