Byzantine Military Tactics in Syria and Mesopotamia in the 10th Century: A Comparative Study

361 Pages·2018·3.31 MB·English

by  Georgios Theotokis

Byzantine Military Tactics
in Syria and Mesopotamia
in the Tenth Century
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BYZANTINE MILITARY TACTICS
IN SYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA
IN THE TENTH CENTURY
A Comparative Study
Georgios Theotokis
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Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK.
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information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com
© Georgios Theotokis, 2018
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
The Tun – Holyrood Road
12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in 11/ 13 JaghbUni Regular by
IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd, and
printed and bound in Great Britain
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 3103 3 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 3105 7 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 3106 4 (epub)
The right of Georgios Theotokis to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and
Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498).
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Contents
Acknowledgements vi
List of Rulers vii
Map 1 Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia viii
Map 2 Armenian Themes and Prin cipalities ix
Introduction 1
1 The ‘Grand Strategy’ of the Byzantine Empire 23
2 Byzantine and Arab Strategies and Campaigning Tactics
in Cilicia and Anatolia (Eighth–Tenth Centuries) 52
3 The Empire’s Foreign Policy in the East and the Key Role
of Armenia (c. 870–965) 69
4 The Byzantine View of their Enemies on the Battlefi eld:
The Arabs 105
5 Methods of Transmission of (Military) Knowledge (I):
Reconnaissance, Intelligence 128
6 Methods of Transmission of (Military) Knowledge (II):
Espionage 147
7 Tactical Changes in the Byzantine Armies of the Tenth
Century: Theory and Practice on the Battlefi elds
of the East 192
8 Tactical Changes in the Byzantine Armies of the
Tenth Century: Investigating the Root Causes 219
9 Byzantine–Arab Battles of the Tenth Century: Evidence
of Innovation and Adaptation in the Chronicler Sources 236
10 Tactical Innovation and Adaptation in the Byzantine
Army of the Tenth Century: The Study of the Battles 276
Summaries and Conclusions 298
Primary Bibliography 308
Secondary Bibliography 313
Index 341
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Acknowledgements
This monograph has been eight years in the making, from the time it was
fi rst conceived as an original idea while discussing over a glass of wine
with colleagues from the University of Glasgow, during which time I was
still struggling to fi nish my doctoral thesis, to the completion of the fi nal
draft in the study cubicles of the National Library of Latvia in Riga. In
this process of endless research, reading and writing, I benefi tted from the
support of several institutions, most notably the Medieval Institute of the
University of Notre Dame, which provided me with both an ideal work-
ing environment and the fi nancial support to get my idea off the ground
and develop it into a viable project. I am grateful to the late Olivia Remie
Constable, Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute at the
University of Notre Dame, who gave me this rare opportunity to work
across the Atlantic. I also spent six fruitful months in the Institute of Arab
and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter where, with the help and
guidance of Professor Dionisius Agius, my monograph acquired its fi nal
form. Finally, I am grateful to the three most important people of my life,
my parents and my wife, who truly helped this ‘ship sail safely through
stormy seas’ with their endless love and encouragement.
Boğaziçi, February 2018
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Rulers
Byzantine Emperors of the Macedonian Dynasty
Basil I (867–86)
Leo VI (886–912)
Alexander (912–13)
Romanus I Lecapenus (920–44)
Constantine VII (913–59)
Romanus II (959–63)
Nicephorus II Phocas (963–9)
John I Tzimiskes (969–73)
Basil II (976–1025)
Hamdanid Rulers of Mosul and Aleppo
Hamdan ibn Hamdun
Abu al-Hayjaʾ ʿAbdallah (Mosul 905–13, 914, 925–9)
Abu al-Saraya Nasr (Mosul 929–34)
Abu al-Ula Saʿid (Mosul 934–5)
Abu Muhammad ‘Nasir ad-Dawla’ al-Hasan (Mosul 929, 934, 935–67)
Abu al-Hasan ‘Sayf ad-Dawla’ (Aleppo 944–67)
‘Abu Taghlib’ Uddat ad-Dawla Fadlallah (Mosul 967–79)
‘Abu al-Maʿali’ Saʿad ad-Dawla Sharif I (Aleppo 967–91)
vii
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