he Byzantine army was one of the most complex military formations of the medieval period. Fighting against various opponents, Byzantine soldiers were able to adjust to almost any tactical situation on battlefield. Drawing on their Roman and Greek heritage, the Byzantines created a war machine capable of defending their country for a thousand years. Armament, weaponry, combat tactics and discipline placed Byzantine soldiers at a higher level than the vast majority of armies in the world at that time.
The Roman state was a difficult body to govern and even more difficult to defend. At the end of the 3rd century Emperor Diocletian (284 - 305) divided the country among few emperors, thus initiating the great split of the state. By the end of the 4th century, the division of the Roman state into eastern and western parts had become a fact. The division of the Roman Empire was a beginning of the end for its western part, which, deprived of grain from Egypt and taxes from the eastern provinces, quickly began to fall into dependence on the barbarians. On top of that the army revolted with increasing frequency. At the height of the revolts (mid-3rd century), at least nine commanders disobeyed the legitimate emperor (the so-called Period of the Thirty Tyrants), leading to even greater anarchy in the Roman army and disorganisation of the state defence system.
The barbarians, with increasing boldness, were crossing the borders and settled down in territories of the empire. Nevertheless, in the 4th century, the emperors managed to recover almost all the lost territories and renewed the defence system of the country, which seemed to be more solid than before (year 330). When the Roman authorities attempted to get rid of the barbarians and hamper their constantly growing influence, it almost led to the collapse of the state. The foreign influence was already so significant that no deep reform was possible by then. The Western Roman armed forces ranks continued to be mainly recruited from Germanic troops, officially bearing the status of allies of Rome. In reality these troops, fighting under their own command and with their own styles, were almost independent of the Roman authority and were able to change sides and pronounce obedience to the empire at any time. The barbarian soldiers increasingly disregarded the Roman customs that they had once feared. The conquest of the western part of the empire by the Goths, Vandals and other Germanic invaders, left the eastern part alone and weakened, nevertheless territorially intact.
Relations between the barbarians and the Romans looked differently in the Eastern part of the Empire. In 420, a violent anti-Germanic action, initiated by the authorities and the citizens of Constantinople themselves, prompted throughout military changes. The cadre of officers was purged of Germans, and soldiers began to be recruited from the native inhabitants of the country again. The troops made up forcedly taken into the ranks peasants were inferior to the Germanic mercenaries, but the relation between the state and soldiers who defended it and in which they were born, was restored. However, the soldiers profession was not held in high esteem, and did not enjoy the same popularity as in the old Roman days. The quality of many troops was poor. The few exceptions were units recruited from the Isaurian highlanders of Anatolia and of the sturdy Armenians. In this situation, the recruitment of foreigners was partially restored, but under completely changed conditions and terms: there were only individual soldiers enrolled rather than organised barbarian detachments, what helped to avoid formation of alien units where foreign languages were spoken. Also, officers came from the empire and usually were of Roman origin.
The beginning of a new Byzantine army
However, the military situation of the new Eastern Empire was not easy. Although individual Byzantine emperors felt that they were the heirs of the old Rome, and for this reason made attempts to extend their power to the former western lands of Rome, any restoration of the old state within its former boundaries was no longer possible any longer. The Persian became dangerous again, new threats appeared in the form of the warlike Avars and Slavs who began to threaten the north-western parts of the state. From the 7th century onwards another danger appeared - the Arabs. In response to those threats, the Byzantine army underwent profound organisational changes in the 7th and 8th centuries. The existing old Roman system, based mainly on infantry that was stationed on the borders and in the frontier provinces, was abandoned. Mobility of troops was increased as well as number of cavalry units.
A serious change was a decrease of size of units from 5 to 1 thousands and 1,5 thousands-men legions. Generally speaking, a 1000 unit consisted of 650 heavy armed and 350 light armed soldiers. Also, the number of soldiers fell significantly (from 300-370 thousands to 80-150 thousands) who, nevertheless, were more efficient than huge masses of troops. As a result, from 7th to 9th century, the Byzantine army was a very effective force able to fight both the Western Europeans and Arab armies in East. The country was divided into military and civil units called ''themata" governed by generals (strategos) who were military and civil officials at the same time. The soldiers were settled on plots of land becoming this way semi-farmers and semi-soldiers. To some extent the soldier pay was deducted from the land from which the soldiers was supposed to extract profit. In this way, costs of maintaining the army by the state were hugely reduced and the soldiers had an additional incentive to fight for the land which provided them with a living (despite the fact that the land was still owned by the state). Borderland armies recruited in this way were also more useful to take immediate action, without waiting for orders from the capital.
