Strategikon - Army Manual of the Eastern Roman Empire

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The video alludes to the Maxims and how some include how to maintain mental discipline in the field. Does anyone know where I can find those somewhere online? I tried doing a google search and nothing came up.

I feel like those would be fascinating to read.

👍︎︎ 8 👤︎︎ u/BlueString94 📅︎︎ Mar 31 2021 🗫︎ replies

This channel is excellent.

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/Opower3000 📅︎︎ Mar 31 2021 🗫︎ replies

This was excellent and enjoyed watching it.

👍︎︎ 2 👤︎︎ u/sw4rfega 📅︎︎ Mar 31 2021 🗫︎ replies
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In our first video covering the armies of the  Byzantine Empire, we outlined why and how the   all-conquering legionary armies of Caesar  and Augustus transformed into the balanced,   limited military of Justinian’s era. One of  the most symbolic qualities of the Byzantine   military as it developed was the use of so-called  military manuals. Primarily aimed at preserving   and proliferating sophisticated military  doctrine to army officers and commanders,   these treatises played a formidable role  in retaining the Byzantine military as   one of the most formidable, organised and  disciplined forces of war in the entire world   despite Constantinople’s loss of hegemony.  Perhaps most notable among all military manuals   is the main subject of today’s video, the large  compendium known as Maurice’s Strategikon. Sponsor of today's video MagellanTV is the  favorite documentary platform of the Kings and   Generals! We have been enjoying our MagellanTV  subscription and hope that our viewers love   it too. MagellanTV is a documentary streaming  service, run by filmmakers, that has over 3,000   documentaries among them hundreds of historical  documentaries. The fans of Roman history will   surely enjoy the 6-episode I, Caesar: The Rise and  Fall of the Roman Empire series! We also recommend   The Hidden History of Rome and Meet the Romans, as  both of these titles provide so much fun knowledge   of Roman history. You can watch both anytime,  anywhere, on your television, laptop, or mobile   device and it is compatible with most devices.  Our viewers can now take advantage of an exclusive   offer: 30% off an annual membership - this gives  you an entire year for less than $3.50 a month!   Every documentary I've watched has been worth  double that and there are now 3000 in the   MagellanTV collection! This offer is available to  the returning users, too! Simply click on the link   in the description to claim your discounted annual  membership today. Support our channel and do that   at try.magellantv.com/kingsandgenerals.  Start your free trial today! Clinical, analytical writing on the topics of  tactics and strategy are truly ancient in the   Hellenic tradition, with the oldest surviving  work being that of Aeneas the Tactician,   authored in the fourth century BC. His  work, and many more lost works besides,   were followed by a slew of other pieces on  subjects as diverse as archery, proper use of   siege machines, spies and secrecy, and every other  aspect of what might be called military science.   By the late antique Byzantine era then, the  libraries of Constantinople and the eastern empire   were stocked with a vast array of material to  which the Byzantines themselves continued to add.   Notable among their pre-Strategikon  military works are those of Syrianos,   Urbikios and a Justinianic era  writing whose author is not known.   Some of them just repackage the contributions of  ancient authors, while others are suspiciously   theoretical. The piece of instructive military  literature which can in no way be accused of being   an armchair general’s inexperienced fantasy,  however, is the aforementioned Strategikon,   perhaps the single most influential  handbook of war in all Byzantine history. The first thing of note about this text  is that despite being known popularly as   ‘Maurice’s Strategikon’ it was not necessarily  written by the eponymous reformist emperor.   Most historians concur that the Strategikon was  broadly penned in the rough half-century between   575, when the Eastern Romans renewed hostilities  with Sassanid Persia, and 628, when the Sassanids   were finally defeated after a long war. Using  information within the text which can be dated,   such as battles, sieges and document convention  the time of authorship can be narrowed down even   further to between 592 and 610 - late in the reign  of Maurice and into the following tenure of the   usurper Phokas. Even though the Strategikon was  referred to definitively as being of ‘Maurice’,   that was a common practice possibly implying that,  as emperor, Maurice instructed that it be made. It   might even be that a prominent general or veteran,  such as the emperor’s brother-in-law Phillipicus,   wrote the piece and then dedicated it to Maurice.  Equally, however, there are many personal touches   and bits of literary flair which makes it  seem directly planned and written by Maurice.   Whatever the answer to this mystery, we know  that the author was an experienced soldier,   educated in ancient history and had commanded  troops on at least two fronts. He is intimately   familiar with weaponry, armour, martial laws,  as well as the daily life of a soldier on the   march and in camp. More telling is that he also  knows Byzantium’s enemies and how they fight. Rather than tediously listing every single  book, chapter and point of the Strategikon from   detailed battle formations to sieges, it is worth  considering the attitude shown by Maurice towards   war and how that contrasts to the bold, warrior  ethos of Rome in earlier centuries. Appropriate   to their diminished military position, war to  the Byzantines was not a means of demonstrating   superiority or expanding, but the least  desirable way by which the empire could achieve   its goals. Whereas earlier Roman Republican and  Imperial armies were notoriously bad at scouting,   regarding the ambush and irregular fighting as  not a proper battle, Maurice’s pragmatic Byzantine   army promoted by the Strategikon was precisely  the opposite. Costly all-in