A
Day in the Life of a Byzantine Soldier
Life
in the Byzantine Empire was always filled with war and strife. The
Byzantine Empire was constantly trying to defend it's land from
invaders and trying to retake the land it contained during it's
founding. Due to this the Byzantine had a constant military force
that suffered brutal defeats and won decisive victories. Some of
these victories were due to the Byzantine General Nikephoros Phokas.
He lead many soldiers into battle and was often victorious, but not
all stories can be about the great generals of an era. This will be a
tale of some unnamed, unimportant soldier who was there, who
participated in some of these battles and historic events.
The
Soldier was elated, he was chosen by the Emperor Romanos to be a part
of the army at the command of Nikephoros. He was glad that he was to
be part of the army that would retake Crete after the loss of the
Byzantine army there in 959 A.D. Nikephoros would help the Byzantines
retake Crete after the dismal failure of the eunuch Constantine
Gongyles. Aboard dromones or as triremes as others called them, the
Soldier sailed with the armies of Asia, called into battle
specifically at the word of the Emperor Romanos. The triremes were
fearsome craft of the sea, they contained two rows of rowers and at
least two masts. The most intimidating thing about them, was of
course the Byzantine super weapon;Greek Fire.
It
was the final leg of the trip to Crete. The Soldier was glad that he
had these few hours to prepare for the upcoming battle. He had to eat
some of the foul rations that all warriors on the ship had to consume
to survive, he had to prepare his armor and his weapons, but most
importantly he had to prepare his mind. The Soldier sat down with his
fellow warriors and ate the rations provided. No one talked much
everyone's mind was on the battle at hand. The Soldier prepared his
armor, he cleaned it, checked for any rust or dents. He oiled his
armor when necessary, he checked to make sure it fit right, he
loosened a strap here, tightened one there and prepared to examine
his weapons. He checked that his sword was free of rust and dings, he
made sure it was just the right amount of sharpness. The Soldier also
confirmed that his knife was sharp and ready if need be. The Soldier
then proceeded to clean and fix up his spear and shield, two
incredibly important weapons to him. When he came into the Byzantine
military he had nothing, and the first weapons he received were these
spear and shield. He kept them clean, and in proper working order. He
made sure the shield did not have too many dents, he then started on
the rust that had accumulated on his spear during the journey. More
rust had accumulated than the Soldier first believed, the cleaning of
the spear took several hours, and by the time he was done the journey
was almost over. This left just enough time for the Soldier to
prepare; his mind,the most important weapon he owned. The Soldier was
never entirely okay with the killing of another human. Despite what
Emperor Romanos and the church said, he still felt that Christ is
against and that he should not kill others. The Soldier also realized
that he had no choice in the matter, he had made his decision to be
in the Byzantine military and he planned on keeping with that
decision.
At
last,the Soldier and all the armies under the command of Nikephoros
had arrived at Crete. “When it seemed to be an opportune moment for
disembarkation, Nikephoros displayed in deed the experience that he
had in military affairs. For he had brought ramps with him on the
transport ships, which he set up on the beach, and thus transferred
the army, fully armed and mounted, from the sea to on dry land”(Leo
the Deacon,61-62). The Soldier as were the barbarians of Crete were
astonished! The Soldier would never have thought of such a simple
tactic. He was glad then that he was a simple soldier following
orders instead of giving them. Nikephoros then had the Soldier march
with one third of his army which were split into three pieces for the
assault, each section had the troops with armed with spears and
shields. These three sections in a phalanx position were ordered to
assault the enemy head on. The Soldier was not sure of the outcome of
this charge the the saw as futile. The barbarians of Crete even had a
large number of archers who wished to destroy the Byzantines and make
sure they left Crete alone. Nikephoros would have none of this, he
was confident in his plan, and rightfully so. The barbarians were
routed very quickly and ran back to the fortifications they had
constructed.
Later
that day the Soldier had to help prepare camp for the army. He always
felt rather indifferent about setting up camp. On the one hand it was
tiring work in the hot sun, but on the other hand it allowed him to
think. And think he did, he thought about his wife and child awaiting
him in Byzantine, he thought about the Arabs and the barbarians and
all the wars fought with Byzantine, but most of all he thought about
the upcoming battle, the most important thing in the current moment.
