Imperial Byzantine Army (Byzatium)

Imperial Byzantine Army
Βασιλικός Βυζαντινός Στρατός
War Flag of the Imperial Byzantine Army
Founded	c. 395 AD (as the Eastern Roman army) 8 November 1885 (as the Imperial Army)
Country	Byzantine Empire
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	557,085 active personnel
Part of	Byzantine Armed Forces
Colours	Gold & Azure
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Emperor Alexios X
Minister of Defence	Minister Angelos Constantius Stathides
Chief of the General Staff	General Ljubomir Jelić
Commandant-General of the Army	General Anastasios Loukaou
Chief of Army Staff	Lt. Gen. Nikephoros Kurkuas

The Imperial Byzantine Army (Greek: Βασιλικός Βυζαντινός Στρατός, B.B.Σ.; Basilikós Byzantinós Stratós, B.B.S.), officially the Roman Army in the East (Greek: Ρωμαϊκός Στρατός στην Aνατολή, Ρ.Σ.A.; Romaïkós Stratós stin Anatolí, R.S.A.), is the main branch of the Byzantine Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army holds the preeminent place within the armed forces. It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff of the Byzantine Armed Forces to have been the Commander of the Byzantine Army prior to this appointment.

Alongside the other two armed services, the Byzantine Army has frequently intervened in Byzantine politics, a custom that is now regulated to an extent by the reform of the National Security Council.

History

The Byzantine army is an outgrowth of the Late Roman structure, which largely survived until the mid–7th century. In the period after the Muslim conquests, which saw the loss of Syria and Egypt, the remnants of the provincial armies were withdrawn and settled in Asia Minor, initiating the Thematic system. Despite this unprecedented disaster, the internal structures of the army remained much the same, and there is a remarkable continuity in tactics and doctrine between the 6th and 11th centuries. The Battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the subsequent Seljuk invasions, together with the arrival of the Crusades and the incursions of the Normans, would severely weaken the Byzantine state and its military.

The army under Diocletian and Constantine

The Eastern Empire dates from the creation of the Tetrarchy by the Emperor Diocletian in 293. Rather than maintain the traditional infantry-heavy legions, Diocletian reformed it into limitanei ("border") and comitatenses (field armies). However, the last legion, Legio V Macedonica, survived until the 7th or 8th centuries, when it was destroyed fighting the Arabs on the Anatolian front.

There was an expansion of the importance of the cavalry, though the infantry still remained the major component of the Roman armies. In preparation for Justinian's African campaign of 533–534 AD, the army assembled amounted to 10,000-foot soldiers and 5,000 mounted archers and federate lancers.

The limitanei were to occupy the limes, the Roman border fortifications. The field units, by contrast, were to stay well behind the border and move quickly where they were needed, whether for offensive or defensive roles, as well as forming an internal security resource. The field units were held to high standards and took precedence over Limitanei.

Cavalry formed about one-third of the units, but as a result of smaller units, about one-quarter of the Roman armies consisted of cavalry. About half the cavalry consisted of heavy cavalry. In the field armies there was a component of some 15% of cataphractarii or clibanarii, heavily armoured cavalry for shock tactics. The infantry of the comitatenses was organized in heavy infantry regiments of about 500–1,200 men supported by a detachment of light infantry skirmishers. The infantry regiments were commanded by a Tribune and brigaded in pairs under a comes. These brigades probably were tactical and strategic units only, as no traces survive of brigade staff corps.

The limitanei infantry were lighter-equipped than the comitatenses infantry. They were paid less than the field troops and recruited locally. Consequently, they were of inferior quality. However, they were in the line of fire. They countered most incursions and raids. The light cavalry featured high amongst the limitanei, being very useful troops on patrol. They included horse archers.

The Scholae Palatinae units, which were more properly known as the Schola Protectores Domestici and the "Protective Association of the Royal Escort" (also called the Obsequium), were the personal guard of the Emperor, and were created to replace the Praetorian Guard disbanded by Constantine I.

Justinian I and his successors

The army of Justinian I was the result of fifth-century reorganizations to meet growing threats to the empire, the most serious from the expanding Persian empire. The basic units were small Greek infantry battalions or horse regiments called an arithmos, tagma or numerus. A numerus had between 300 and 400 men and was commanded by a Stratarches. Two or more numeri formed a brigade, or moira; two or more brigades a division, or meros.

