Some Observations on Biographical Compositions and Egodocuments of the Middle Byzantine Military Aristocracy (c.900-c.1200)

Transcription

1 Some Observations on Biographical Compositions and Egodocuments of the Middle Byzantine Military Aristocracy (c.900-c.1200) The prominence of certain aristocratic individuals and families in Byzantine historiography of the tenth and eleventh centuries has encouraged a number of arguments for the existence of biographical literature pertaining to these subjects. These hypothesized works are now lost, though it is suggested that traces may be observed in surviving histories of the period, such as those written by Leo the Deacon, 1 John Skylitzes, 2 and Nikephoros Bryennios. 3 As a potentially significant source for historians of the period, these lost biographical compositions a convenient collective label, though not ideal warrant further (albeit speculative) study. Hitherto considered in isolation, the first part of this paper presents an overview of the evidence and arguments for aristocratic biographical literature. The second part takes a closer look at some of the potential extracts and demonstrates how they may be symptomatic of a general Byzantine style of writing about warfare which conformed to contemporary aristocratic ideals and literary interests. The family name only appeared in Byzantium in the early ninth century, though it quickly became essential to aristocratic identity and social status. 4 As the Byzantines gained the upper hand in the perpetual war against Islam, a number of military families based in Asia Minor were able to accumulate wealth, power and prestige at the head of Byzantium s rapidly improving armed forces. The struggle for supremacy among the Empire s leading generals would become a consistent theme in Byzantine 1 Leonis Diaconi Caloënsis Historiae Libri Decem, ed. C.B. Hase (Bonn 1828); trans. A-M. Talbot & D.F. Sullivan, The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century (Washington D.C. 2005). 2 Ioannis Skylitzae Synopsis Historiarum, ed. I Thurn (Berlin 1973); trans. J. Wortley, John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, (Cambridge 2010). 3 Nicephori Bryennii, Historiarium Libri Quattuor, ed. P. Gautier (Brussels 1975). 4 E. Patlagean, Les débuts d une aristocratie byzantine et le témoignage de l'historiographie: système des noms et liens de parenté aux IXe-Xe siècles, in M. Angold (ed.), The Byzantine Aristocracy, IX to XIII Centuries, BAR Int. Series 221 (Oxford 1984); A. Kazhdan, The formation of Byzantine family names in the ninth and tenth centuries, Byzantinoslavica LVIII 1 (1997); E. Kountoura-Galaki, Iconoclast officials and the formation of surnames during the reign of Constantine V, Revue des études byzantines 62 (2004). 1

2 politics until the end of the eleventh century. 5 Against this backdrop, the allure of biographical literature to the military aristocracy is clear. By documenting their noble character and accomplishments, competing factions could show themselves to be worthy of acclaim and favour, and even of the imperial throne itself. References and allusions to aristocratic biography in Middle Byzantine historiography The tenth-century chronicle, Theophanes Continuatus, directs the reader to an eightvolume work by a certain Manuel which documented the deeds of John Kourkouas, famed commander of the imperial forces for over two decades under the Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r ). 6 Little is known of the work or its author, though Athanasios Markopoulos has postulated that the book portrayed Kourkouas as an ideal military man by demonstrating his courage, intelligence and generalship. 7 Since the author of the sixth book of Theophanes Continuatus, writing c.963, was familiar with Manuel s work, it is roughtly datable to c The Phokas clan became increasingly relevant from the late ninth century. By 963, the family had a representative on the throne - Nikephoros II Phokas - and, following his murder in 969, waged an intermittent war for rule of the Byzantine Empire until the early eleventh century. 8 Though the family became largely inconsequential after this time, references from texts of the late eleventh century attest to the enduring popularity of Nikephoros II Phokas. The Historia Syntomos, a world chronicle thought to have been written by the renowned writer and philosopher Michael Psellos, states: About the emperor Nikephoros Phokas many detailed writings have been published both by contemporaries and by authors shortly after, and whoever read them will know how many things were achieved by this man as a private person and 5 J-C. Cheynet, Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance ( ) (Paris 1990); C. Holmes, Basil II and the Governance of Empire ( ) (Oxford 2005). 6 Theophanes Continuatus, ed. I Bekker (Bonn 1838), ; Skylitzes, A. Markopoulos, Η ιστοριογραφία των δυνατών κατά τη µεσοβυζαντινή περίοδο. Ο Ιωάννης Κουρκούας στην ιστορική στην ιστορική συγγραφή του πρωτοσπαθάριου και κριτή Μανουήλ, Παρουσία ( ). 8 R. Morris, Succession and usurpation: politics and rhetoric in the late tenth century, in P. Magdalino (ed.), New Constantines: The Rhythm of Imperial Renewal in Byzantium, 4th-13th Centuries (Aldershot 1994). 2

