ABSTRACT

War in Eleventh-Century Byzantium presents new insights and critical approaches to warfare between the Byzantine Empire and its neighbours during the eleventh century.

Modern historians have identified the eleventh century as a landmark era in Byzantine history. This was a period of invasions, political tumult, financial crisis and social disruption, but it was also a time of cultural and intellectual innovation and achievement. Despite this, the subject of warfare during this period remains underexplored. Addressing an important gap in the historiography of Byzantium, the volume argues that the eleventh century was a period of important geo-political change, when the Byzantine Empire was attacked on all sides, and its frontiers were breached.

This book is valuable reading for scholars and students interested in Byzantium history and military history.

chapter |5 pages

Introduction

part I|102 pages

Tradition and change in the perception of war in Byzantium

chapter 2|29 pages

“Such carnage in one place had not occurred before in Byzantium”

The Battle of Hades (20 August 1057 CE) and its repercussions

chapter 5|11 pages

From peacemaker to warrior

Changes in imperial education, as illustrated in the eleventh-century Mirrors of Princes

part II|130 pages

Enemies and allies – Byzantium’s ‘military peripheries’

chapter 6|26 pages

The enemy within

The crisis management of the centrifugal movements in the European provinces of the Byzantine Empire 1

chapter 10|22 pages

The Armenians in the Byzantine and Fatimid militaries in the eleventh century

Similarities and differences in their operational roles

part III|93 pages

Technical aspects of the organization of the Byzantine army