The Early Byzantine Military (306-610)

Romaiki Aftokratia wrote: Military Tech Tree Militia Police - phylakes(urban militia) Imperial Police - Tzakones guardsmen, +10% law Archery Bowyer – Psiloi, Pezoi Toxotai(after 1328) Archery Range - Psiloi toxotai, Solenarios(till Late Era) Bowyer’s Workshop - Peltastoi Master Bowyer - Peltastoi Enoplioi Huge Archery Range -Mourtatoi(till High Era) Barracks Spearmaker - Skoutatoi, Epirote Greek Infantry(AoR in Epirhus) Spearmaker Workshop - Kontaratoi Spearmaker's Guild - Paramonai, Master swordsmith – Menevlatoi(till High Era) Imperial Swordsmith – Dismounted Kataphraktoi(till Late Era) Stables Stables - Trapezeountae,Turkopouloi(AoR Arab provinces) Cavalry stables - Latinikon Tagmata(will disappear after 1204), Hippeis Toxotai Military Stables – Stratiotai(till Late Era), Kataphraktoi(till High Era) Elite cavalry stables – Athanatoi Immortals, Klibanophoroi, Pronoia Allagia(after 1204)(till High Era) Imperial Cavalry Stables – Tagmata Klibanophoroi, Tagmata Kataphraktoi(till High Era) Imperial Palace – Imperial Varangian Guards(huge city)

rider wrote: I doubt the term 'Kavallarioi' was used much by Byzantines. Something along (a speculator am I) Basilikon Tagmata [insert name here]...

Are you saying I shouldnt have the Klibanophori as a separate unit or did I not mention it in my unit list??

Edited by Nestorian - 21-Aug-2006 at 23:39

Lol, I did list the Klibanophori under the Imperial Tagmatic Heavy Cavalry section. Can u see it?

Edited by Nestorian - 22-Aug-2006 at 11:21

1066 - 1453, perhaps 1492 (the mod's length)

I am afraid that BE has his hands full studying his second or first course. Can't answer for him though.

Nestorian wrote: There also provincial Varangian Guard soldiers, not sure if I want to implement them or not.

At Perseas

 

Thanks for the Greek renderings

 

However, units like Akritai are descriptors of function rather than a specific unit. Such functions can be fulfilled by already existing units of light cavalry who were “Akritai” by function. Moreover, the Akritai receded in this time period, but make a comeback during the 13^th centuries in Anatolia with the resettlement of Alans, Cumans, etc, etc in Western Asia Minor.

 

What is Koulpiggoi???

 

By the way this unit list is for early period 1066 – 1118, so I won’t include the Catalans and the Navarrese yet.

 

However , the Druzhina is interesting though.

 

At Byzantine Emperor

 

Greetings Megalos Basileus!!

 

Varangians who did not make the Varangian Guard in the capital were sent to the provinces, probably to a Dux of a particular theme. There are mentions of Varangians in the provinces and not in the Emperor’s presence. Can’t remember the source though.  L

 

Yep, logistics will be represented by “military warehouses” that requisition (by increasing revenue extracting power by the city). They also increase loyalty and public order penalties because of the unpopularity of requisitioning. Evil Protonotarios :P

 

Hello all, I'm somewhat taken aback by the fierceness by which people like their Byzantines on this Forum!! Excellent discussion so far, let me add my 2 cents:

