Byzantine

Siege of Brusa 1317–1326

Byzantine Ottoman Siege 13 Min Read

Forces Engaged Byzantine: Unknown. Commander: Unknown. Turkish: Unknown. Commander: Osman I and then Orkhan. The capture of Brusa established Osman I (Othman) and his successors as the major power in Asia Minor, beginning the Ottoman Empire. The peoples known as Turks originated not in the Turkey of today but in Turkestan in central Asia. In the middle of the sixth…

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Biography Byzantine Crusades 30 Min Read

Alexius I Comnenus: Byzantine Comeback

Alexius I Comnenus Then he was surrounded by nine Normans who stuck him with spears. But his heavy cataphract armor stopped all six spears and his horse bolted and he managed to escape. Alexius I Comnenus was an unlikely savior. A member of the aristocratic ranks that the Macedonian dynasty…

Byzantine 17 Min Read

The Wars of Basil II

The Byzantine Empire at the death of Basil II in 1025 Basil II (976-1025) is generally held to have been one of the most effective and competent rulers of the eastern Roman empire. His early years were not easy but, despite beginning his reign with a civil war and military…

Armies Byzantine 12 Min Read

THE BYZANTINE ARMY: PRE-ISLAMIC CONQUEST

The army of Heraclius’ empire after demobilization in 629 and 630 was almost certainly smaller than that of Justinian’s reign, which the contemporary historian Agathias had speculated in estimating its strength at 150,000. The question is how much smaller were the total disposable Byzantine forces at the beginning of the…

Byzantine Siege 6 Min Read

626 AD Avar Siege of Constantinople

Avar khagan Haganos laid siege to the city, an advance guard of some 30,000 men forced the Byzantine army guarding the wall to fall back to the protection of the Theodosian Walls. Very important events took place in the Balkan Peninsula after the death of Justinian, although unfortunately present knowledge…

Armies Byzantine 11 Min Read

Military Administration – 7th Century Byzantine

Emperor Heraclius at the battle of Nineveh. Before the reign of Heraclius (610-641), the army consisted of spear-armed infantry with a small but tactically dominant cavalry force. Maurice (582-602) tried to set up a territorial reserve of infantry archers, training once a week, but whether this got off the ground…

Armies Byzantine 26 Min Read

Later Byzantine Armies

Varangian Guard 10th Century From the seventh to the 12th centuries, the Byzantine army was among the most powerful and effective military forces – neither Middle Ages Europe nor (following its early successes) the fracturing Caliphate could match the strategies and the efficiency of the Byzantine army. Restricted to a…

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The Military of the Byzantines

Dominant military forces of the Middle East between the fourth and fifteenth centuries. At Manzikert…

The Sixth-Century Army of Justinian

The sixth-century army of Justinian’s era, like its earlier counterparts, was an entirely professional force,…

Roman to Byzantine Army Transition Part I

In 330 ce, Constantine I, Emperor of the Romans, founded a new capital for his…

Father and Son Save Byzantium in the 8th Century

Avar and Bulgar warriors, eastern Europe, 8th century AD. Leo III (717–741) Leo III, like…