There were six classifications of troops:

• The guard troops stationed in the capital.
• The field armies. In Justinian's day these were more commonly called stratiotai. The stratiotai were chiefly recruited from subjects of the empire in the highlands of Thrace, Illyricum and Isauria.
• Limitanei still performed their traditional duties of guarding frontiers and garrisoning border posts. Like how the comitatenses were called stratiotai in the heyday of the Justinians, the limitanei were known as akritai.
• The foederati. They were a relatively new element in the army, recruited from the fifth century onwards from barbarian volunteers. They were formed into cavalry units under Byzantine "Gothic" officers. A ban on enlistments by Byzantine subjects was lifted in the sixth century, and their composition became mixed.
• The Allies. These were bands of barbarians, Huns, Herules, Goths or others who were bound by treaty to provide the empire with military units commanded by their own chiefs, in return for land or yearly subsidy.
• The bucellarii. The private armed retainers of generals, Praetorian Prefects, officers of lesser rank and the rich, the bucellarii were often a significant portion of a field army's cavalry force. The size of a retinue of bucellarii depended on the wealth of the employer. Their rank and file were called hypaspistai, or shield-bearers, and their officers, doryphoroi or spear-bearers. Doryphoroi took solemn oaths of fidelity to their patron and of loyalty to the emperor. The bucellarii were usually mounted troops, mostly Huns, Goths and mountaineers of Thrace or Asia Minor.

Field armies generally had 15,000 to 25,000 soldiers and were formed mainly of stratiotai and foederati, reinforced by the commanders' retinues and barbarian allies.

Themata

The themata (Gr. θέματα) were administrative divisions of the empire in which a general (Gr. στρατηγός, strategos) exercised both civilian and military jurisdiction and a Judge (Κριτής του Θέματος, Krites tou thematos) held the judicial power. The themata were organized as a response to the enormous military and territorial losses suffered during the conquests of the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate.

The themata provided a bulwark against Arab invasions and raids that lasted until the late 11th century. Themata were also formed in the west, as a response to the Serb and Bulgar incursions that drove the empire's frontier from the Danube River south to Thrace and the Peloponnese.

Within each theme, eligible men were given grants of land to support their families and to equip themselves. Following revolts strengthened by the large size of these divisions, Leo III the Isaurian, Theophilus, and Leo VI the Wise all responded by breaking the themes up into smaller areas and dividing control over the armies within each theme into various tourmai. The large early themes were progressively split up in the 8th–9th centuries to reduce their governors' power, while in the 10th century, new and much smaller themes were created in the East in conquered territories.

Under the direction of the thematic strategoi, tourmarchai commanded from two up to four divisions of soldiers and territory, called tourmai. Under them, the droungarioi headed subdivisions called droungoi, each with a thousand soldiers. In the field, these units would be further divided into banda with a nominal strength of 300 men, although at times reduced to little more than 50.

The Imperial tagmata

The tagmata (τάγματα, "regiments") were the professional standing army of the Empire, formed by Emperor Constantine V. Constantine reformed the old guard units of Constantinople into the new tagmata regiments, which were meant to provide the emperor with a core of professional and loyal troops. They were typically headquartered in or around Constantinople, although in later ages they sent detachments to the provinces. The tagmata were exclusively heavy cavalry units and formed the core of the imperial army on campaign, augmented by the provincial levies of thematic troops who were more concerned with local defense.

There was also the Hetaireia (Gr. Ἑταιρεία, "Companions"), which comprised the various mercenary corps in Imperial service, subdivided in Greater, Middle and Lesser, each commanded by a Hetaireiarchēs recalling the royal Macedonian company of old.

Any number of shorter-lived tagmata were formed as favoured units of various emperors. Michael II raised the Tessarakontarioi, a special marine unit, and John I Tzimiskes created a corps called the Athanatoi (Gr. Ἀθάνατοι, the "Immortals") after the old Persian unit.

Komnenian army

Emperor John II Komnenos became renowned for his superb generalship and conducted many successful sieges. Under his leadership, the Byzantine army reconquered substantial territories from the Turks. Alexios I Komnenos, John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos managed to restore the power of the Byzantine Empire by constructing a new army from the ground up.

