A Tenth-Century Byzantine Military Manual: The Sylloge Tacticorum

Georgios Chatzelis, Jonathan Harris

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317186397
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

The Sylloge Tacticorum is a mid-Byzantine example of the literary genre of military manuals or Taktika which stretches back to antiquity. It was one of a number produced during the tenth century CE, a period when the Byzantine empire enjoyed a large measure of success in its wars against its traditional enemy, the Arabs. Compiled to record and preserve military strategies, know-how, and tactics, the manual discusses a wide variety of matters: battle formations, raids, sieges, ambushes, surprise attacks, the treatment of prisoners of war and defectors, distribution of booty, punishment of military offences, how to mount effective espionage, and how to send and receive envoys. There is even advice on the personal qualities required by generals, on how to neutralize enemy horses, and on how to protect the troops against poisoned food. The work culminates in an account of the stratagems employed by great Greek and Roman military commanders of the past. While, like so much of Byzantine literature, the Sylloge often simply reproduces material found in earlier texts, it also preserves a great deal of information about the military tactics being developed by the Byzantine army during the tenth century. It is the first Byzantine source to record the reappearance of a specialized heavy cavalry (the kataphraktoi ) and of a specialized infantry (the menavlatoi ) used to repel the attacks of the opposing heavy cavalry. There is also a great deal of information on new infantry and cavalry formations and on the new tactics that required them.

This is the first complete translation of the Sylloge into English. It is accompanied by a glossary of the specialised Greek military vocabulary used in the work and by footnotes which explain obscure references and identify the author's classical and Byzantine sources. An introduction places the work in its historical and literary context and considers some of the questions that have remained unanswered over the centuries, such as its authorship and the date of its composition.

Translation

Contents of The Sylloge Tacticorum (Compilation of Tactics)

By Leo [VI] the Emperor, Ruler of the Romans, in the Year 6412 [903/904 CE]¹

1 Introduction and also what the general should be like and the number of his qualities

2 Which activities the general must approve more than others

3 Regarding land measurements

4 The general should not fight in person and he should not be absent during a raid

5 In matters of the highest importance, the general ought to be the first to act in person

6 Secret plans should not be shared with the rank and file

7 The general should not be carelessly swayed by rumours and he should not join battle until he knows exactly the dispositions of the enemy

8 The same operations should not always be conducted repeatedly against the enemy and, in the case of an imminent engagement, the surrounding landscape should be reconnoitred as soon as dawn breaks

9 If battle is not imminent, the largest part of the army should not be concentrated in one place

10 The general should not destroy his own defences so as to make the men under his command bolder. It is advantageous to do so, however, if it becomes evident that there is a clear danger from not fighting.

11 During a siege, the country should not be ravaged immediately, and what should be done

12 One should behave humanely to cities which surrender

13 Promises made to traitors should be rigidly adhered to

14 One should be prepared before the enemy; and if a rout takes place, a pitched battle should not be organised again supposedly in order to rectify the defeat, unless it is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, as regards the allies, they should be less numerous than the local army and it [is] better if they do not consist of only one race. In addition, they should not be mixed in with the local army, not only during the march, but also while in camp.

15 When battle is expected, it is acceptable then for the general to be remiss in punishing the soldiers, pretending that he is ignorant or oblivious of their offences. In addition, suspects should be removed from their posts discreetly.

16 One should be particularly careful in times of truce

17 The general should punish the offences of the rank and file moderately, but he should take action properly against those of individuals

18 The general should keep a steady eye on these two things before battle

19 If the general campaigns in enemy territory, he will fight more daringly, and one who has a small army should prepare for battle at sunset

20 At the time of battle a large number of trumpets should not be sounded, nor should the formation have too many banners. In addition, the soldiers should remove the so-called pennons from their spears.

21 Concerning day and night outposts and how fires should be lit

22 Concerning the camp and what the general should do when the enemy attempts to attack it

23 Concerning the baggage train and how the army should safely cross the defiles together with its spoils

24 Concerning the so-called ambuscades

25 Concerning spies

26 Concerning envoys

27 Concerning defectors and traitors and that they must always be watched

28 How many types of fighting force there are

29 Concerning the types of formations of various peoples

30 Armament of the infantry, in the time of the Macedonians under Philip and Alexander, and the rest of the Greeks

31 Cavalry armament of the same time

32 Infantry formations of the same time

33 Cavalry formations of the same time

34 Formations of a compound army of the same period

35 What the officers of the army and the tagmata under their command are named, according to the Romans

36 How the stratiotai should be

37 How the stratiotes should arm himself

38 Armament of the infantry according to the Romans

39 Armament of the cavalry according to the same

40 The difference between the prokoursatores and koursatores. And in addition, that after a withdrawal, our raiders must not be complacent because they have arrived at the borders of their own territory.

41 The names of the military manoeuvres

42 The shapes of the formation

43 Concerning the depth or thickness and the length of the infantry as well as cavalry units, and also how much space the infantryman and the cavalryman occupy in formation. In addition, about the horizontal and vertical intervals between the units and also regarding the bowshot.