battles were to be   avoided if at all possible, and trickery as well  as cunning employed at every opportunity. In that   way, the Strategikon is very much fashioned in the  mould of Sun Tzu. So prominent are these aspects   of war in the mind of the author that two out of  the twelve books making up the Strategikon - books   IV and IX, cover the topics of ‘Ambushes’  and ‘Surprise Attacks’ in considerable depth. Even the books not especially concerning  misdirection and deviousness, such as those   detailing cavalry and Tagma formations, are laced  with advice on how to mask one's strength and   deceive an enemy. In a section on the prescribed  depth of a Tagma formation, for example, the   text advises that any reading officer or general  avoids arraying all of his forces for inspection   in lines of an identical size. This was because  such a uniform deployment made it simple for enemy   spies or scouts to quickly extrapolate the size  of the entire Byzantine field army by counting the   size of one rank, and the number of ranks, rather  than having to trawl through the entire throng.   Such advice is also given regarding the size  of deployed Byzantine cavalry units. This is   a particularly illustrative example because it  shows starkly just how deadly a mistaken advance   caused by bad intel could be. If a foe is  advancing with 4,000 cavalry, and their scouts,   deceived by the Byzantines’ obfuscation tactics,  report 3,000 cavalry opposing them, that foe   might decide to attack and only then would  realise they faced 5,000, and were outnumbered. Another characteristic of the type of  warfare championed by the Strategikon   is its extreme carefulness and balanced nature, a  theme which is clear throughout the entire text.   ‘A ship cannot cross the sea without a helmsman,  nor can one defeat an enemy without tactics and   strategy’ begins Book VII - Strategy, and this  analytical approach to warfare is prominent in the   entire piece. To engage in rash, albeit ‘glorious’  battle is the mark of a bad Byzantine general,   and `’it is ridiculous to try to gain a victory  which is so costly and brings only empty glory.’ A   keen sense of caution is also shown in the section  concerning war against unfamiliar foes. ‘If we   find ourselves at war with a powerful people and  one whose ways are strange to us, and the army,   not knowing what to expect becomes nervous, then  we must be very careful to avoid getting into   an open battle with them right away’ This kind of  approach brings to mind the approach of Achaemenid   king Darius the Great recorded at Behistun  - ‘First I will think, and then I will act.’ Even in the face of defeat and humiliation, this  practical and cautionary approach to warfare   dominates. Adroitly acknowledging the often overly  superstitious and religious nature of common   soldiers, the author recommends that a general  does not immediately attack again right after   he is defeated, even if the general understands  why the defeat occurred. The soldiers, he says,   are likely to view the loss as God’s will and  therefore have their morale devastated. In such   a situation, the Byzantines are to unashamedly  leverage their equally powerful weapons to gain   some kind of benefit. If emissaries are  sent by a victorious enemy for terms,   and those terms are reasonable and easily  accomplished, then they should be enacted   without hesitation to conclude the fighting.  But, Maurice relates, such conversations ought   to be kept private from the rank and file  soldier unless it is an absolute emergency. A nitpicky but important consideration is  also made in this sense when the author   speaks concerning the polishing of weapons  and armour, something that the majority   of people would never even think about. But  the point isn’t to keep equipment polished,   but to conceal it on the march so that the army  can’t be picked out easily by enemy scouts,   who might see the sun reflecting from  the point of a lance, or a ring of mail. It would be easy to also list the 101 maxims  listed by the Strategikon for use by any reader   who might find himself commanding an army on  campaign, but that is not necessary. These   range from such personal matters as exercising  mental self control and balance at all times,   to operational considerations such  as maneuvering with the cover of sun,   wind and dust to their advantage of one’s  army, and the detriment of the enemy’s. Compared to the other militaries of its age,  especially in the later part of the first   millennium, that of the Byzantines is regarded  as professional and almost futuristic by the   standards of the time. The Strategikon has a  section dedicated entirely to what we in the   21st century might call intelligence-gathering  and counterintelligence operations, and how enemy   attempts to gather information about imperial  forces might be diminished or stopped entirely.   Men who are chosen to be the army’s spies, the  text states, ‘should be reliable, they should look   very manly and be a cut above the other soldiers  in physical appearance, morale and equipment,   so they may project a noble image in confronting  the enemy and if captured, make a good impression   on him’. These enterprising, ancient 007s  were, then, expected to serve as paragons   and representatives of the emperor’s armies -  formidable and intimidating even if captured,   capable of influencing the enemy into doubt by  their robust demeanor. More broadly, scouting   and patrol parties, mounted on swift horses and  clad in light armour were to be dispatched in   quantities depending on the situation. When the  enemy force was at a distance, scouts should   only be sent out when specific information is  necessary, such as the nature of roads, the   properties of a nearby fortification, and other  such things. However, when the enemy army is near,   the entire area surrounding the imperial army  should be swarming with scouts, instructed and   able to take prisoners for interrogation if  discovered. So crucial was this duty that the   Strategikon’s author recommended that patrols be  regularly inspected by capable officers. Any among   the reconnaissance parties found to be negligent  ‘should be punished for seriously endangering the   whole army’. It is worth noting that this is  one of the only occasions in which the author   attributes such grave responsibility to soldiers,  further emphasizing the importance of scouting.   