Richardot, Philippe Birth of the Byzantine Army 476-641 CE. Volume 1: Still Late Roman?

Volume 3 of the series A Time of Knights 400 CE to 1453 CE. Birth of the Byzantine Army challenges the long-standing historiographical tendency to focus exclusively on the Roman-Byzantine army during the reign of Justinian (527565 CE), overlooking the Eastern emperors who preceded him after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. This study broadens the perspective to the end of the reign of Heraclius in 641 the last soldier-emperor in the late Roman tradition. By this time, the Slavs had overrun the Latin-speaking areas of the Balkans, while Muslim forces had taken Syria and Egypt. These new powers ushered in a changed geopolitical order and deprived the imperial army of important resources. By this time, Constantinople had become unmistakably Byzantine, and the late Roman military system could no longer be maintained. Over the course of these 165 years, the Roman-Byzantine army inevitably evolved. In addition to traditional enemies such as the Persians and steppe nomads, it faced new challenges: campaigns in North Africa and wars against the Vandals and Ostrogoths. After these areas had been conquered, the army had to defend them against the Moors in Africa and the Lombards in Italy. On the Danube frontier, it also faced the Slavs and Avars, whose siege warfare threatened Byzantium itself. These pressures required new organisation and tactics. Should we still call it a late Roman army or was it already a new, distinctly Byzantine army? That is the central question.