What were armies like during the Norman centuries?
Listener William asked what a Norman army looked like and what tactics it employed. By today’s standards the Normans usually fielded small armies. Roger de Hauteville crossed over to Sicily to begin...
View ArticleHow did the Byzantine army change over 1000 years?
Listener Detlef asked if I could give a brief overview of the Byzantine army and describe the changes it went through during the history of the empire. The operative word here is brief but 1.) we’re...
View ArticleWhat if Urban had built his super cannon for the Byzantines?
Reader Patricia asks if the Byzantine defeat in 1453 can really be blamed on ‘modern weapons’ since the Byzantines also had access to them. Was it really a matter of simply not having enough money to...
View ArticleWhat did a cataphract look like?
The backbone of the Byzantine army when it dominated the Mediterranean was the feared cataphract. But what exactly- as Joseph asks- was a cataphract? The short answer is the Byzantine version of the...
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