The text later goes on to detail a trick or  scheme which can be used to capture enemy   spies roaming around busy Byzantine encampments.  Every few hours, a trumpet could be sounded at   which the soldiers, informed beforehand must  immediately return to their own assigned tents   or face punishment. Naturally, the enemy spy  would either be captured for being outside alone   or, if he entered one of the tents, be recognised  as a stranger and arrested by the squad inside. It might be said of the Strategikon, based on its  general nature and emphasized content, that it   describes the final formalisation and readjustment  of a Late Roman Army into its typically Byzantine   form. As we introduced last episode with  Procopius’ prominent display of mounted   archery in his History of the Wars, Maurice or  whichever imperial servant wrote the Strategikon   emphasized first and foremost the training  and drill of archers, both mounted and foot.   If the text was followed in future  generations, which it seems to have been,   every single ‘Roman’ man up until the age  of forty, and perhaps even beyond, would’ve   been required to possess a bow and a quiver.  Swords, lances, spears and other instruments   of melee combat are, in comparison, barely even  mentioned. Those men who are ‘unskilled’ in   archery were to be given a light bow, so that  they could practice this ‘essential’ skill.   Interestingly, the book also contains even  further evidence that this transformation   of the Byzantine army was heavily driven by  contact with nomadic nations from the steppe,   partly because Maurice saw the sheer efficiency of  their way and means of war, or in order to counter   steppe cavalry armies who were bearing down on  the empire at the time. Such ‘Hunnish’ peoples   included the Gokturks and the Avars, which  are grouped with all nomads as ‘Scythians’. The ‘scoundrel’ Avars, as Maurice describes  them, are particularly important in the realm   of Byzantine equipment and materiel. Throughout  the entire piece, the reader is advised to supply   items of the ‘Avar type’, such as tunics cut in  the Avar manner, round and spacy Avar-style tents,   Avar-inspired cavalry lances and even Avar  scarves made of linen on the outside and   wool on the inside. This, much like with the  adoption of the gladius, shows just how eager the   Romans always were to draw in aspects of other,  hostile civilisations for their own benefit.   Furthermore, the chapter on ambushes contain small  tips on how to perform complex surprise attacks   in the Hephthalite and ‘Scythian’ manner. The  so-called ‘Scythian Ambush’ essentially describes   the infamous feigned flight, a tactic so common  among mounted nomadic tribes. Maurice recognises   this frequency of use, justifiably pointing out  that ‘The Scythian peoples do this all the time’. Among other terms, the post-Maurice  Byzantine army described and brought   about by the doctrines of the Strategikon  might be described as calculating, pragmatic   and limited in its action. There was very little  of the heroic, glorious flair of battle remaining,   just a relentless desire to gain victory by any  means necessary and to, through that victory,   enhance the prospects of the Byzantine Empire.  Among the myriad of military manuals in the   Hellenic tradition, the Strategikon is  particularly important because of its   profound influence on later generations. In its  general form, the military of Constantinople   would remain moulded by this most weighty  of texts for almost half a millennium,   even inspiring a slew of updated editions from  later authors of similar texts. Approximately   three centuries after Maurice’s overthrow  and death, for example, Byzantine emperor   Leo VI ‘the wise’, who was a prodigious author on  many topics, penned or sponsored the penning of a   famous military treatise known as Taktika. This  particular text is essentially a carbon copy of   the Strategikon in style, if not in content, even  quoting the earlier text verbatim in many areas. Had the Strategikon been  written half a century later,   we might think there would be a key characteristic  missing. In the book’s later sections, there is a   fascinating segment detailing the various enemies  which might be confronted by imperial armies.   Included in this roster are Lombards, as  well as other Germanic peoples, the Persians,   Slavs and others. The insignificant and peripheral  Arabs, meanwhile, were barely worth a mention.   Next time in our series on the Byzantine armies,  we will examine how the empire responded to the   crippling blows inflicted by an ascendant Muslim  caliphate, and particularly the notorious theme   system, so make sure you are subscribed and have  pressed the bell button to see the next video in   the series. Please, consider liking, commenting,  and sharing - it helps immensely. Our videos would   be impossible without our kind patrons and youtube  channel members, whose ranks you can join via the   links in the description to know our schedule, get  early access to our videos, access our discord,   and much more. This is the Kings and Generals  channel, and we will catch you on the next one.
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Channel: Kings and Generals
Views: 289,860
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Keywords: strategikon, army, manual, handbook, maurice, how, roman army, byzantine army, became, Rome, Roman republic, eastern roman empire, evolution of armies and tactics, procopius, justinian, belisarius, justinian's restoration, constantinople, ancient rome, roman legion, full documentary, kings and generals, history lesson, documentary film, animated historical documentary, roman republic, roman military, crisis of the third century, king and generals, history documentary, history channel
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Length: 18min 36sec (1116 seconds)
Published: Tue Mar 30 2021
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