CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | McMahon, Lucas Ryan |
|---|---|
| Title | The past and future of De Velitatione Bellica and Byzantine Guerrilla Warfare |
| Summary | Traditionally, Byzantium is said to have adopted a guerrilla strategy along its eastern frontier after the seventh century as a means of dealing with the superior forces of the Muslims. A tenth-century military manual attributed to the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963 - 969) known as De Velitatione Bellica describes warfare in this manner, emphasizing tactics that minimize risk such as ambushes and indirect engagement. In its preface, the manual claims that since the danger of the Muslims has receded, the sort of tactics described within are no longer necessary but are nonetheless being recorded for posterity. This study examines this claim by looking at De Velitatione’s past and future by examining what evidence exists for the Byzantine-Muslim warfare taking place as the manual describes, and whether the text might have had any influence later. This is done through case studies of the eighth and eleventh centuries, which suggests that the tactics described in the manual have a long history in the Byzantine world and remained in use well after the manual claimed that they were antiquated. |
| Supervisor | Gaul, Niels; Menze, Volker |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/mcmahon_lucas.pdf |
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