Palaiologan army

Infobox War Faction
name= Byzantine army
war= the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars, the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars and other conflicts


caption=Imperial flag and dynastic insignia of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologoi
active= 1261 - 1453 AD
leaders= Byzantine Emperor
clans=
headquarters=Constantinople
area= Bithynia, western Anatolia, Thrace, Morea, Macedonia, Epirus, Crimea.
strength= 20,000 troops at its height.G. Ostrogorsky, "History of the Byzantine State", 483]
partof= Byzantine Empire
previous= Nicaean army
next= Some elements absorbed into the Ottoman army, others became bandits.
allies= Golden Horde, Ilkhanate, Umur of Aydin, Catalan Company, Genoa
opponents= Ottoman Sultanate, Serbian Empire, Bulgaria, Sultanate of Rum, Achaea, Duchy of Athens, Kingdom of Sicily, Empire of Trebizond, Despotate of Epiros.
battles= Bapheus, Nicaea, Pelekanon, Nicomedia, Gallipoli, Adrianople, Philadelphia, Constantinople, Thessalonika, ConstantinopleThe Palaiologan army refers to the military forces of the Byzantine Empire from the late thirteenth century to its final collapse in the mid fifteenth century, under the House of the Palaiologoi. The army was a direct continuation of the forces of the Nicaean army, which itself was a fractured component of the formidable Komnenian army. Under the first Palaiologan emperor, Michael VIII, the army's role took an increasingly offensive role whilst the naval forces of the Empire, weakened since the days of Andronikos I Komnenus was boosted to included thousands of skilled sailors and some 80 ships. Due to the lack of land, the Empire required the use of large numbers of mercenaries.

However, the army began to fall apart after Andronikos II took the throne and the Byzantines were regularly defeated by their opponents. By c. 1350 the Empire's inefficient fiscal organization and incompetent central government made raising troops and the supplies to maintain them a near-impossible task, and the Empire came to rely upon troops provided by Serbs, Bulgarians, Ventians, Latins, Genoans and Turks to fight the civil wars that lasted for the greater part of the 14th century, with the latter foe being the most successful in establishing a foothold in Thrace. By the time the civil war had ended, the Turks had cut off Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire from the surrounding land and in 1453 the last decisive battle was fought by the Palaiologan army when the Capital was stormed on 29 May.

Structure of the army

Organization

The Byzantine army continued to use the same military terms with regards to numbers of troops and officers as did the Komnenian army.cite book|last=Haldon|first=John|title=Byzantium at War 600 - 1453|location=New York|publisher= Osprey|year=2000|pages=p. 55] However there were fewer territories to raise troops from. In Anatolia, the locals support for the Ottoman conquerors grew daily whilst in Greece the ravaging by the Crusaders states, Serbia, Bulgaria and earlier on by the Angevin empire ruined the region - most of Byzantium's source of Greek man power. After 1261, the central army consisted 6,000 men, while the number of total field troops never exceeded 10,000 men.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 14] W. Treadgold, "A History of the Byzantine State and Society", 819] The total number of troops under Michael VIII was about 20,000 men; the mobile force numbered 15,000 men, while the town garrisons totaled 5,000 men.G. Ostrogorsky, "History of the Byzantine State", 483] However, under Andronicus II, it fell to a number close between a Thema (9,600)Fact|date=February 2008 and a Turma (2,400)Fact|date=February 2008. By the year 1321, the empire's standing army dropped to only 3,000 men.W. Treadgold, "A History of the Byzantine State and Society", 819] Even though the empire had shrunk considerably by the time of Andronicus III's reign, he succeeded in assembling an army of 4,000 men for his campaign against the Ottomans.J. Norwich, "Byzantium: The Decline and Fall", 285] By 1453, the Byzantine army had fallen to a regular garrison of 1,500 men in Constantinople.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 37] With a supreme effort, Constantine XI succeeded in assembling a garrison of 7,000 men (included 2,000 foreigners) to defend the city against the Ottoman army.D. Nicolle, "Constantinople 1453: The end of Byzantium", 33]

Byzantine troops continued to consist of cavalry, infantry and archers. Since Trebizond had broken away, Cumans and Turks were used for cavalry and as missile units.