3 as emperor. 9 Roughly contemporaneous with the Historia Syntomos was the Historia of military judge Michael Attaleiates. 10 The deeds of the Phokas family, Attaleiates relates, continued to be well-known and much talked of. 11 Attaleiates states that he learned of the noble ancestry of Nikephoros II Phokas, going back to Constantine the Great and the Fabii, in an old book (βίβλου τινὸς παλαιᾶς). 12 Athanasios Markopoulos speculated that this text may have been one of the works alluded to in the Historia Syntomos. 13 The extensive and often favourable coverage afforded to the Phokas family in historiography of the tenth and eleventh centuries has given rise to many arguments for the existence of pro-phokades literature, including various biographies of Nikephoros Phokas and a Familiengeschichte der Phocas. 14 The use of aristocratic biographical literature in the composition of Skylitzes Synopsis Historion The Synopsis Historion of John Skylitzes, probably written in the 1080s, documents the period from While Skylitzes has been shown to have relied heavily upon the aforementioned Theophanes Continuatus for his account of 811-c.948, his sources for events after this date are no longer extant. 15 Though Skylitzes lists a 9 Michaeli Pselli Historia Syntomos, ed. & trans. W. Aerts (Berlin 1990), See J. Ljubarskij, Nikephoros Phokas in Byzantine historical writings - trace of the secular biography in Byzantium, Byzantinoslavica LIV (1993). 10 Miguel Ataliates Historia, ed. I. Pérez Martín (Madrid 2002). 11 Attaleiates, Ibid, A. Markopoulos, Constantine the Great in Macedonian historiography: models and approaches, in P. Magdalino (ed.), New Constantines: The Rhythm of Imperial Renewal in Byzantium, 4th-13th Centuries (Aldershot 1994), ; idem, The portrayal of the male figure in Michael Attaleiates, in V. Vlyssidou (ed.), The Empire in Crisis (?): Byzantium in the 11 th Century ( ) (Athens 2003), , , F. Hirsch, Byzantinische Studien (Leipzig 1876), 50-51, ; F. Tinnefeld, Kategorien der Kaiserkritik in der Byzantinischen Historiographie (Munich 1971), ; C. Roueché, Byzantine writers and readers: storytelling in the eleventh century, in R.M. Beaton (ed.), The Greek Novel, AD (London 1988), ; R. Morris, The two faces of Nikephoros Phokas, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 12 (1988); A. Markopoulos, Sur les deux versions de la chronographie de Syméon Logothète, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 76 (1983), esp. 284; idem, Zu den biographien des Nikephoros Phokas, Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 38 (1988); idem, Byzantine history writing at the end of the first millennium, in P. Magdalino (ed.), Byzantium in the Year 1000 (Leiden 2003), , ; idem, From narrative historiography to historical biography. New trends in Byzantine historical writing in the 10 th -11 th Centuries, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 102/2 (2009), See most recently B. Flusin, Re-writing history: John Skylitzes Synopsis historion, in J. Wortley, John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, (Cambridge 2010), xviii-xx. 3

4 number of authors in his preface, it is clear that he does not list all his sources, for there is no obvious mention of the Theophanes Continuatus. 16 Speculation that Skylitzes utilized another unspecified source - a pro-phokas source that Alexander Kazhdan termed Source B - has encouraged suggestions that other aristocratic biographies underlie the Synopsis Historion. 17 Jonathan Shepard has published several studies concerning Skylitzes coverage of Katakalon Kekaumenos, a prominent general active across the Byzantine Empire in the 1040s and 1050s. 18 The highly detailed narrative of Kekaumenos military activities, which generally complements the general for any success or extricates him from blame in the event of a defeat, leads Shepard to the conclusion that Skylitzes employed an (auto)biography of Katakalon Kekaumenos. Shepard proposes that the laudatory work was written some time between 1057 and Shepard s research into Skylitzes record of the attempted reconquest of Sicily between 1038 and 1042 indicates the use of another biographical source alongside the Kekaumenos biography: a text sympathetic to George Maniakes, a formidable soldier renowned for his efforts in southern Italy and Sicily between 1035 and Shepard speculates that the source was not a full biography, but a political pamphlet focused primarily on the events of , intended to lambast Maniakes political enemies as much as commend his own achievements. Shepard s argument for a limited scope is contentious, since Skylitzes provides a similarly favourable account of Maniakes early career on the eastern frontier. In any case, the absence of direct 16 For the authors cited by Skylitzes see N.M. Panagiotakes, Fragments of a lost eleventh-century Byzantine historical work?, in C.N. Constantinides et al (eds.), Philhellen. Studies in Honour of Robert Browning (Venice 1996), esp ; C. Holmes (as in note 5), 91-99, , ; B. Flusin (as in note 15), xiii-xxiii. 17 R. Morris (as in note 14), 85-86; J. Ljubarskij (as in note 9), ; A. Kazhdan, A History of Byzantine Literature ( ), C. Angelidi (ed.) (Athens 2006), ; B. Flusin (as in note 15), xx-xxi. 18 J. Shepard, Scylitzes on Armenia in the 1040s, and the role of Catacalon Cecaumenos, Revue des études arméniennes 11 ( ); idem, Byzantium s last Sicilian expedition: Scylitzes testimony, Rivista di studi bizantini e neoellenici xxiv-xxvi ( ), ; idem, A suspected source of John Scylitzes Synopsis Historion: the great Catacalon Cecaumenus, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 16 (1992). 19 Idem, Isaac Comnenus Coronation Day, Byzantinoslavica XXXVIII (1977). 20 J. Shepard (as in note 18: ). 4

