Byzantine Warfare

Warfare was an integral part of the operations of the medieval eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, both in its organization, as well as in social thinking and political ideology. This volume presents a selection of articles dealing with key aspects of Byzantine attitudes to war and violence, with military administration and organization at tactical and strategic levels, weapons and armaments and war-making itself; discussions which make an important contribution to answering the questions of how and why the empire survived as long as it did.

John Haldon is Professor of Byzantine History at Princeton University. His research focuses on the history of the early and middle Byzantine period, on medieval state structures across the European and Islamic worlds, on the appropriation and distribution of resources in pre-industrial societies, and on logistical systems. He has published many books and articles, including Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era (ca 680-850): The Sources (Ashgate 2001) and State, Army and Society in Byzantium: Approaches to Military, Social and Administrative History, 6th-12th Centuries (Ashgate).

Contents: Series preface; Introduction. Part I Ideas and Attitudes to Warfare: Introduction, Timothy S. Miller; On just war in Byzantium, Angeliki E. Laiou; Fighting for Christianity. Holy war in the Byzantine Empire, Tia M. Kolbaba; Defenders of the Christian people: holy war in Byzantium, George T. Dennis. Part II Financing Warfare, Recruitment: Military service, military lands and the status of soldiers: current problems and interpretations, John Haldon; Middle-Byzantine provincial recruits: salary and armament, N. Oikonomidès; The Byzantine army and the land: from stratiotikon ktema to military pronoia, Paul Magdalino; The uses of the Franks in 11th-century Byzantium, Jonathan Shepard. Part III Organization, Tactics and Strategy: The Byzantines in battle, George T. Dennis; The contribution of archery to the Turkish conquest of Anatolia, Walter Emil Kaegi Jr; Some thoughts on Byzantine military strategy, Walter Emil Kaegi, Jr.; The frontier: barrier or bridge?, Walter Emil Kaegi, Jr.; The Balkans in the 9th century: barrier or bridge?, D. Obolensky; The defense of Byzantine Anatolia during the reign of Irene (780-802), James A. Arvites; Infantry versus cavalry: the Byzantine response, Eric McGeer; The battles of Dorostolon (971). Rhetoric and reality, Stamatina McGrath. Part IV Weapons and Armour: Some aspects of early Byzantine arms and armour, John Haldon; Suntagma hoplÃ-n: the equipment of regular Byzantine troops, c. 950 to c. 1204, Tim Dawson. Part V Logistics: Byzantine logistics: problems and perspectives, Walter E. Kaegi; The organization and support of an expeditionary force: manpower and logistics in the middle Byzantine period, John Haldon. Part VI Fortifications and Siege Warfare: Artillery in late antiquity: prelude to the Middle Ages, Paul E. Chevedden; 10th-century Byzantine offensive siege warfare: instructional prescriptions and historical practice, Denis Sullivan; Byzantine siege warfare in theory and practice, Eric McGeer. Part VII Spies and