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

by: Theotokis, G.

The first comprehensive history of Byzantine warfare in the tenth century
This book examines the strategies and military tactics of the Byzantines and their enemies in Eastern Anatolia, Syria and in Upper Mesopotamia in the tenth century. This period of conflict is difficult to define: it was too inactive to be called a ?war? but too active to be called a ?cold war?. Nevertheless, it was a ?war?, even if it lacked the numerous pitched battles or protracted sieges that defined other periods or other operational theatres of war. This study examines the way the Byzantines innovated and adapted their strategies and tactics to those of their enemies in the East, giving a rich picture of tenth-century Byzantine warfare.

Key Features
Examines the major and most important pitched battles of this period and the Byzantine and Arab military manuals which show how armies were organized and deployed in the battlefield
Looks at how the Byzantines adapted their strategies and tactics to those of their enemies in the 10th century Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia
Shows the transmission of military knowledge through the ages by comparing the military treatises of the 10th century with those from the Roman and Ancient Greek periods

Acknowledgements

List of rulers

Map of Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia

Map of Armenian themes and principalities

Introduction

The "Grand Strategy" of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine and Arab strategies and campaigning tactics in Cilicia and Anatolia (eighth–tenth centuries)
The Empire?s foreign policy in the East and the key role of Armenia (c. 870–965)
The Byzantine view of their enemies in the battlefield – the Arabs
Methods of transmission of (military) knowledge (I): reconnaissance, intelligence
Methods of transmission of (military) knowledge (II): espionage
Tactical changes in the Byzantine armies of the tenth century – Theory and practice in the battlefields of the East
Tactical changes in the Byzantine armies of the tenth century – investigating the root causes
Byzantine–Arab battles of the tenth century: evidence of innovation and adaptation in the chronicler sources
Tactical innovation and adaptation in the Byzantine army of the tenth century: the study of the battles
Summaries and conclusions

Bibliography

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

by: Theotokis, G.

• ISBN-13: 9781474431033 / 978-1-4744-3103-3
• ISBN-03: 1474431038 / 1-4744-3103-8
• Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2018