Mercenaries

After Constantinople was retaken, Michael VIII army's continuous campaigning in Greece ensured that the Nicaean army, an offshoot of the expensive but effective Komnenian army remained in play. Under Andronicus II however, the army was reduced to destructively low numbers - mercenary troops were disbanded to save money and to lower taxes upon the disgruntled population. Instead the use of poorly equipped and ill-disciplined militia soldiers saw the replacement of the vitally important expert soldiers. The results were obvious; Byzantine losses in Asia Minor occurred primarily under Andronicus II. In 1302 the center of military expenditure shifted back again towards mercenaries, notably the Catalan company but after their leader was murdered the company returned to Thrace and Greece were they overthrew the Crusader Duchy of Athens and seriously undermined Greek rule so that on both sides of the Bosporus the Empire suffered. Even so, mercenaries continued to be used after Andronicus II's reign. Ironically Andronicus' successor's policy of using many foreign fighters worsened Byzantium's fortunes in the same way that Andronicus had done so with their disbandment. Namely, that Serbs, Bulgarians and Turks of Aydin and of the Ottomans allowed them (particularly the Ottomans) to encroach upon imperial territory. As thousands of Turkish soldiers from the Ottoman realm advanced to assist her nominal Greek ally their commanders were taught to recognize the terrain for a future conquest. Since Byzantium became increasingly incapable in raising a "loyal" Greek army, foreigners such as Knights of Rhodes, Venetians, Genoans and Italians were added to Byzantium's fight forces. Since the Imperial treasury was bankrupt after c 1350, these foreign fighters fought only for political reasons and often in civil wars.

Alliance with the Mongols

Michael VIII Palaiologos was anxious to establish an alliance with the Mongols, who themselves were highly favourable to Christianity, many of them being Nestorian Christians. He signed a treaty in 1263 with the Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde, and he married two of his daughters (conceived through a mistress, a Diplovatatzina) to Mongol kings: Euphrosyne Palaiologina, who married Nogai Khan of the Golden Horde, and Maria Palaiologina, who married Abaqa Khan of Ilkhanid Persia. In 1282, Nogai Khan provided Michael VIII with 4,000 Mongols whom he sent against Thessaly.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 24] His alliance with the Mongols would also benefit his son Andronicus II; in 1305 Ilkhan Oljeitu promised Andronicus II 40,000 men, and in 1308 dispatched 30,000 men to recover many Byzantine towns in Bithynia.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 24-33] However, the Ottomans eventually defeated the Ilkhanates. After their defeat, the Byzantines were unable to extract any more assistance from the Ilkhanates, who began to adopt Islam and were facing threats to their rule throughout Iran.

trategy & Tactics

The Byzantine Empire's main strategy aimed to make maximum use of an often outnumbered army. The key behind this approach was the use of border fortifications that would impede an invading force long enough for the main Imperial army to march in to its relief. One example of this occurred on May 1281 when Tarchaneiotes was sent by Michael VIII to relieve the fort town of Berat, and succeeded in driving Charles of the House of the Angevins away. Nonetheless, this strategy was not in touch with the military situation of the day - forts and castles became increasingly less useful for defence and more so as a residence. In particular were Crusader forts, Byzantiums' major opponent in the west. Often the battle was decided on an open field. This may have something to do with the fact that the Crusaders in Greece were desperately short of manpower, and therefore the destruction of their army on the field left the castles defenceless - as was seen in Constantinople in 1261, where only a skeleton force was left to defend the Capital due to the Latin Empire's lack of man power.

The strategy was not without failure, especially in Asia Minor. In particular were failures against the Ottoman Turks, who raided Byzantine lands and then retreated before any serious resistance could be built up. When the Byzantines did encounter their elusive opponents such as at Magnesia, Nicomedia and Pelekanos, they suffered defeat. For Byzantium, defeat brought her close to death; there were few troops to spare and the destruction of the Imperial army would have only left skeletal forces for the Empire to make use of.

After the Imperial army suffered defeat in Asia Minor, Andronikos III saw Anatolia as a lost cause and began reorganizing the Byzantine fleet of ten ships and as a result the Aegean remained an effective defense against Turkish incursions until Gallipoli was at last captured by the Turks in 1354. From then on, the Byzantine military engaged in small scale war-fare against her weak Crusader opponents. In this way, territory continued to be re-conquered by the Byzantines (gains made at a small loss) right until the mid 15th century.

Reconnaissance and ambushing enemy columns remained a favorite Byzantine tactic. At the Battle of Pelekanos, the Ottomans were successfully spied upon by the opposing Byzantine troops. Prudence remained an admirable virtue (as can be seen by John Cantacuzenus' advice to withdraw from Pelekanos).

Weapons

Weapons amongst the Byzantine army greatly varied, as did the composition of the soldiers. Shields and spears were as always the most common weapon. However as the 13th century progressed into the 14th, the crossbow emerged as an incrediably important anti-personal weapon. This was in line with Europe's own military thinking, which saw the rise in importance of the Genoan Crossbow and the Welsh Longbow in the 14th and later 15th centuries.

Fortifications

Byzantine military strategy relied heavily on fortifying towns and cities. Walls consisted of stonework with layers of thick bricks in between, perhaps allowing for absorption of an attack. Later as artillery became increasingly more effective, slopped walls came into play. The walls would be augmented by Towers, evenly spaced out and running the length of the walls. The walled towers were designed to cover the entire town. Supplying towns and forts became Byzantium's worst problem and though the Turks initially lacked the expertise to take walled towns, they could not be defeated on land nor their blockade broken. Cities such as Nicaea and Nicomedia fell after a few years or more. Even so, this was a longer period of time then the Crusaders in the Levant were impressive forts such as Krak des Chevaliers surrendered relatively quickly. Worse still were the Crusader forts in the Aegean, which often surrendered to the Byzantines and the Turks without a fight. Repairing the fortifications of the Capital proved impossible after 1370 due to the destructive nature of an ongoing civil war. By that time the Byzantines were forced to acknowledge the suzerenaity of the Ottoman Sultan, who threatened military action against any reparations made to the millennium-old Walls of Constantinople.