The
Soldier then overheard Nikephoros talking to some of the lieutenants
of his army, and what he heard shocked and surprised him. Nikephoros
Pastilas a battle-scarred veteran was ordered to lead a contingent of
Byzantine soldiers to attack the barbarians currently outside of the
fortified defenses. Pastilas was told to make sure that his troops
did not become lackadaisical and ignore the dangers of the enemy.
Unfortunately all of the soldiers but Pastilas were seduced by the
bountiful land and sweet fruits that grew there. The Soldier was
stunned, how could they go against the strict orders of their
general! It struck him of heathens and sinners instead of actual
soldiers. Another turn of terrible luck, had the barbarian horde
hiding just beyond a hill overlooking the area that Pastilas and his
troop were currently in. The barbarians charged as soon as they took
notice of the Byzantine soldiers indulging themselves. The Soldier
then heard the worst part of all of this. The Byzantine soldiers were
slaughtered to a man. The Soldier over heard Nikephoros saying that
only Pastilas fought back. Only one warrior against all of those
barbarians, they must have wanted to die! Thought the Soldier. The
Soldier believed that he would never succumb to such temptations
while serving the Emperor Romanos. Nikephoros then called for every
warrior and said “To be vigilant and sober; never to turn to
indolence and luxury, lest the enemy the enemy inflict upon them
irreparable damage...”(Leo the Deacon,63). The Soldier strongly
believed in these words, and so did all of the warriors around him. A
great cheer went up and it took several minutes for Nikephoros to
calm them down once more. Nikephoros then outlined his plan to the
assembled soldiers. The Soldier listened to the plans of Nikephoros,
and repeated them to himself ad nauseum. Nikephoros's plan was a
simple one; the soldiers were to march around camp at night, while
looking for any possible weak points in the fortifications of the
town. The Soldier gathered his weapons and armor and proceeded to
gather in formation with the rest of the troops. The warriors began
to march around the fortifications, making sure to keep well away
from the archers and any potential longer range weaponry on the
fortifications. As the army marched Nikephoros noted that the town
had an impenetrable barrier behind it, also known as the sea.
Nikephoros quickly had the army march in the other direction until
they had found the sea on the other side to make sure that they had
not missed any openings or gaps in the fortifications. As they
marched the Soldier compared the fortifications to his
wonderful,impregnable home of Constantinople. While the
fortifications were large, they were only impressive if one remembers
that they were constructed by a gaggle of barbarians. Eventually
Nikephoros called for the assembled warriors to halt. He then told
the the army that they are not well enough equipped to siege the
fortified barbarian town. Nikephoros decided on a new plan that he
said he would explain back at the army's campsite. The Soldier
expected more marching, but not back to the camp, he expected to
strike the barbarians preemptively.
Once
at camp, Nikephoros outlined his plan. The Soldier noted the simple
elegance of it. The army was to starve out the fortified town. The
army was to prevent anyone from enter the town with food or supplies.
They were to wait until the town was so desperate for food that they
would simply surrender or until the denizens of the town ran from the
town into the Byzantine army's spears. The army was finally allowed t
rest for the night. Many soldiers left to eat and return to their
tents to rest and await the upcoming battles.
Citations
L.
Gonick, The Cartoon
History of the Universe III: from the rise of Arabia to the
Renaissance, New
York, 2002.
Leo
the Deacon,The History
of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tent Century,
ed.
Alice-Mary Talbot, Denis F. Sullivan, George T. Dennis, Stamatina
McGrath, Washington D.C, 2005
Eric
McGeer,Sowing the
dragon’s teeth : Byzantine warfare in the tenth century,Washington
D.C.. 1995
Jonathan
Shepard, 'The English and Byzantium: A study of their role in the
Byzantine army in the later eleventh century', Traditio
29 (1973), 53-92
John
Haldon, 'The army at war: combat', in Warfare,
State and Society in the Byzantine World:
565- 1204,
ed. Jeremy Black, London, 1999, pp. 190-234
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