Scholae Palatinae
Some detachments were stationed in the centre of the country. They were palatine troops, also known as Scholae Palatinae. These military formations were established by Emperor Constantine V (741-775), initially as units stationed in and around the capital. Their original task was to protect Constantinople, the emperor, and act as a speed response force.
Troops of aristocrats and foreign mercenaries
Additional military formations were provided by land owners. Their role increased immensely with the advent of the 'themata' system. However, it is almost impossible to describe the way in which soldiers were recruited and the division of their duties. The system worked quite well against the Arabs and Bulgarians in the 10th century. In the 11th century, the landed aristocracy was relieved of the duty of providing soldiers in favour of paying taxes to the treasury. This was justifiable because the borderland aristocrats began to form their own troops, more loyal to them than to the legitimate authorities in Constantinople.
From the paid taxes mercenary troops, consisting mainly of foreigners, began to be recruited again. In the ranks of the mercenaries fought soldiers from tribes settled in the territory of Byzantium (although they did not constitute a significant military force), and purely foreign mercenary units such as Vikings, Slavs, but also Germans (Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Lombards and others). The foreigners in Byzantium were called the Varangians. Some of the foreign troops constituted the so-called Varangian Guard. This military formation, above all, was an elite unit, with the task of protecting the ruler and his family, suppressing rebellions, and enforcing unpopular orders given by the emperor. Nevertheless, it did not participate in battles very often. The personal oath of allegiance given to the emperor, and the alien nature of the detachment meant that the Varangians were not so inclined to rebel, what stand in contrary to the native units. Supplemental to the mercenaries were indigenous Byzantine formations, which, nevertheless, played a secondary role. The new army, however, was unable to fight effectively against either the Turks in Anatolia or the Normans in Sicily. The Byzantine state had been deprived its territories as never before, and a professional army was practically non-existent for a certain period.
Komnenian army
In the 12th century, the emperors were making attempts to rebuild a national army (the Komnenos dynasty) what worked for a while. An important factor which strengthened the Byzantine army, was its command system. Respective emperors stood at the head of the troops setting off on war campaigns. It prevented rebellions and decentralization of the state and military structures. Designated provinces, both European and Asiatic, provided recruits again. Only to some extent, the so-called Komnenian army was made up of foreign soldiers. e.g., taken from defeated tribes such as the Pechenegs (who served as mounted archers). Contingents were also provided by Hungarian and Serbian allies. In general, the native Byzantine units made about 70 percent of the total armed forces of the state.
Heavy cavalry
In respect of organisation the main strength of the army became cavalry. Both, the rider and the horse, were protected by heavy armour, although the Western European knights were even more heavily protected. Horsemen were armed with a spear (known as a kontarion), sword (spatha), small axe and a bow. The weaponry perfectly suited to challenge enemies in the East such as Persians, Turks and Arabs, wherein the Byzantines mostly waged wars. In fights conducted on Western frontiers, the heavy cavalry was a very efficient force against the Hungarians and the Pechenegs. Cavalry regiments were divided into 300 and 400 subunits and fought in formations deep from 8 to 10 lines. Composed in this way formations were very compacted and not easy to make manoeuvres but, on the other hand, also very difficult to break through. The first ranks were armed with spears (contarions) and bows. The archers showered the enemy with a hail of arrows, thus creating gaps in his ranks, and then starting the fight at close range with spears. The first ranks were followed at a gallop by the other lines of soldiers.
Light armored cavalry
A supplement to the heavy cavalry were light horsemen who, usually, played a supporting role. The light cavalrymen were partly recruited from the Byzantine population and sometimes consisted of mercenary troops from the Sarmatians, Avars, Pechenegs, Hungarians and Aramaic tribes. This type of cavalry was mainly deployed in ambushes, skirmishes and reconnaissance. The soldiers usually used their national weapons.
Infantry
Infantry was not as much the decisive factor in battle a in old Roman times. It consisted of light-armed and (mainly) heavy-armed troops. The light infantry was mainly made up of archers, who used the composite bow which range was much greater than small bows of the horse archers. In addition, the archers were armed with small axes for defence (tzikurion) and, the same as cavalry, 90 centimetre long swords, called a spathion. Most Byzantine archers came from Asia Minor, especially from the south cost of the Black Sea where the inhabitants specialised in archery.