Navy

The Byzantine navy had always been one of the most powerful in the Eastern Mediterranean up to and including the era of the Komnenian period. However, the neglect under the Angeloi seriously reduced Byzantium's capabilities at sea. Michael VIII reversed the situation and began increasing the size of the navy to about 80 ships. Michael's efforts bore little fruit, however, as is testified by the fact that 32 Venetian ships defeated a Byzantine-Genoan fleet of 48 ships.J. Norwich, "Byzantium: The Decline and Fall", 220] Worse still was the fact that Michael VIII became increasingly reliant upon the Genoans for naval support, having hired 50-60 galleys in 1261.J. Norwich, "Byzantium: The Decline and Fall", 221] The Navy collapsed into worse shape still when Andronicus II, as part of his demilitarization of the Empire, disbanded the navy. The consequences did not simply mean an end to a Byzantine naval defense; it also meant an increased reliance on the unreliable Genoans and Venetians (who would consistently burn each other's property in the capital, thereby damaging the city) and left thousands of skilled sailors up for grabs by the Turks, who hired them to build their own fleets. By 1291, Andronicus II had hired 50-60 ships from the Republic of Genoa.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 17] Later in 1320, he realized the necessity of a navy and planned on resurrecting the fleet by constructing 20 galleys, but this attempt failed.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 17]

The destruction of the fleet by Andronicus II was somewhat remedied by Andronicus III, his grandson, who revived the fleet and by 1332 had a navy of 10 ships.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 17] In 1329, the island of Chios was taken by the Byzantines after the Islanders rebelled against the Genoans. Still, the navy remained but one of many in the Aegean, which was also patrolled by Venetians, Crusaders, Turks and the Genoans, who evened the loss of Chios against the Greeks with the capture of Lesbos. From the death of Andronicus III the Empire's civil wars gave the Venetians and Genoans plenty of naval warfare to dominate whilst the lack of a central government and resources worsened the navy further. In 1453, the Empire's fleet consisted of 10 ships. At the conclusive siege of Constantinople, the navy numbered a mere 26 ships, 16 of which were foreign plus another three that arrived from Rome.

Timeline

* 1259 - A Byzantine army of about 6,000 men participated in the Battle of Pelagonia where the empire scored a victory over the Franks.W. Treadgold, "A History of the Byzantine State and Society", 819]
* 1261 - The Byzantine army under Alexios Strategopoulos takes Constantinople without a siege.
* 1263 - An army of 15,000 men was sent to conquer the Principality of Achaea, but it's defeated near Andravida.J. Norwich, "Byzantium: The Decline and Fall", 220] Afterwards, 6,000 mounted troops were left to police the Peloponnese.G. Ostrogorsky, "History of the Byzantine State", 483]
* 1250 - 1280 Michael Palaiologus campaigns against the Latins, Serbians and Bulgarians, conquering Macedonia, northern Greece, and Bulgarian lands in Thrace.
* 1279 - Ivan Asen III was given a Byzantine army of 10,000 men by Michael VIII in order to claim the Bulgarian throne.G. Ostrogorsky, "History of the Byzantine State", 483] He succeeded in capturing Tirnovo and overthrowing Ivailo.
* 1303 - In response to numerous Turkish raids, the Catalan Company of 6,500 men sell their services to the Byzantine Emperor.I. Heath, "Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461", 22]
* 1310 - 1340 Despite the assistance of the Golden Horde, Ilkhanate and Aydin, the last Byzantine towns in Asia are lost.
* 1329 - Andronicus III and John VI led an army of 4,000 men against the Ottoman Turks, but was defeated at the Battle of Pelekanon.J. Norwich, "Byzantium: The Decline and Fall", 285]
* 1330 - 1340 Andronicus III conquers Epirus, the last of Byzantiums significant conquests. It is lost with his death to the Serbian Empire in 1341.
* 1354 - Galipolli is occupied by the Ottomans after an earthquake.
* 1354 - 1390 The Byzantine Empire loses all of Thrace to the advance of the Ottoman troops.
* 1422 - The Walls of Constantinople hold out against a full-scale Ottoman siege.
* 1430 - Thessalonika is sacked by the Ottomans, despite Venetian command of the city.
* c. 1450 - Constantine XI defeats the Crusaders in the Morea, temporarily expanding Byzantine rule there. The Ottomans in reply launch their own offensive, nullifying the gains.
* 1453 - Constantine XI, last "Basileus" and commander of the Byzantine Empire, defending Constantinople with 7,000 men is slain in battle.

ee also

*Byzantine-Ottoman Wars
*Byzantium under the Palaiologoi

Notes