Byzantine
The Sixth-Century Army of Justinian
The sixth-century army of Justinian’s era, like its earlier counterparts, was an entirely professional force, but it no longer conformed to the patterns of the Roman army of Caesar or Augustus: overwhelmingly a force of heavy infantry, divided into legions composed of Roman citizens supported by non- Roman auxiliaries. The classic Roman legion of the early empire numbered about five…
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Belisarius: A General for all Seasons, Budgets; all Enemies, domestic and foreign. Part III
Belisarius in the center, pointing; two members of his bucellarii bodyguard stand behind him. The figure on the right appears to be a chieftain or high-status member of his Hun auxillaries; though many of his bucellarii were Huns and this may be one of these. In his new style of…
Belisarius: A General for all Seasons, Budgets; all Enemies, domestic and foreign. Part IV
The enlargement of the Roman Empire possessions between the rise to power of Justinian (red, 527) and his and Belisarius’s death (orange, 565). Belisarius contributed immensely to the expansion of the empire. Belisarius Goes West: The War in Italy Again (544–48) The historian Procopius felt that when bubonic plague struck…
![Konya [Iconium] City-Fortress](https://weaponsandwarfare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Konya-Iconium-City-Fortress-330x220.jpg "Konya [Iconium] City-Fortress 12")
Konya [Iconium] City-Fortress
Konya City Walls With the entry of the Seljuk State into Anatolia, the area of its domination began to expand gradually. During this period, there began to struggle with the Byzantines in order to seize Konya and its surroundings. As a result of these struggles, the Seljuks took the city…
Byzantine Fire on the Water
The low state of medieval maritime technology ensured that battle tactics were just as basic. They had hardly progressed since Roman times. Confrontations at sea remained messy affairs that almost invariably devolved into unpredictable ship-against-ship mêlées. This helps explain why large-scale naval engagements were rare during the Middle Ages. Few…
The Fate of the Latin Empire, 1204–61
In a letter to Emperor Baldwin of 7 November 1204, Pope Innocent expressed his joy at the capture of Constantinople and described it as ‘a magnificent miracle’. In this letter, and one addressed to the clerics with the crusading army (13 November), he portrayed the campaign as God transferring the…
![Pliska [Vǎrbitsa Pass] 811](https://weaponsandwarfare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Pliska-Varbitsa-Pass-811-330x220.png "Pliska [Vǎrbitsa Pass] 811 18")
Pliska [Vǎrbitsa Pass] 811
Bulgars Versus Byzantines The Turkic Bulgars appeared in the sixth century, first as a rump of the so-called Old Bulgarian Empire, the Kutrigurs, defeated by Belisarius outside Constantinople in 559, settled north of the Danube and were absorbed by the Avars. Following the collapse of Avar power in the eighth…