-On the Tagmata (by the way, in modern Greek "tagma" literally means battalion and "tagmatarhis" in the Greek army of today is literally the rank of major):
The Tagmata provided the nucleus of the Byzantine army, were exclusively cavalry, were separate from the Thematic troops, and generally were based in Constantinople itself or its immediate vicinity. Four basic units of the Tagmata are recorded, the letter(s) within hyphens denoting where the emphasis should be placed when the word is pronounced in Greek:
--Schol-ai- (this is pronouned "e" as the "e" in "emporium"), the most senior and probably the oldest and most veteran of the Tagmata. There seems to have been more than one Scholai, seven of them are recorded in the early 5th century "Noticia Dignitatum" and Byzantine chronicler Procopius tells us that the Scholai of his day (6th-7th c. AD) totalled 3,500 men,way too many for just one unit.
--Excubitii (unknown word, Latin in origin), next in seniority. Established by Leo I (457-474 AD).
--Arithm-o-s or V-i-gla ("Number" or "Watch", the latter name occuring most in sources). On campaign the Vigla guarded the Emperor's tent at night and was in charge of prisoners of war.
--Ikanat-oi- (the "Ables", -oi- pronounced as the "ea" in "eat"), by far the youngest of the Tagmata having been established by Nikephoros I Phokas (802-811 AD).
Each of the Tagmata was commanded by a Domestik-o-s, except of the Arithmos or Vigla commanded by a Droung-a-rios. Each of these officers had a Topotiret-e-s as his second in command. By the 10th c. the Domestic of the Scholae had become the most senior army  officer and would assume C-in-C  in the absence of the Emperor; the only other military person that superseded the Domestic of the Scholae was the strategos of the elite and key Anatolik-o-n ("Eastward") theme, roughly the area SE and SW of modern Afyon in Turkey. This is also the post (Domestic of the Scholai, that is) that Alexios Komnenos held in 1078 prior to his becoming Emperor; of course the Scholai of his day were very different than  the same units during the peak of Byzantine power since now, as Anna Komnena tells us, they consisted of a large number of Frankish mercenaries.
On campaign the Domestic of the Excubitii also seems to have been responsible for the men called skr-i-vones,  medical orderlies attached to thematic units.
There's debate as to how many men served in the Tagmatic units. The Arab chronicler Ibn-Khordadbah places Tagmatic strength at 6,000 men and 6,000  servants  but it is not clear whether the figure of 6,000 applies to the overall strength of all Tagmata or to the strength of each tagmatic unit. An overall strength of 6,000 (1500 per tagma), however, seems to agree with another anonymous 10th c. source, the "Anonymus Vari" which says that the Scholarii consisted of thirty banda which (the bandon being 50-men strong by the time of Nikephorus II) would put the total at 1,500 cavalry. The same Anonymous Vari (c. 980) says that when on campaign the Emperor would be accompanied by a minimum of 8,200 cavalrymen which would give a minimum of roughly 2,000 per regiment.
Included in the Tagmata  were the Numeri (4,000) and Hetairia, infantry formations permanently based in  Constantinople perhaps as the permanent garrison of the City.
It wouldn't be unusual for detachments of the Tagmata to serve in the provinces; we know, i.e., that provincial detachments commanded by Topotiretes (Domesticos' lieutenents) were posted  in Macedonia, Thrace and the Opsikion  (the area across the straits from Constantinople) theme.

--The Varangian  Guard
"Varangian" was used to generally describe men from the North. It might derive from the old Nordic "var, meaning pledge, used to describe  a band of men bount together by oaths of loyalty and sharing of the booty among them. Rus troops were sent as tributary contingents after the Russ defeat and abortive attack on the City in the 860's, but were not instituted as a regular unit in Byzantine pay untill 988 when Basil II received 6,000 from the Prince of Kiev; these troops were proved to be such fierce fighters and so loyal (according to Psellus Basil "distrusted the treacherous disposition of the Romans themselves") that Basil established them as his bodyguard. In the years immediately following Hastings an increasing number of Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Danes seem to have migrated South and mixed with the original Nordic element of the Guard.
The commander of the Varangians had his own title in the Byzantine ceremonial, that of Ak-o-louthos, Acolyte or "Follower" denoting his great proximity to the Emperor. We have the namesof several Akolouthoi such as Ragnald, an 11th c. Swede, whose tombstone describes as "the leader of the war-troop in the land of the Greeks" and Nampites, Akolouthos in the 1080s, a Scandinavian nickname for "Biter of Corpses" or "Bird of Prey". Another famous Varangian-though never an Akolouthos- was Harald Haraldra who held a senior rank in the Guard and commanded 500 men.

more on the Theme system etc to follow

Note: all this information has come exclusively from Ian Heath's and Angus McBride's "Byzantine Armies, 886-1118" part of Osprey's "Men-at-Arms Series".


Edited by konstantinius - 27-Aug-2006 at 21:21

Nestorian,