5 criticism of Constantine IX Monomachos (r ) intimates that the Maniakes text appeared shortly after the general s death in Shepard s ideas inspired other arguments for aristocratic biographies or manifestos lurking within Skylitzes Synopsis Historion. Stephen Kamer was among the first to speculate that Skylitzes may have used a biography of the infamous tenth-century warlord Bardas Skleros, possibly written by his son, Romanos. 21 Charlotte Roueché independently came to the same conclusion, observing that passages highlighting the military genius of Skleros might derive from an account of his life. 22 Catherine Holmes has since considerably expanded upon this hypothesis, tracing the use of a pro-bardas Skleros document in the composition of Skylitzes and also the Chronographia of Michael Psellos. Holmes suggests that the text was written c.990, and that it served to remind the state that Bardas Skleros and his family might still be of use to the empire following their fall from favour in Heroic tales of the Doukas family The Doukai were one of the preeminent families in late eleventh-century Byzantium. Michael Psellos, writing c.1080, said of the Emperor Constantine X Doukas: His family, as far back as his great-grandfathers, had been both distinguished and affluent, the kind of persons historians record in their works. Certain it is that to this very day the names of the celebrated Andronikos, of Constantine, of Pantherios, are on everybody s lips all relatives of his, some on the paternal, others on the mother s side. 24 Andronikos Doukas and his son Constantine were notable generals who became embroiled in rebellions against the state in 906/907 and 913 respectively. 25 D.I. Polemis considers it extremely unlikely that the Doukai of the late eleventh century were descended from the same family to which Andronikos and Constantine 21 S. Kamer, Emperors and Aristocrats in Byzantium, , PhD Thesis (Michigan 1986), 31-32, n C. Roueché (as in note 14), C. Holmes (as in note 5), Michel Psellos. Chronographie ou histoire d un siècle de Byzance ( ), ed. É. Renauld (Paris ), II, 140; trans. E.R.A. Sewter, Fourteen Byzantine Rulers (London 1953), D.I. Polemis, The Doukai: A Contribution to Byzantine Prosopography (London 1968),

6 belonged. 26 This is immaterial. Evidently, the likes of Constantine X Doukas professed to have been part of the same unbroken line, and exploited the popularity and heroic reputation of the Doukas name to back his claim to greatness. Andronikos and Constantine Doukas are also thought to have inspired frontier oral tales and epic poems. The famous Digenes Akrites, an epic poem which tells of the background and life of a mixed-race border warlord, was probably committed to writing in the first half of the twelfth century, though almost certainly existed in some oral form since the tenth century. 27 In the Escorial version of the poem, the eponymous Digenes is said to have descended from the Doukai; 28 the Grottaferrata redaction is more specific, claiming that Digenes was related to one Constantine Doukas on his mother s side. 29 Though it would be imprudent to link Constantine to a historical person, there can be few doubts that the early Doukai inspired some of the characters and scenarios of the poem. 30 Indeed, Henri Grégoire and Hans-Georg Beck suggest that Digenes Akrites derives in part from legendary oral stories about the heroes of the first incarnation of the Doukas family. 31 The testimony of Michael Psellos confirms that these stories continued to be transmitted in the late eleventh century. With the emergence of a new, more influential Doukas clan in the second half of the eleventh century, thoughts turned towards preserving their deeds in writing. Leonora Neville has put forward a persuasive argument for the existence of a source detailing the life of the caesar John Doukas, uncle of the emperor Michael VII Doukas (r ). Several aspects of Doukas sympathetic presentation in the twelfth-century Hyle Historias of Nikephoros Bryennios move Neville to hypothesize the existence of 26 Ibid, R. Beaton and D. Ricks (eds.), Digenes Akrites: New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Aldershot 1993); R. Beaton, Cappadocians at court: Digenes and Timarion, in M. Mullett & D. Smythe (eds.), Alexios I Komnenos (Belfast 1996), ; E. Jeffreys, Digenis Akritis: The Grottaferrata and Escorial Versions (Cambridge 1998), xiii-lxii. 28 Digenis Akritis: The Grottaferrata and Escorial Versions, ed. & trans. E. Jeffreys (Cambridge 1998), E Ibid, G G. Huxley, Antecedents and Context of Digenis Akrites: I - historical aspects of the Lay of the Emir; II - Digenes and the akritai, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 15 (1974), H. Grégoire, Etudes sur l épopée byzantine, Revue des études Grecques 46 (1933); H-G. Beck, Geschichte der byzantinischen Volksliteratur (Munich 1971), 48-97; D.I. Polemis (as in note 25),