44 What should be done before a battle and, in addition, that prisoners of war should be trusted more than deserters

45 Infantry formations according to the Romans and about the stationing and arrangement of each

46 Cavalry formations according to the same and about the arrangement and stationing of each

47 Compound military formations according to the same, in which the infantry is always the majority

48 Concerning night battle

49 Concerning the march of the composite army over level and rough terrain. In addition, that the army should be prevented from marching across cultivated places.

50 What the general must do after victory and regarding the distribution of booty. In addition, those who die in battle are worthy of burial and prisoners of war should not be slain (and never the most honourable of them) while the fighting is still in progress.

51 The general must cautiously pursue during enemy retreats and he should leave behind some lochoi in strategic [positions], in order to withdraw safely. Furthermore, he who turns about often during a retreat is asking for battle.

52 What the general should do if the enemy attacks his own territory

53 What the general should do under siege

54 What the general will do when besieging the enemy

55 How a fort located near the enemy borders should be built quickly without a pitched battle

56 The army should be trained by chasing and hunting wild beasts, but only in times of peace, and how the military hunt should take place

57 How the soldiers may easily be prevented from falling ill from sun and fatigue

58 How the soldiers may become immune to poisonous drugs

59 How the soldiers are easily infected with plague by the enemy through food

60 How the soldiers are overpowered by the enemy with wine

61 How [our soldiers are overpowered] with water

62 How drinking wine makes those who consume it sleepy for two or three days, and how they wake up

63 How trees become desiccated

64 How the land becomes unsuitable for agriculture as the season approaches

65 How horses are easily turned to flight

66 How horses are killed or made ill from drinking

67 How a horse will suddenly collapse and then recover

68 How galloping horses will be halted

69 How horses will not neigh

70 How the so-called liquid fire may be put out and how it might not burn wood or walls when it is cast upon them

71 How severe bleeding from a wound may be stopped

72 How wounded skin may be closed up without stitches

73 How both horses and mules may not become infected by pestilential disease

74 How enemy weapons may be burned without fire

75 Coating of poisonous arrows

76 How written messages may be sent secretly

77 The enemy should be deceived through deserters and consequently enemy deserters should be treated with caution

78 In the most urgent matters, the general is the first one obliged to act in person

79 The general must be patient and able to bear hardship

80 The enemy’s benevolence must always be treated with caution

81 Especially in times of engagement cowards must not be mingled together with the rest of the troops and how these men are recognised

82 How friends are tested

83 Concerning both our own and the enemy spies

84 One should fight at the right time and not at random and the time which is [suitable] for battle

85 It [is] most advantageous to make the enemy suspicious of his allies

86 The army is greatly moved to bravery and courage by the general’s words and devotion

87 How the general could give the impression that his army is numerous, if he has a small one

88 And likewise in turn how the general could give the impression of a small army if he has a large one

89 In time of war the army is assisted by fire and wind

90 It [is] always advantageous to divert the enemy

91 How the general could make his army vigilant at night

92 In addition, how one could safely defeat the enemy through sleep deprivation

93 One should hide one’s own misfortunes while in camp

94 How cavalry will easily be defeated by infantry

95 The enemy is also overpowered by false reports, feigned actions, and similar signals

96 The general should make sworn agreements as safe as possible

97 Concerning traitors

98 The enemy should always be slain mercilessly during a pitched battle, but those who are in full flight should be pressed upon more lightly, especially in narrow and rough places

99 How one could retreat safely and without danger

100 Moderate punishments should be inflicted on disobedient soldiers

101 How one could preserve himself from danger when returning from a raid, if the enemy attacks him in the narrow passes

102 The general must fight more boldly on occasions when not fighting presents evident danger

Beginning of the Treatise on Strategy

1 From the Taktika of Leo the ruler, emperor of the Romans; introduction and also what the general should be like and the number of his qualities, in the year 6412 [903/904]

1. 1 When all the army consists exclusively of infantry or cavalry, or even of both of them together, I think that those who choose to talk about tactics should in their discussion treat each of the following in detail: first, to recall the armament and formations of former ages, but then place greater emphasis on those which are contemporary and close to our times; further to expound the names of units and leaders, and their armament and formations and all their doctrines and strategic operations. Thus those who read this book may have the means to know accurately about these tactics, namely what has been said and done by former generals and, on the other hand, anything which has been devised by more recent ones.
2. 2 Because if the book is ordered in this way, it should be thorough, and those who read it diligently will not miss their goal in most of the matters that they seek. First of all, I think that the most important thing [is] to go through in detail the things that pertain to the general, and to show with my words how the general must be, and to enumerate his qualities.
3. 3 Concerning the general. – Above all, the general must be 1) pious; and also 2) fair; 3) truthful; 4) prudent and not devoted to self-indulgence; 5) firm or undaunted, and brave or courageous; 6) both cunning and sharp-witted; 7) patient and able to bear hardship; 8) open to counsel; 9) generous and indifferent to money; 10) peaceable and sympathetic; 11) affable and accessible; 12) skilled in speaking; 13) middle-aged; 14) certainly a father of children; 15) highly reputable; 16) rich rather than poor; and 17) not excessively fearsome, but likewise not too tolerant.²
4. 4 1) Pious, because we know that piety [is] the safest foundation of all and it besto...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Glossary
• Conventions used in the translation
• Introduction
• Translation
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index