The new force was both professional and disciplined. It contained formidable guards units such as the Varangian Guard and the Immortals (a unit of heavy cavalry) stationed in Constantinople, and also levies from the provinces. These levies included cataphract cavalry from Macedonia, Thessaly and Thrace, and various other provincial forces from regions such as the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor.

Under John II, a Macedonian division was maintained, and new native Byzantine troops were recruited from the provinces. As Byzantine Asia Minor began to prosper under John and Manuel, more soldiers were raised from the Asiatic provinces of Neokastra, Paphlagonia and even Seleucia (in the south east). Soldiers were also drawn from defeated peoples, such as the Pechenegs (cavalry archers), and the Serbs, who were used as settlers stationed at Nicomedia.

Native troops were organised into regular units and stationed in both the Asian and European provinces. Komnenian armies were also often reinforced by allied contingents, yet even so they generally consisted of about two-thirds Byzantine troops to one-third foreigners.

The Komnenian army was a highly effective, well-trained and well-equipped force.

Neglect under the Angeloi

In the year 1185, the emperor Andronikos I Komnenos was killed. With him died the Komnenos dynasty, which had provided a series of militarily competent emperors for over a century. They were replaced by the Angeloi, who have the reputation of being the most unsuccessful dynasty ever to occupy the Byzantine throne.

The army of the Byzantine empire at this point was highly centralised. Generals were closely controlled, and all arms of the state looked to Constantinople for instruction and reward. The inaction and ineptitude of the Angeloi quickly lead to a collapse in Byzantine military power, both at sea and on land.

After 1204, the military was constantly short of funds. After the death of Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1282, unreliable mercenaries such as the grand Catalan Company came to form an ever larger proportion of the remaining forces.

Byzantine Renaissance Army

In XIV and XV century, the organization was twofold, central and peripheral. The so-called Byzantine Renaissance Army was the most disciplined and feared military force of its time, mainly due to its high level of organization, logistical capabilities and its elite troops.

By the Siege of Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantines had large enough cannons to batter the walls of a city. The Dardanelles Gun was designed and cast in bronze in 1464 by Vetranis Komnenus.

The musket first appeared in the Byzantine Empire by 1465. Damascus steel was later used in the production of firearms such as the musket from the 16th century. At the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the imperial guard equipped with 2000 muskets "formed nine consecutive rows and they fired their weapons row by row," in a "kneeling or standing position without the need for additional support or rest."

Reform on Byzantine Renaissance Army (1606–1826)

The central guard of this time was originally made up of enslaved young Muslim boys, generally from the Arabic peninsula, who were forced to convert to Christianity and were educated in military matters under the Byzantine Empire. During the 15th and 16th Centuries they became known as the most efficient and effective military unit in Europe. By 1570 born Christians were accepted into the central corps and by the 17th century most would be born Christians.

Aside from the central infantry, there was also the territorial cavalry. They were, however, different from the central guard in that they had both military and administrative duties. The central guard were tied strictly to being able to perform military duties at any time, however the territorial cavalry was treated differently primarily in that they got their income from the land that was given to them from the Emperor under a heavily-reformed thematic system. Within these agricultural lands, the territorial cavalry were in charge of collecting the taxes which would serve as their salary. At the same time they were responsible for maintaining peace and order there. They were also expected to be able to serve in the military whenever the Emperor deemed their service necessary.

The Byzantine Empire made numerous efforts to recruit European experts for its modernization.

Towards the modern army

Emperors George III and Constantine XIII in 1789 to 1807 set up the "New Order Army" to replace the inefficient and outmoded Renaissance army. The old system depended on central troops which had largely lost their military effectiveness. Constantine XIII closely followed Western military forms. A new treasury dedicated to the new army was established. The result was the Emperor of the Romans now had an efficient, European-trained army equipped with modern weapons. However it had fewer than 10,000 soldiers. Furthermore, the Emperor was upsetting the well-established traditional political powers. As a result, it was rarely used. The new army was dissolved by conservative elements with the death of Constantine XIII, but it became the model of the new Army model created later in the 19th century.

Byzantine military reforms

The main theme of this period is disbanding the old central guard, which happened in 1826 under John X, and changing the military culture. Emperor John X, Constantine XIII's successor and nephew, who was a great reformer, disbanded the old central guard corps in 1826.

New military law codes resulted in isolation, extreme surveillance, and severe punishments to enforce obedience. This shift from direct control by bodily punishment to indirect control through strict law enforcement aimed to make the soldiers' lives predictable, thus creating a more manageable military for the Emperor.

Modern Army (1861–1918)

The main theme of this period is organizing and training the newly formed units. The change of French system to German system as the German military mission was most effective during the period. The military units formed were used in the Balkan Revolts and World War I.

Michael XII, as early as 1885 sought, and two years later secured, German assistance, which culminated in the appointment of Lt. Col. Kohler. Although the consensus that Michael favored the modernization of the Byzantine army and the professionalization of the officer corps was fairly general, it seems that he neglected the military during the last years of his reign, and he also cut down the military budget.

War of Resistance

The Byzantine War of Resistance was a series of military campaigns waged by the three Emperors of the Botaniates dinasty: Alexios VIII, George IV, and Constantine XIV after parts of the Byzantine Empire were occupied and partitioned following its defeat in World War I.

The Byzantine troops carried out massacres and deportations to eliminate remaining Muslim populations. Following these campaigns of ethnic cleansing the Christian demographic had increased from 80% to 98%.

While World War I ended for the Byzantine Empire with the Armistice of Mudros, the Allied Powers occupied parts of the empire. Byzantine military commanders therefore refused orders from both the Allies and the puppet government to surrender and disband their forces. The modern Byzantine Army has its foundations in nine remnant Byzantine Army corps of those days.

In the ensuing war, the loyalist/peasant irregular militia defeated the French forces in the south, and undemobilized units went on to secure the northern border with Bolshevik forces, resulting in the Treaty of Kars (October 1921). The war effectively ended with the Byzantine liberation of Costantinople, prompting the signing of the Armistice of Mudanya.

George IV was recognized as the legitimate Emperor, and signed the Treaty of Lausanne in July 1923. The Allies evacuated Greece, Anatolia, and Thrace, new Emperor Constantine XIV granted a new constitution.

World War II

During World War II, the Byzantine Empire mobilized more than a million personnel to defend its Western lands with little to no avail. Despite the Axis aggression, the Byzantine Empire remained neutral for most of the war. However, Reigning Empress Irene IV declared war on Nazi Germany in February 1945, after being given an ultimatum by the Allies of World War II to do so by 1 March 1945.

Cold War Era

In August 1947, the Joint American Military Mission for Aid to Byzantium (JAMMAB) was established in Constantinople. Hastened by the Soviet threat, large amounts of United States military aid began arriving. JAMMAB began giving significant amounts of advice on the reorganisation and modernisation of the Byzantine Army.

Strategic posture

The strategic posture of the Byzantine Empire is primarily aimed at guaranteeing security of Costantinople and communications between the Eastern and Western parts. After achieving this goal, the Byzantine Empire is interested in defending the integrity its national territory and maintaining freedom of navigation at least in the Mediterranean Sea and beyond.

The Army participates to this strategic picture by providing the defence of the capital city and the coastal/island defence of the Aegean Sea. Once the Communist Bloc dissolved, the northern threat from beyond the Danube similarly vanished. Since 2002, there are two Field Armies tasked with guarding the Danubian Frontier (including securing Balkans). In Western Armenia/Eastern Anatolia, the main strategic goals are keeping an eye on Kurdish and Turkish insurgencies, Arab states and the Levant, as well as the Russian activities in the Russian Caucasus. In order to achieve this goal, since 2002 the Byzantine Army deploys two Field Armies in the region.

Structure

The structure of the Byzantine Army has historically had two facets: operational and administrative. The operational chain consists of the field fighting formations, and the administrative the arms and service branches – infantry, armour, artillery etc.

Operational organisation

From 1992 the Byzantine Army began to change from a corps-division-regiment structure to a corps-brigade arrangement.

Fied Armies

Since 2004, the Byzantine Army has been subdivided into six Field Armies. Each of the Field Armies is tasked with an official defensive role and with an unofficial offensive role.

Field Armies are fighting formations, but each Field Army headquarter also controls a Military District tasked with territorial duties for the corresponding jurisdiction.

1st Field Army

The 1st Field Army (Greek: 1η Στρατιά Πεδίου, 1i Stratiá Pedíou) is one of the six field armies of the Byzantine Army. Its headquarters are located at Εναστρος ουρανός Barracks in Costantinople. The 1st Field Army guards the area around Costantinople: Thrace, the straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles, and Bythinia.

As of 2022, the 1st Field Army controls I and II Army Corps.

2nd Field Army

The 2nd Field Army (Greek: 2η Στρατιά Πεδίου, 2i Stratiá Pedíou) is one of the six main formations of the Byzantine Army. It covers the entire Aegean Sea and has its headquarters are in Smirne. Its stated mission is to protect and defend the Aegean Sea, Crete, the Eastern Coast of Peleponnese, of Attica, the Southern Coast of the Hellespont, and the Western Coast of Anatolia. This is directed against the perceived threat posed by possible/hypotetical breaking of security belt of the Byzantium's Inner Sea.

The 2nd Field Army oversees both Line Brigades and Agean Sea defence formations at Brigade level. The Navy's 32nd Marines Brigade is coordinated with the 2nd Field Army command. As of 2022, the 2nd Field Army controls V and VIII Army Corps.

3rd Field Army

The 3rd Field Army (Greek: 3η Στρατιά Πεδίου, 3i Stratiá Pedíou) is one of the six major formations of the Byzantine Army. It covers Dalmatia, Serbia, Northern Epirus, and Western Mesia. The 3rd Field Army was created in late 1949. Since its establishment, the 3rd Field Army has controlled the IX and XIII Corps, with Singidonon as its headquarters. The 3rd Field Army is the Byzantine Army major command which dealt with the Balkans Crisis in late 1990s.

4th Field Army

The 4th Field Army (Greek: 4η Στρατιά Πεδίου, 4i Stratiá Pedíou) is one of the six major formations of the Byzantine Army. It covers the Black Sea Coast and the north-eastern part of Anatolia and Western Armenia. The 4th Field Army historically had jurisdiction over the whole Eastern Anatolia and Western Armenia, being tasked to counter any aggression from the Caucasus. After the end of the Cold War, responsiblities pertaining the Mediterranean Coast, as well as the defence of Cyprus, were split and transferred to the newly-established 5th Field Army.

As of 2022, the 4th Field Army controls VI and VII Army Corps.

5th Field Army

The 5th Field Army (Greek: 5η Στρατιά Πεδίου, 5i Stratiá Pedíou) is the newest of the six major formations of the Byzantine Army. It was established in 1993, in order to pay specific attention to the Southern strategic directions. It has jurisdiction over the Mediterranean Coast, as well the defence of Cyprus.

As of 2022, the 5th Field Army controls the X and XI Army Corps.

6th Field Army

The 6th Field Army (Greek: 6η Στρατιά Πεδίου, 6i Stratiá Pedíou) is one of the six major formations of the Byzantine Army. It covers Western Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and Mesia. The 6th Field Army was created in March 1947. It controlled the II and III Corps, with Volos as its headquarters. The headquarters were moved to Larissa in 1953 and the II Corps was replaced by the IV Corps in 1989.

Army Corps

The Byzantine Army's operational forces are subdivided into twelve Army Corps. These Army Corps are purely fighting formations and do not control any territorial organisation.

Brigades

The Byzantine Army deploys 74 operational formations at the Brigade level across the Byzantine Empire.

Out of 74 Brigade-level operational formations, 59 Brigades are operational/fighting formations. These Brigades are known as "Line" Brigades because they are designed to engage the enemy in high-intensity and symmetrical warfare (i.e. being on the line of battle).

• The army's 9 armoured brigades are the most powerful brigades after the reorganization of the early 1990s; each includes 2 armoured, 2 mechanised infantry and 2 self-propelled artillery battalions.
• The army's 18 infantry brigades each have 4 infantry battalions and one artillery battalion.
• The army's 32 mechanised brigades each have 1 armoured, 2 mechanised and one artillery battalion.

Alongside the line Brigades, the Byzantine Army deploys 15 formations at the Brigade Level tasked of specific duties, such as mountain warfare, airmobile warfare, special forces warfare, army aviation, and Aegean Sea defence.

Military Ranks

Officer ranks

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D)						Student officer
Byzantine Army
	Stratopedarches		Strategos		Antistrátigos		Hypostrategos		Taxíarchos		Domestikos		Droungarios		Tagmatarchis		Lochagos		Ypolochagos		Anthypolochagos
U.S. Army equivalent	General of the Army		General		Lieutenant general		Major general		Brigadier general		Colonel		Lieutenant colonel		Major		Captain		First lieutenant		Second lieutenant

See also

• Byzantine Armed Forces (Byzatium)