Procopius on soldiers and military institutions in the sixth-century Roman Empire / Conor Whately.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whately, Conor, author.

Series:

History of Warfare Ser.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Byzantine Empire--History, Military--527-1081.

Byzantine Empire.

Byzantine Empire--History, Military.

Procopius.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (311 pages)

Place of Publication:

Leiden, Netherland ; Boston, Massachusetts : Brill, [2021]

Summary:

"In Procopius on Soldiers and Military Institutions in the Sixth-Century Roman Empire, Conor Whately examines Procopius' coverage of rank-andfile soldiers in his three works, the Wars, Buildings, and Secret History. By evaluating his accounts alongside other comparative evidence, such as the edicts of Anastasius, legislation from the Codex Justinianus, and various papyri, Whately reveals the limitations to Procopius' work, especially when it comes to frontier soldiers. However, this study also shows the impact of Procopius' experiences with institutional matters such as unit structures on his writing, and the particular value he brings to our understanding of recruitment in the sixth century ce"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Tables and Maps

Introduction Writing about War in the Sixth Century

1 Procopius and War in the Sixth Century

2 From Generals to Soldiers

3 The Classicizing Straitjacket

4 Methodology

5 Book Organization

Chapter 1 Generals and Soldiers

1 Introduction

2 Generals vs. Soldiers

2.1 Soldiers: Numbers

2.2 Generals vs. Soldiers: Names

3 Conclusion

4 Tables

Chapter 2 Tracking Sixth-Century Soldiers

2 Procopius' Authority

2.1 Procopius' Credentials

2.2 Procopius' Use of Autopsy

3 Procopius' Sources

3.1 Oral Sources

3.2 Documentary Evidence

4 Case Study: Looking for Documents at Dara

5 Conclusion

Chapter 3 Catalogues and Legions

2 Terminology

2.1 The End of the Legion

2.2 Arithmos

3 Procopius' Regiments

3.1 Katalogos in Procopius

3.2 Katalogos in Antiquity

3.3 Field Armies

3.4 Count Marcellinus, Jordanes, John Malalas, and Agathias

3.5 John Lydus and the Anastasius Edicts

4 Why Catalogues? The Wars of Generals

Chapter 4 Soldiers in the Field

2 Comitatenses

2.1 Katalogoi and stratiwtai

3 Foederati, symmachoi, and bucellarii

4 Horse Archers

4.1 Infantry vs. Cavalry

4.2 Hippotoxotai

4.3 Horse Archers: The Procopian Ideal and the Reality

Chapter 5 Limitanei in the Age of Justinian

2 Procopius on the End of the limitanei in the Secret History

2.1 Rome's Frontier Soldiers

2.2 Procopius

2.3 Limitanei in the Wars and Buildings

2.4 Ambiguous Garrisons in the Buildings

2.5 Limitanei in the Wars

3 Rome's Frontier Soldiers across the Empire in the Sixth Century

4 Case Study: The limitanei in the Southeast

4.1 Frontier Soldiers in Action: Checking Barbarians

5 Conclusion.

Chapter 6 Recruitment

2 Procopius on Recruitment

2.1 The Mechanics of Recruitment

2.2 Volunteers and Conscripts

2.3 Character Traits

2.4 Origins of Recruits

2.5 Recruitment Gaps

3 Demographics

3.1 Recruitment and the Plague

3.2 Recruitment and Corruption

4 Conclusion

Conclusion

Appendix Soldiers in Procopius' Wars, Buildings, and Secret History

Bibliography

Index Locorum

General Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

90-04-46161-2

OCLC:

1242020961