De velitatione bellica
Encyclopedia
De velitatione bellica is the conventional Latin
title for the Byzantine
military treatise
on skirmishing and guerrilla
-type border warfare, composed ca. 970. Its original Greek
title is (peri paradromēs, "On Skirmishing").
had lost most of its lands in the East to the Muslim conquests
. Following the repulsion of two Arab sieges of Constantinople
, the imperial capital, the situation was stabilized, and the border between Byzantium and the Muslim Caliphate
was established along the Taurus Mountains
defining the eastern edge of Asia Minor
. For the next several centuries, warfare would assume the pattern of larger or smaller raids and counter-raids across this barrier. For the Arabs, these raids (razzias) were carried out as part of their religious obligation against their major infidel
enemy, and assumed an almost ritualized character. The Byzantines remained generally on the defensive, organizing Asia Minor into combined civil-military provinces called themata. On the mountainous border, smaller districts, the kleisourai (sing. kleisoura
meaning "defile, enclosure"), were established.
From the late 9th century however, the fracturing of the Muslim world and the increasing strength of Byzantium caused a shift in the balance of power, as Byzantine campaigns penetrated into Cilicia
, Armenia
, northern Mesopotamia
and northern Syria
. The last major enemy to face the Byzantines in the region was the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf ad-Dawla. For ten years, from 944 to 955, he conducted raids into Asia Minor, inflicting several heavy defeats on the Byzantines in the process. In the next decade however, the situation was reversed, as the brothers Leo
and Nikephoros Phokas (soon to be proclaimed emperor Nikephoros II
) inflicted several defeats on his forces and proceeded to invade and occupy northern Syria in the late 960s.
Although the work has been attributed to Nikephoros Phokas himself, the real author is unknown. He was certainly an experienced and high-ranking officer, close to the Phokas family, whose leading members he praises for their martial prowess. Since many of the events used to illustrate tactics in the De velitatione were actually carried out under Leo Phokas, George Dennis considers him as the likely author, or at least the guiding hand behind the book's composition.
The treatise is also interesting for revealing the militant Christian fervour of the times, particularly espoused by the ascetic Nikephoros Phokas, and for illustrating, especially in Chapter 19, the disdainful attitude of its author, clearly a member of the provincial military aristocracy, to the Constantinopolitan bureaucracy and its agents in the provinces.
, and the third, the only complete version, in the Escorial.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
title for the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
military treatise
Byzantine military manuals
This article lists and briefly discusses the most important of a large number of treatises on military science produced in the Byzantine Empire.- Background :...
on skirmishing and guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
-type border warfare, composed ca. 970. Its original Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
title is (peri paradromēs, "On Skirmishing").
Historical context
In the mid-7th century, the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
had lost most of its lands in the East to the Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
. Following the repulsion of two Arab sieges of Constantinople
Sieges of Constantinople
There were several sieges of Constantinople during the history of the Byzantine Empire. Two of them resulted in the capture of Constantinople from Byzantine rule: in 1204 by Crusaders, and in 1453 by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II....
, the imperial capital, the situation was stabilized, and the border between Byzantium and the Muslim Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
was established along the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
defining the eastern edge of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. For the next several centuries, warfare would assume the pattern of larger or smaller raids and counter-raids across this barrier. For the Arabs, these raids (razzias) were carried out as part of their religious obligation against their major infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
enemy, and assumed an almost ritualized character. The Byzantines remained generally on the defensive, organizing Asia Minor into combined civil-military provinces called themata. On the mountainous border, smaller districts, the kleisourai (sing. kleisoura
Kleisoura (Byzantine district)
In the Byzantine Empire, a kleisoura was a term traditionally applied to a fortified mountain pass and the military district protecting it. By the late 7th century, it came to be applied to more extensive frontier districts, distinct from the larger themata, chiefly along the Empire's eastern...
meaning "defile, enclosure"), were established.
From the late 9th century however, the fracturing of the Muslim world and the increasing strength of Byzantium caused a shift in the balance of power, as Byzantine campaigns penetrated into Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, Armenia
Medieval Armenia
-Prelude:Western Armenia had been under Byzantine control since the partition of the Kingdom of Armenia in AD 387, while Eastern Armenia had been under the occupation of the Sassanid Empire starting 428. Regardless of religious disputes, many Armenians became successful in the Byzantine Empire and...
, northern Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and northern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. The last major enemy to face the Byzantines in the region was the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf ad-Dawla. For ten years, from 944 to 955, he conducted raids into Asia Minor, inflicting several heavy defeats on the Byzantines in the process. In the next decade however, the situation was reversed, as the brothers Leo
Leo Phokas the Younger
Leo Phokas or Phocas was a prominent Byzantine general who scored a number of successes in the eastern frontier in the mid-10th century alongside his older brother, the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas...
and Nikephoros Phokas (soon to be proclaimed emperor Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II Phokas was a Byzantine Emperor whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.-Early exploits:...