7 an encomiastic source devoted to this individual. Neville proposes that Bryennios intimate knowledge of John Doukas stemmed not from oral stories but from a written text, perhaps a funeral encomium or history of the Doukas family, but more likely his own memoirs or letters. 32 Conclusion References found in the historical works of the Continuator of Theophanes, Michael Attaleiates and Michael Psellos confirm that aristocratic generals were the subject of literary compositions in the Middle Byzantine period, and the convincing arguments put forward by numerous scholars suggest that such works were relatively abundant and served as useful sources for historians and chroniclers. It now remains to examine some of the biographical data presented and discuss the nature and purpose of the presentation of the subject. While attributing specific parts of a history to a lost written source puts us firmly in the troubling realm of speculation, the methodology employed by Catherine Holmes and Leonora Neville assessing Skylitzes and Bryennios use of other written material which is known to us - has shown these historians to have been extremely faithful in rendering their original source, generally omitting or abridging rather than making any substantial changes. The obvious indication is that Skylitzes and Bryennios would also have adhered closely to the biographical material they appear to have employed, though in any case my observations are rather broad and speak of more general trends in how the Byzantines of the Middle period detailed military episodes. 32 L. Neville, A history of the Caesar John Doukas in Nikephoros Bryennios Material for History?, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 32/2 (2008). 7

8 Presentation of the Subject in the Potential Biographical Content The fragmentary evidence analyzed below suggests that aristocratic biographical compositions featured vivid accounts of campaigns and battles, with emphasis drawn to the ability of the subject. Comparison to contemporary military handbooks reveals the strategies and tactics employed to reflect current trends, something which would not have been lost on an aristocratic audience, encouraged to read military manuals in order to bolster their theoretical knowledge of warfare. Consequently, the authors of soldier biographies tended to depict their subject as one who played it by the book, as it were, perhaps deeming it the best way to demonstrate the extent of his ability. And just as the manuals promote original thinking, we similarly witness moments of ingenuity and innovation. Leo the Deacon s detailed account of the victory of Leo Phokas over the Arab emir Sayf al-dawla in 960 is suggestive of the use of an informed written source keen to extol Leo Phokas and laud his success. 33 The positive traits attributed to Leo Phokas courage and vigour, exceptionally good judgment, supremely clever at devising the proper course of action support Athanasios Markopoulos idea of the virtues esteemed in aristocratic biographies: courage, intelligence, and martial prowess. 34 Before Leo the Deacon describes the battle against the Arab raiders, he provides a brief record of an earlier victory won by Leo Phokas over the Magyars. 35 Comparison of the two accounts of Leo s victories suggests that the episodes may have originated in the same source. In both instances the perilous nature of the situation is stressed the enemy army is vastly superior in numbers, skill, arms, and morale. Nevertheless, Leo triumphs by monitoring the enemy closely, planning his attack, and unleashing a sudden ambush to devastating effect. The specifics vary, but in both battles the cautious and tactically-aware Leo Phokas is presented as an expert practitioner of the skirmishing warfare presented in the contemporary military handbook, the De Velitatione. As Jean-Claude Cheynet and Gilbert Dagron have demonstrated, chapters III (on occupying difficult terrain in advance of the enemy), XXIII (on ambushing a withdrawing enemy in mountain passes) and XXIV (on night attacks) of 33 Leo the Deacon, 18-24; cf. Skylitzes, ; Theophanes Continuatus, A. Markopoulos (as in note 7). 35 Leo the Deacon,

9 the De Velitatione provide principals so strikingly similar to those followed by Leo Phokas against the Arabs and Magyars that we must wonder if his victories provided the blueprint for these sections. 36 In any case, an aristocratic readership would have appreciated Leo s accomplishments as textbook victories. Catherine Holmes proposes that the Bardas Skleros biographical source sought to present its subject as an expert general by highlighting his cunning and strategic awareness. 37 Skylitzes extensive use of the work allows us to highlight several ways in which the original author did this. The account of Skleros victory over a combined Magyar-Pecheneg-Bulgarian force near the Thracian town of Arcadiopolis in 970 has been shown by Eric McGeer to present a perfect execution of the tactics prescribed for defeating a superior force in the military treatise, the Praecepta Militaria (see below). 38 Here Bardas Skleros generalship and combat skills are complimented, but in other instances it is his quick thinking and innovative stratagems. At the battle of Lapara in 976, Skleros deceived the imperial army by ordering his troops to fall upon them whilst the opposition was eating. Though the enemy stood firm initially, they were eventually unnerved by Bardas outflanking manoeuvre and broke ranks. 39 It is also suggested that the Skleros manifesto offered a fictitious account of Skleros daring escape from captivity in Baghdad, apparently made possible through his considerable ingenuity, courage and military ability. 40 Exhilarating stories, along with accounts of textbook military victories, best conveyed the magnitude of the subject; in turn, they were also what the intended audience wished to read about. This emphasis on exciting military episodes exhibiting the bravery and cunning of the general is also evident in material relating to Katakalon Kekaumenos, another general thought to have been the subject of a biographical source employed by Skylitzes. As the Arabs moved to regain Sicilian cities lost to the Byzantines in 1041, only Messina, 36 G. Dagron & H. Mihăescu, Le traité sur la guérilla (De velitatione) de l'empereur Nicéphore Phocas ( ) (Paris 1986), , 223 n.16; J-C. Cheynet, Les Phocas, in G. Dagron & H. Mihăescu, Le traité sur la guérilla..., , C. Holmes (as in note 5), E. McGeer, Sowing the Dragon s Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century (Washington D.C. 1995), Skylitzes, Ibid, See C. Holmes (as in note 5),

10 entrusted to the command of Kekaumenos, held out. Beset by a vast army, Kekaumenos delayed while the frustrated Arabs turned to drink and grew careless. This was not lost on Kekaumenos, who led a charge against the unprepared enemy, and rode straight for the enemy leader, who was cut down. To target the opposition commander was a key principle of tenth-century Byzantine military theory, with the hope that the enemy army would be demoralized if he perished. 41 Kekaumenos boldness paid off as the enemy took to disorderly flight. 42 The account paints a familiar picture of a skilled general pulling off a defeat through cunning and military prowess in the face of overwhelming odds. We encounter further episodes showcasing Kekaumenos expertise during Skylitzes discussion of the general s tenure as governor of Ani and Iberia in Armenia. 43 In 1048, Kekaumenos, having been called to assist Aaron, governor of Vaspurakan, against the incursions of the Turks, favoured abandoning the fortified camp and ambushing the Turks as they were pillaging the site. By outlining the plan, and then describing its perfect execution, the text stresses that the victory was entirely down to Kekaumenos expertise. 44 Significantly, whenever Kekaumenos advice is overlooked, the Turks enjoy success; the momentum from the initial success is lost when Aaron ignores Kekaumenos plea to attack the Turks massing for a retaliatory raid, while the inhabitants of Artze might have been spared had they listened to Kekaumenos and sought refuge behind their walls. 45 The Byzantine-Iberian force loses the initiative again when Kekaumenos co-commander refuses his call to attack the Turks before they had time to form a cohesive unit. 46 This aggressive stance seems to have been a particular trait of Kekaumenos, since precisely the same advice is ignored in relation to a different enemy, the Pechenegs, at the battle of Diakene in 1049; inevitably, the Byzantines lost the battle, with only Kekaumenos emerging with his reputation intact. 47 Consistency in Kekaumenos tactics is seen also in Skylitzes account of the battle of Hades, which confirmed the triumph of the rebel Isaac 41 Praecepta Militaria, ed. & trans. E. McGeer, Sowing the Dragon s Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century (Washington D.C. 1995), II , IV, , with commentary at Skylitzes, J. Shepard (as in note 18: ). 44 Skylitzes, Ibid, Ibid, Ibid,

11 Komnenos over reigning emperor Michael VI. Kekaumenos, fighting under Isaac, is reported to have led a direct attack on the imperial camp, a manoeuvre with clear parallels to his actions at Messina. From the traces of a pro-kekaumenos biography in Skylitzes, we might infer that the work sought to present its subject as an energetic leader, eager to take the fight to the enemy to avoid large-scale pitched battle. Though Skylitzes used his proposed George Maniakes biographical source more fleetingly, the document appears to have contained episodes similar to those outlined above, demonstrating Maniakes martial prowess and guile. Skylitzes relates how Maniakes was able to save the eastern city of Telouch from an Arab force through a cunning trick: having sent the Arabs food and drink, and informed them he would surrender the following morning, Maniakes attacked whilst they were drunk and negligent, slaughtering them all. 48 Maniakes siegecraft skills are evident in his successful defence of Edessa against a substantial Arab force. 49 While the narrative of Maniakes time in Sicily is summarized and lacking in tactical detail, it is said that Maniakes made use of devices and stratagems (στρατηγικαῖς µηχαναῖς) in lieu of inferior numbers to frustrate Norman rebels; we might speculate that the precise nature of these ruses would have been detailed in the original source. 50 The correlation between the tactics employed by these generals and the guidance of contemporary handbooks reflects the renewed interest in military theory during this period. The Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r ) drafted an exhaustive Taktika which drew heavily upon the Strategikon of Emperor Maurice (r ) and the works of Hellenistic authors on warfare, including Onasander and Aelian. 51 Subsequent manuals, written by men with practical experience, are less compilatory and show a greater awareness of current tactical developments. The De Velitatione documents the procedures for frontier warfare against the bordering Arab states, and serves as a valuable witness to the raid and counter-raid pattern evident during the 48 Ibid, Ibid, Ibid, The Taktika of Leo VI, ed. & trans. G.T. Dennis (Washington D.C. 2010); Das Strategikon des Maurikios, ed. G.T. Dennis (Vienna 1981); Maurice s Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy, trans. G.T. Dennis (Philadelphia 1984); Aeneas Tacticus, Onasander, Asclepiodotus, ed. & trans. the Illinois Greek Club (Massachusetts, 1928); Aelian, Theorie der Taktik, in H. Köchly & W. Rüstow (eds.), Griechische Kriegsschriftsteller, Vol.2/1 (Leipzig 1855). 11

12 period c.840-c The shift to more offensive tactics in the war against the Arabs is first seen in the largely encyclopaedic Sylloge Tacticorum, compiled during the reign of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (c ); 53 the relevant sections were soon reworked and expanded by the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas in his Praecepta Militaria. 54 Instructional works on defensive (De Obsidione Toleranda) and offensive siege warfare (the Parangelmata Poliorcetica by the so-called Heron of Byzantium) appeared in the mid-tenth century. 55 Imperial campaigns in Bulgaria were covered in the treatise De Re Militari, thought to have been composed in the first half of Basil II s reign (r ). 56 Finally, in the early-eleventh century Nikephoros Ouranos, a leading general of Basil II, compiled a comprehensive Taktika which was comprised mostly of archaic material but included some new content reflecting changes in eastern warfare since Nikephoros II Phokas day. 57 While it is unknown if any of these particular works were read by soldiers, the very fact that they dealt with current circumstances and were written by men with military experience suggests a practical intent. The Vita Basilii, an encomiastic biography of the Emperor Basil I (c ), stresses the importance of military handbooks to those considering engaging in war: Were it possible for everyone to learn military science or art without study and considerable practice, authors of works on tactics who devote so much labour to this topic would be merely ranting senselessly. 58 Nikephoros Bryennios notes that the military education which the Emperor Basil II gave to the young John and Isaac Komnenos involved the study of taktika. 59 The former soldier Kekaumenos, author of the late eleventh century advice work Consilia 52 Three Byzantine Military Treatises, ed. & trans. G.T. Dennis (Washington D.C. 1985), (under the title On Skirmishing ). Another edition with French translation and in-depth analysis is provided by G. Dagron & H. Mihăescu, Le traité sur la guérilla (De velitatione) de l'empereur Nicéphore Phocas ( ) (Paris 1986). 53 Sylloge tacticorum, quae olim Inedita Leonis tactica dicebatur, ed. A. Dain (Paris 1938). 54 E. McGeer (as in note 38), Siegecraft: Two Tenth-Century Instructional Manuals by Heron of Byzantium, ed. & trans. D.F. Sullivan (Washington D.C. 2000); D.F. Sullivan, A Byzantine instructional manual on siege defense: the De Obsidione Toleranda: Introduction, English translation and annotations, in J.W. Nesbitt (ed.), Byzantine Authors: Literary Activities and Preoccupations (Leiden 2003). 56 G.T. Dennis (as in note 52), E. McGeer (as in note 38), Chronographiae Quae Theophanis Continuati Nomine Fertur Liber Quo Vita Basilii Imperatoris Amplectitur, ed. & trans. I. Ševčenko (Berlin/Boston 2011), ; trans Nikephoros Bryennios,

13 et Narrationes, counseled generals to read military handbooks whenever not at war, and himself appears to have been familiar with such works. 60 Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos instructed that military manuals (βιβλία στρατηγικά) and works detailing siege engines (βιβλία µηχανικά, ἑλεπόλεις ἔχοντα) should be taken on an imperial expedition. 61 Michael Psellos notes that the caesar John Doukas acquired a knowledge of strategy and tactics from the works of Aelian and other Hellenistic military writers. 62 Anna Komnene similarly revealed that her father, the emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r ), was not unfamiliar with the Taktika of Aelian. 63 With military manuals regularly consulted by aristocratic generals and emperors, accounts of textbook victories in aristocratic biographical literature were highly likely to find appreciation among their intended readership. Advice literature of the Middle Byzantine period also encouraged the reader to break from tradition and use their initiative and cunning. 64 The opportunism of Bardas Skleros, Katakalon Kekaumenos and George Maniakes is evident in the episodes mentioned above. These stories satisfied the Byzantine fondness for trickery and the stratagem, the surprise attack and avoidance of pitched battle; 65 indeed, Everett Wheeler considered stratagems to be the predominant theme of Byzantine military theory. 66 The mentality may be traced back to the cunning Odysseus in the works of Homer, 67 and, to a lesser extent, the Old Testament, 68 both of which constituted essential reading for educated Byzantines. 69 Prokopios Wars, sixth-century works of 60 Cecaumeni strategicon et incerti scriptoris de officiis regiis libellus, eds. B. Wassiliewsky & V. Jernstedt (Amsterdam 1965), 19.23ff. See C. Roueché, The Literary Background of Kekaumenos, in C. Holmes & J. Waring (eds.), Literacy, education and manuscript transmission in Byzantium and beyond (Leiden 2002), Three Treatises on Imperial Military Expeditions, ed. & trans. J.F. Haldon (Vienna 1990), C Michael Psellos, Chronographia, II, Annae Comnenae Alexias, ed. D.R. Reinsch & A. Kambylis (Berlin 2001), XV.3.6; trans. E.R.A. Sewter, Anna Komnene: The Alexiad (London 1969; revised by Peter Frankopan, London 2009), E.g. Kekaumenos, , E.g. The Taktika of Leo, XII E.L. Wheeler, Stratagem and the Vocabulary of Military Trickery (New York 1988), 12; W. Kaegi, Some thoughts on Byzantine military strategy (Massachusetts 1983). 67 A.T. Edwards, Achilles in the Odyssey: Ideologies of Heroism in the Homeric Epic (Meisenheim 1985). 68 For trickery in warfare in the Old Testament, see S. Niditch, Warfare in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence (New York/Oxford 1993), For the Byzantine appreciation of Homer, see R. Browning, Homer in Byzantium, Viator 6 (1975); idem, The Byzantines and Homer, in R. Lamberton & J. J. Keaney (ed.), Homer's Ancient Readers: 13

14 history concerned often with the deeds of legendary general Belisarios, may have impressed upon Middle Byzantine writers and readers a certain military ideology and narrative style, with one twelfth-century chronicler, George Kedrenos, describing the Wars as the stratagems of Belisarios. 70 A particular type of ancient military writing strategemata, which collected famous examples of stratagems was also popular in Byzantium. Polyainos Strategika, a collection of over 900 mythical and classical exempla of trickery in war compiled in the second century A.D., was abridged by an anonymous Byzantine redactor sometime between the sixth and ninth century. 71 Polyainos work formed the basis of the so-called Stratagems of the Emperor Leo, preserved in the tenth-century Sylloge Tacticorum, 72 while chapters of the Taktika of Nikephoros Ouranos are gleaned from Polyainos. 73 Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos recommended that Polyainos work be among the books brought on an imperial expedition. 74 The aforementioned narrative episodes involving Middle Byzantine generals exhibiting guile and ingenuity adhere closely to the strategemata tradition. The ruse employed by Bardas Skleros at the battle of Lapara, where he fooled his opponents into breaking for dinner and then attacked them as they ate, is very similar to a stratagem used by Kleomenes of Sparta against the Argives, recorded in Polyainos as well as the Byzantine excerpta and the later redaction in the Sylloge Tacticorum. 75 Proposed sections of aristocratic biographical literature strike us as Byzantine equivalents to the ancient tales of cunning found in Polyainos Strategika. The Hermeneutics of Greek Epic s Earliest Exegetes (Princeton 1992). Kekaumenos (19.23ff) encouraged soldiers to read books of the church for ideas, insisting that almost all of the Old Testament is full of stories of strategy. 70 Georgius Cedrenus, ed. I Bekker (Bonn ), I, 649. See also W. Kaegi, Procopius the Military Historian, Byzantinische Forschungen 15 (1990), 66; C.C. Whately, Descriptions of Battle in the Wars of Procopius, PhD Thesis (University of Warwick 2009), esp J-A. de Foucault, Stratagemata (Paris 1949). See also E.L. Wheeler & P. Krentz, Polyaenus, Stratagems of War (Chicago 1994), I, xvi-xxi; A. Dain, Les cinq adaptations byzantines des Stratagèmes de Polyen, Revue des études anciennes 33 (1931). 72 See E.L. Wheeler & P. Krentz (as in note 71), I, xxi-xxiii. 73 See F. Trombley, The Taktika of Nikephoros Ouranos and military encyclopaedism, in P. Binkley (ed.), Pre-Modern Encyclopaedic Texts: Proceedings of the Second COMERS Congress, Groningen, 1-4 July 1996 (Leiden 1996), Three Treatises on Imperial Military Expeditions, C Polyaenus, Stratagems of War, ed. & trans. P. Krentz & E. Wheeler (Chicago 1994): Polyaenus Strategica, 1.14; Excerpts of Polyaenus, 20.1; Leo the Emperor, Stratagems,

15 Though we cannot discount that our historians drew from their material selectively, culling the more exciting and memorable tales from longer campaign narratives, this anecdotal style typifies the mode of relating military episodes in Middle Byzantium. 76 James Howard-Johnston observed the trend in relation to the histories of Anna Komnene and Nikephoros Bryennios, 77 while Kekaumenos includes a number of tales of bravado and cunning in his Consilia et Narrationes. 78 Other such narrative episodes in Skylitzes Synopsis Historion in addition to those identified above may also be cited. 79 This stemmed in part from an oral tradition of military men telling something akin to campfire tales. According to Michael Psellos, the Emperor Isaac I Komnenos (r ) would entertain the court with stories of the old times, recalling all the witty sayings of Basil (II) the Great. 80 Anna Komnene writes of overhearing conversations between her father Alexios and his brother-in-law George Palaiologos, the suggestion being that they were recalling past experiences in war. 81 Adolf Stender-Peterson argued for the influence of a distinctly Byzantine mode of storytelling in the twelfth-century Russian Primary Chronicle, wherein a number of tales concerned with tricks and stratagems may be observed. It is suggested that these Varagische Kriegslistanekdoten were brought north by veterans of the famous Varangian Guard, or spread by traders who had come into contact with the elite mercenary company based in Constantinople. Stender-Peterson viewed the Byzantine military anecdote as part of a wider Greco-Roman tradition going back to the stratagems collected by Polyainos. 82 We might trace the custom back further still. Polyainos is thought to have been influenced by military treatises and rhetorical 76 See in general C. Roueché (as in note 14). 77 J. Howard-Johnston, Anna Komnena and the Alexiad, in M. Mullett & D. Smythe (eds.), Alexios I Komnenos (Belfast 1996). 78 A. Kazhdan, The social views of Michael Attaleiates, in A. Kazhdan & S. Franklin (eds.), Studies on Byzantine Literature of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries (Cambridge 1984), 68-70; C. Roueché (as in note 60). 79 E.g. John Tzimiskes bloody victory over the Arabs at Adana in 964 (Skylitzes, ); Michael Bourtzes bold capture of Antioch in 969 (ibid, ); Manuel Erotikos Komnenos defence of Nicaea against Bardas Skleros in 978 (ibid, 323); the heroic defence of Manzikert against a Turkish siege by one Basil Apokapes in 1053 (ibid, ). 80 Michael Psellos, Chronographia, II, 130; trans Anna Komnene, XIV A. Stender-Peterson, Die Varagersage als Quelle der altrussichen Chronik (Leipzig 1934), R. Cook, Russian history, Icelandic story, and Byzantine strategy in Eymundar þáttr Hringssonar, Viator 17 (1986). 15

16 exempla collections, 83 though it should also be noted that he was writing shortly after Plutarch, when biographical interest in Greek literature was reignited. The sort of military stratagems collected by Polyainos were anecdotes. The anecdote had long been a staple of Greek biography, with Momigliano speaking of a notion that a good biography is full of good anecdotes. 84 Patricia Cox observed that the anecdote, which she defines as a brief narrative that relates a striking or unusual feature of the hero s character, was a major vehicle of biographical characterizations. 85 With the stratagems of Polyainos similarly concerned with highlighting the character of a historical figure through their achievements, Maria Pretzler has recently argued for the influence of Second Sophistic biography on Polyainos. 86 When we consider that the revival of secular biography in tenth-century Byzantium owed much to Plutarch 87 and to Cassius Dio 88 writers of biography and biographical history it may be that the anecdotal style was, in essence, merely an inheritance of traditional Greek biography. Conclusion The Byzantine tradition of military anecdotes, evident in the purported extracts of aristocratic biography, seems to owe much to the Strategika of Polyainos, which itself was almost certainly influenced by the anecdotal form of much Greek biography. The secular biographical compositions of Middle Byzantium may have followed traditional literary conventions in this respect. However, the general popularity during this period of military stories showcasing textbook generalship and ingenuity 83 E.L. Wheeler, Polyaenus: Scriptor Militaris, in K. Brodersen (ed.), Polyainos. Neue Studien (Berlin 2010), esp A. Momigliano, The Development of Greek Biography (Massachusetts 1971), P. Cox, Biography in Late Antiquity: The Quest for the Holy Man (California 1983), M. Pretzler, Polyainos the Historian? Stratagems and the Use of the Past in the Second Sophistic, in K. Brodersen (ed.), Polyainos. Neue Studien (Berlin 2010), G. Buckler, Anna Comnena: A Study (Oxford 1929), ; Alexander, Secular Biography at Byzantium, Speculum 15/2 (1939), ; R. Jenkins, Constantine VII s portrait of Michael III, Bulletin de la Classe des Lettres et des Sciences morales et politiques. Académie Royale de Belgique, 5e série, 34 (1948); idem, The classical background of the Scriptores post Theophanem, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 8 (1954); L. Van Hoof, Among Christian Emperors. The Vita Basilii of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, The Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 54, no.3-4 (2002). 88 F. Millar, A Study of Cassius Dio (Oxford 1966), 1-4, ; P. Magdalino & R. Macrides, The fourth kingdom and the rhetoric of Hellenism, in P. Magdalino (ed.), The Perception of the Past in Twelfth-Century Europe (London 1992), ; C. Roueché, The Literary Background of Kekaumenos, in C. Holmes & J. Waring (eds.), Literacy, education and manuscript transmission in Byzantium and beyond (Leiden 2002),

17 attests to the influence of an aristocratic ideology, inspired by contemporary instructional handbooks and older literature, including Homer and collections of historical stratagems. With this development apparent in Byzantine literature only from the mid-tenth century, it is feasible to suggest that it began with the now-lost biographical compositions of the military aristocracy. 17