Pyrohta

Pyrohta
An illustration of Pyrohta
Born	19 August 668 Hlihn, Symmerian Serikos
Died	~September 739 Székesfehérvár, Present-day Ruvelka
Allegiance	Symmerian Empire
Rank	Strategos
Battles/wars	Second Sabrian War al-Bashiri-Symmerian Wars First Sundering War

Pyrohta was a noblewoman and military officer of the Symmerian Empire between the 7th and 8th Centuries. She documented her experiences in the Ancient Symmerian army in a journal which survives to the modern era and is a widely cited source of information on the Symmerian Empire and Siduri during her lifetime.

Pyrohta was born on 19 August 668 in Hlihn, located in Symmerian Serikos. She was a Polyhaemates and by her own account of Symmerian-Ruvelkan-Serikese descent, but also claimed lineage to the Kazarakhai although to what extent was never specified in her writings. She belonged to a family of minor nobility that held estates along the eastern coast of Serikos, where she received an education and instruction in horseback riding. Pyrohta credits her decision to seek service in the Symmerian military to her two uncles Heraklius and Menthiedes, who had fought in the First Sabrian War. Her desire to fight was opposed by her parents, who desired her to remain at home and marry. According to Pyrohta she feigned being a lesbian as a means of escaping her traditional obligations. Other sources suggest that she publicly announced her attention to marry a poor Serikese peasant, a violation of social norms which would have made a self-imposed withdrawal from her family convenient for all parties. Regardless of the nature of her departure, she successfully utilized her position and wealth to secure herself a position within the Symmerian army, joining during the summer of 688 in the midst of the Second Sabrian War.

Pyrohta served initially as a Katapeltes, a heavily armored warrior typically charged with leading detachments of Epikouros, auxiliaries from across the Symmerian Empire. In 689 her rank was that of Lokhagos, essentially a captain commanding approximately 100 soldiers. She initially led a unit of Serikese infantry, later leading Quenminese infantry as well. One of her earliest exploits took place in June 689 during the Battle of Felisium during which she led her company in a raid against Sabrian fortifications outside the city, resulting in the capture of four officers and the slaying of 55 Sabrian warriors. During the Battle of the Sarna River Pyrohta was wounded and many of the soldiers under her command were killed, leading to their replacement by Quenminese troops. During the Siege of Magomi in 690 Pyrohta was involved with an attack by a unit of Veturii which killed many Symmerian soldiers; during the attack a Venturius cleaved Pyrohtas' sword in two with her gladius, which Pyrohta described as "the most frightening moment I had experienced in any campaign to that time, and since". She was promoted to Tagmatarkhis afterwards and led a tagma during the Battle of Asakumo.

Following the end of the war she was offered a plot of land in Knichus and a permanent position with the Anatolikoi Phylakes but grew tired of the dust and heat and elected to relocate west. She returned home to Hlihn in 795 and delivered spoils of war including servants and gold to her family before traveling towards Ruvelka. In 799 she recorded her home as Székesfehérvár. During this time she was summoned by the Symmerian army to take part in the war with the al-Bashiri Caliphate. She commanded a tagma of Ruvelkan troops during the fighting, which be her own account was listless and frustrating as the al-Bashiri tended to avoid the pitched infantry engagements that had been more common in the Sabrian Wars. During one battle, Pyrohta recalls a squadron of Galanian cavalry being scattered by Mansuri camelry, leaving her tagma alone to face them. She had her troops form a square and throw javelins at the camel riders as they formed up to charge, breaking ranks on occasion to grab and pull down the riders from their mounts. The camels then pulled back and peppered the Ruvelkans with arrows, but many bounced off the thick armor most Ruvelkan epikouros wore. Pyrohta notes in her writing that while camels were larger than horses they lacked the same weight of charge and thus were less effective against mass bodies of infantry; the camel riders attempted two charges against the tagma but each time were warded off, losing several riders to missile fire and camels to polearms and spears before they broke off and withdrew, allowing Pyrohta and her troops to do the same.

Pyrohta was promoted to Syntagmatarkhis (colonel) during the fighting and won several victories, though noted that a total destruction of al-Bashiri units was often difficult due to their frequent refusal to engage in anything other than raiding and skirmishing. Pyrohta frequently compared and contrasted the Mansuri and Sabrian forces she faced, describing the Sabrians as more firm and resolute than the Mansuri, but Mansuri troops and officers were more clever and agile, often avoiding battle at all costs if they could not achieve a decisive advantage, whereas the Sabrians were often willing to stand and fight, especially in defense of their comrades. After the Islamic Decree was issued and the fighting ceased Pyrohta once again departed the theater and returned to Ruvelka. She married during this time and had three children, though only one survived to adulthood. Despite her growing age Pyrohta states in her memoirs she grew tired of civilian life and thus volunteered for service following the outbreak of the First Sundering War in 726. Promoted to Strategos (general), she accompanied Khaeremon into Eracura and waged war against the Acrean Empire. Due to her age she often did not lead from the front but served as an adjutant to the Basileus (king), though she took command of a taxis (regiment) on more than one occasion. Pyrohta described the Acreans as strong and steadfast even in the face of unfavorable odds while also asserting they were blunt and lacking in cleverness. Pyrohta was seriously wounded during the later half of the campaign and eventually returned to Syara, and remained there to heal until the end of hostilities. She was disbanded once more from military service and remained in retirement. She died around September 739 at her estate in Székesfehérvár.

Pyrohtas' account of her service, written while in retirement, offers a unique view into the inner workings of late antiquity Symmeria and Siduri. Her distinction of having fought three separate opposing armies made her experience unique and is widely cited among modern historians as one of the most significant personal accounts of any Symmerian noble across the history of the Empire.