) inflicted several defeats on his forces and proceeded to invade and occupy northern Syria in the late 960s.
Purpose and authorship
The De velitatione was composed as a treatise on this type of border fighting, but ironically at a time when this type of warfare became obsolete, due to the Byzantine successes. The author himself was aware of that, and notes at the beginning of the work that Muslim power had been "greatly cut back", and that his instructions might "not find application in the eastern regions at the present time", but that they would be "readily available" should a need for them arise in the future. The De velitatione is thus a backward-looking work, unique among the contemporary treatises, dedicated to codifying and preserving the experience gathered during the previous centuries.Although the work has been attributed to Nikephoros Phokas himself, the real author is unknown. He was certainly an experienced and high-ranking officer, close to the Phokas family, whose leading members he praises for their martial prowess. Since many of the events used to illustrate tactics in the De velitatione were actually carried out under Leo Phokas, George Dennis considers him as the likely author, or at least the guiding hand behind the book's composition.
Chapters
The book is divided into twenty-five chapters:- Chapter I – Watch posts. How far they should be from one another.
- Chapter II – Watch posts on the road, and spies.
- Chapter III – Enemy movements. Occupying difficult terrain in advance.
- Chapter IV – Making unexpected attacks on the enemy. Confronting the enemy as they are returning to their own country.
- Chapter V – Controlling the water in the passes ahead of time.
- Chapter VI – Skirmishing tactics in single raids and estimating the number of men in one.
- Chapter VII – The assembling and moving of the army. Making use of merchants to go out and spy
- Chapter VIII – Shadowing and following an army.
- Chapter IX – Movement of raiding parties and following them.
- Chapter X – When the raiding party separates itself from the troops following along behind.
- Chapter XI – Stationing the infantry on both sides in defiles.
- Chapter XII – A surprise attack by the enemy before Roman forces can be mobilized.
- Chapter XIII – Laying an ambush for the so-called mensuratores by their campsite.
- Chapter XIV – Withdrawing the cavalry from the infantry when they are marching together.
- Chapter XV – Security.
- Chapter XVI – Separating from the baggage train.
- Chapter XVII – When the enemy ride into our country with a large force. Preparing an ambush.
- Chapter XVIII – When it is necessary for the general to skirmish against the enemy from two sides.
- Chapter XIX – The condition of the army. Its armament and training.
- Chapter XX – While the enemy delay in our country our army can invade theirs.
- Chapter XXI – The siege of a fortified town.
- Chapter XXII – Separation of half or a third of the enemy army.
- Chapter XXIII – Retreat of the enemy and occupation of the mountain passes.
- Chapter XXIV – Fighting at night.
- Chapter XXV – Another method of occupying the road and making descent difficult.
Analysis
The treatise gives emphasis on good reconnaissance, the use and control of terrain features, the desirability of achieving surprise, and the avoidance of pitched battle until the Byzantine forces have mobilized and are able to choose the appropriate time and place for their attack. Various options are presented, depending on the size of the force available as well as the size and composition of the enemy forces.The treatise is also interesting for revealing the militant Christian fervour of the times, particularly espoused by the ascetic Nikephoros Phokas, and for illustrating, especially in Chapter 19, the disdainful attitude of its author, clearly a member of the provincial military aristocracy, to the Constantinopolitan bureaucracy and its agents in the provinces.
Editions
The original Greek text is preserved in three 11th-century manuscripts, second- or third-hand copies of the original treatise. Two of them are in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and the third, the only complete version, in the Escorial.
- The text was first published, under its present title and based on four 16th-century copies, together with the history of Leo the DeaconLeo the DeaconLeo the Deacon was a Byzantine Roman historian and chronicler.He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor, and was educated in Constantinople, where he became a deacon in the imperial palace. While in Constantinople he wrote a history covering the reigns of Romanus II, Nicepheros II, John...
, by Carl Benedict HaseCarl Benedict HaseCarl Benedict Hase , French Hellenist, of German extraction, was born at Sulza near Naumburg.Having studied at Jena and Helmstedt, in 1801 he made his way on foot to Paris, where he was commissioned by the comte de Choiseul-Gouffier, late ambassador to Constantinople, to edit the works of Joannes...
in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1819 and reprinted in 1828.
- A new edition, based on the 11th-century manuscripts, with an English translation, was published by George T. Dennis in 1985:
- A FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
edition was published in 1986, with a translation into French by Gilbert Dagron: