Byzantine Military Rhetoric in the Ninth Century: A Translation of the Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris

105 Pages·2021·1.382 MB·English

by  Georgios Theotokis, Dimitrios Sidiropoulos

Byzantine Military Rhetoric
in the Ninth Century
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 on 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.
Georgios Theotokis is a lecturer of European history at Ibn Haldun
University, Turkey. His publications include Norman Campaigns in the
Balkans, 1081–1108 ad (2014) and Byzantine Military Tactics in Syria and
Mesopotamia in the Tenth Century (2018).
Dimitrios Sidiropoulos is currently PhD Student in Byzantine History
(Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).

Byzantine Military Rhetoric in
the Ninth Century
A Translation of the Anonymi
Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris
Georgios Theotokis and
Dimitrios Sidiropoulos
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Georgios Theotokis and Dimitrios Sidiropoulos
The right of Georgios Theotokis and Dimitrios Sidiropoulos to
be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Syrianus, Magister, author. | Theotokis, Georgios, editor. |
Sidiropoulos, Dimitrios, 1952– editor.
Title: Byzantine military rhetoric in the Ninth Century : a
translation of the Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris /
Georgios Theotokis, and Dimitrios Sidiropoulos.
Other titles: Rhetorica Militaris. English | Translation of the
Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris
Subjects: LCSH: Military art and science—Byzantine Empire—
Early works to 1800. | Rhetoric—Early works to 1800. |
Byzantine Empire—History, Military—527-1081. |
War—Early works to 1800.
Classification: LCC DF543 .S97 2021 (print) | LCC DF543
(ebook) | DDC 355.009495/09021—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020053815
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020053816
ISBN: 978-0-367-90208-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-00604-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-02311-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of figures vii
Introduction 1
Part A: the author and the work 1
Syrianos magistros and the compendium of
Anonymus Byzantinus 1
Assigning a name to Anonymus Byzantinus 3
Assigning a date to the compendium of Syrianos 6
Dating the compendium and the geo-political
background of the period 11
A note on the sources 21
The manuscript tradition 25
Part B: the contents of the work 28
The history of exhortation and exhortative speeches 28
The “practicalities” of exhortation speeches: where,
when, how 35
The skills of a commander as a public speaker 37
Rhetorical topoi in building morale 39
Note on the translation 55
Hortatory public speeches: drawing their arguments
from various sources 57
For the zeal for the faith 61
For the fatherland 62
For the love for our compatriots 62
For the punishment of evildoers 63
vi Contents
Other made-up arguments 67
From religion 70
From the mode of life 70
From the slander of the enemy army 70
From [the right] time 70
From the place 70
From the cause 70
From the past, in this way 71
From the present, such as 71
From the future, such as 71
From the fabrications, such as 71
The achievements of the audience 72
The achievements of the ancestors of the audience 73
The achievements of others 73
More examples about the useful 77
The preparation of weapons 77
The training in war tactics 78
Bravery 79
The endurance of pain 79
The obedience to the commanders 79
The study of the glorious 80
The study of the possible 80
The study of the outcome of the battle 81
Example of a consolatory speech, in the absence of
the transposition of the cause [when the reproach
takes place, then the transposition of the cause is
missing] 87
Bibliography 88
A Primary sources 88
B Secondary sources 88
Index - introduction 93
Index - translation 95
Index - Greek terms 96
Figures
1.1 Map of the Mediterranean 17
1.2 Gaius (Caligula). Struck ad 40–41. 33
1.3 Galba. Struck circa December ad 68. 34

Introduction
Part A: the author and the work
Syrianos magistros and the compendium
of Anonymus Byzantinus
Syrianos magistros has been attributed as the author of a comprehensive
treatise that was published as three separate works broadly covering all
aspects of warfare [τακτικά, δημηγορίαι, ναυμαχικά]:1 the On Strategy (De
re strategica),2 which began with some general observations about the body
politic before quickly turning to the topic that really interested the author
and “which is really the most important branch of the entire science of gov-
ernment,” strategy; the Rhetorica militaris, which is a comprehensive gen-
eral’s guidebook on how to compose and deliver rhetorical speeches for the
exhortation of the troops before and up to the point of battle and, finally, the
Naumachiae,3 which covers various topics related to strategy and tactics at
1 In the On Strategy, the author explains that: “There are two kinds of war, at sea and on land.
The tactics appropriate to each must be examined separately. . . . To avoid confusion, then,
we shall discuss each form of warfare by itself, taking land warfare first” [On Strategy, ch.
14]. Bearing in mind that naval warfare and the fleet are not dealt with in the On Strategy,
we can only assume that the section promised by the author is the Naumachiae. On top of
that, at the beginning of the Rhetorica Militaris, the author claims he wishes to examine
the “oral” or “verbal” part, as opposed to the “practical” part, of the political science he has
already examined in detail: Rhetorica Militaris, I. 1.
2 G. T. Dennis, Three Byzantine Military Treatises, CFHB: 25 [Washington, DC: Dumbarton
Oaks, 1985/2008 (repr.)], 10–135.
3 A. Dain, Naumachica (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1943), 43–55; (English translation), J. H.
Pryor and E. M. Jeffreys, The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ: The Byzantine Navy ca. 500–1204
(Leiden: Brill, 2006), 455–81; (Greek translation), I. Ch. Demetroukas, Ναυμαχικά Λέοντος
Στ΄, Μαυρικίου, Συριανού Μαγίστρου, Βασιλείου Πατρικίου, Νικηφόρου Ουρανού [Nauma-
chica of Leo VI, Maurice, Syrianos Magister, Basil Patrikios, Nikephoros Ouranos] (Ath-
ens: Kanake, 2005), 111–43; (Italian translation), F. Corazzini, Scritto sulla Tattica Navale
di Anonimo Greco (Livorno: Vannini, 1883).