As in the days of the Roman legion, the infantry was deployed in the centre of battle formation with the cavalry on its flanks. Usually, the foot soldiers were placed somewhat backward. The first ranks (deep for 15-20 lines) were made up of heavy-armed soldiers. The most forwarded infantrymen used 2-3 meter long spears to keep the enemy at bay. The last three lines were formed by archers, who were protected by the heavily armed infantrymen placed in the first ranks. The heavy-armed infantry came to more significant prominence during the reign of Emperor Basil II the Bulgar-slayer (976-1025), becoming one of the best infantry formations in the word. They were protected by heavy armour and a large (in most cases), round shield, and fought with spears and swords.
Byzantine battle tactics
The Byzantines considered war as a necessity and not a reason to achieve glory. Most of the wars wedged by the empire had the defensive character. Nevertheless, the Byzantine military tactic was highly developed and varied. Their military school was adapted to different foes the Byzantines faced. Byzantine tacticians and generals took a lot from the Roman and Greek legacy. The Emperor Leon IV (750-780), in his work on military issues, "Tactics", sets out instructions on how to deal with different enemies. The tactic places a huge emphasis on hit-and-run warfare. Opponents from Western Europe thus wrongly regarded Byzantines armies as cowardly. The commanders tired not to engage their armies in regular, full-scaled battles unless they gained decisive numerous and tactical superiority. To achieve this, archers were very often used to provoke the enemy to attack in the most disadvantage situation, place and time. The Franks and Longobards fought as heavy cavalry, and preferred direct attacks on their enemies. It was recommended then to avoid, if possible, a direct confrontation. A negative feature of the armies of Western Europe was the lack of discipline and adequate reconnaissance as well as the absence of fortified military camps during night stopovers. In the event of a battle, a tactical retreat had to be initiated and the enemy drawn into an ambush.
The Hungarians and Turks' strength was based on small units of light cavalry which sought to weaken the enemy by a series of skirmishes, attacking the main force only when they found a weak spot. The Byzantine tactic advised it to use archers in the front line, who would keep the enemy's cavalry at bay, and attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on the opponent in the process. Then the Byzantine heavy cavalry would have the opportunity to attack and destroy the enemy with their momentum.
The Slavs were also a very arduous adversaries for the Byzantine army. They fought almost exclusively as infantry, but were also masters of the hit-and-hide tactic, effectively harassing marching enemy columns from hills or bushes. Difficult terrains, where the Slavic warriors operated, made it difficult to use archers and cavalry against them. So, before engaging with Slavic warriors, it was recommended to precede the fight by a very good reconnaissance. In case of fighting in open terrain, the Slavs, fighting on foot and without any protection (but oblong wooden shields), were easy targets for the heavy-armed cavalry.
The Arabs were considered to be warriors possessed by religious fanaticism and longing for plunder. The fight against them consisted in engaging cavalry to tackle groups of Arab warriors crossing the border. It was understandable when we take into account the fact that the Arabs were excellent and incredibly fast riders. In the case of a larger invasion, the cavalry from the border provinces should try to attack smaller enemy forces and cut supply lines to slow movement the invading army. In the meantime, the main Byzantine army, grouped in the heartland of Anatolia, would have enough time to prepare a strike against the main enemy forces. These tactics would be complemented by counter-attacks on enemy territory to force him to retreat and defend his own land.
The Fall
The system of conscription, based on the ''themata" system, came to almost complete disintegration alongside with coming the Turks, who finally taken away Anatolia from Byzantium, together with it human resources, and getting independence by the Hungarians and Serbs. Byzantium was not able to field huge armies to defend it territory. The hitherto existing system was significantly less costly because the soldier were partly remunerated by profits gained from the land they farmed. From then on the rulers were forced to spend huge amount of money to cover soldiers pay from the treasury what was constituted a considerable burden for the state. A symbol of Byzantium weakness was the sack of Constantinople by a crusader army during the fourth crusade in 1204. For two following centuries the Byzantines emperors did their best to uphold the existence of the country. The army, they had to their disposal, was too small, and a large extend, based on (again) not so efficient mercenaries. In 1453, a small Byzantine army of only 5, 000 soldiers, enforced by 2,000 of mercenaries, succumbed to an 80,000-strong Turkish army that besieged the capital of the once might empire. The last emperor, Constantine XI, fell together with his soldiers in street fights. The end of Byzantium had come.