Medieval Warfare Vol. VI.3 - Legacy of Ancient Rome

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Medieval Warfare Vol. 3 - Legacy of Ancient Rome

The Byzantine-Sassanid Wars

Topic: William E. Welsh, The Byzantine-Sassanian Wars - Bitter Rivals

From the ashes of the Parthian Empire, razed by Roman legions in 224 AD, arose a more aggressive successor state. The Sassanian kings were as skilled in diplomacy as they were in war. In the late 5th century, the Sassanians began a series of protracted wars with the Byzantines along their heavily fortified common border. After a series of limited wars on the frontier, the rivalry exploded into all-out war.

Source: Murray Dahm, The Strategikon and the Sassanians - Learning from the Enemy

The Strategikon, a Byzantine military manual purportedly written by the Emperor Mauritius (r. 582–602), offers remarkable insights into the war waged between the Sassanian and Byzantine empires. In book 11.1, the author of the work distills everything he has observed and learned about how the Sassanians wage war. Not only that, but he follows this advice on how a commander might defeat such an enemy.

The reenactor: nadeem ahmad, weapons and armour of sassanian iran - arming the knights of the shahs

The Sassanid dynasty ruled Iran, much of the Near East, and parts of Central Asia between the mid-3rd and mid-7th centuries AD. They followed the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty and were a conduit for many Central Asian influences into Iran and Europe. Their influence can be felt even today, as they helped shape the way nations, states, and courts functioned throughout Asia.

Topic: Haggai Olshanetsky, Justinian's army at war - fields of Byzantium

Some claim that Justinian I (r. AD 527–565) was indeed the last of the Roman emperors. This is based on the nature of Justinian's rule: legislation and a desire to impose his rule on territories lost following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, when the Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the Gothic leader Odoacer (also known as Odoacer or Odovacar).

Topic: Daan Nijssen, historical background of the war 602-628 - what inspired Khosrau?

The ancient dispute between Romans and Persians reached a climax in the war of 602-628. This surpassed all previous Roman-Persian wars.
Wars of scale and destructiveness. The main cause of this escalation was Khosrau’s fanaticism and his unwillingness to make peace in 610. Instead of accepting Heraclius’ peace offer, Khosrau decided to exhaust his reserves of wealth and manpower in a (self-)destructive war to destroy Byzantium. What inspired him to make this decision?

Subject: Sidney E. Dean, Battle of Nineveh, December 12, 627 AD - Pyrrhic victory for Byzantium

After a decade of defending against the seemingly unstoppable Sassanids, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius I launched a counter-offensive in 622 AD. Between 624 and 626, he defeated five Persian field armies, including one led by Shah Khosrow II himself. Heraclius devastated northern parts of the Sassanid Empire, encouraged his Göktušrk allies to do the same, and campaigned in the Caucasus to capture or neutralize Persian client states. By 627, he felt ready to deliver a decisive blow against his weakened enemy.

The weapon: Owen Rees, comparing archers from Japan and Great Britain

An examination of two societies and the position of the archer within them can reveal great insight into not only the archer, but also the place of the bow within the warfare of the time. By comparing two different cultures, a contrast can be produced and an exploration of the different roles the archer can play, something that using just one example cannot fully appreciate.

Special: Artis Aboltins and Saint Jansone, Crusades in the Eastern Baltic region

When the Crusades are mentioned, most people immediately think of the events in the Holy Land and tend to overlook the events that took place in Northern Europe in the late 12th and much of the 13th centuries. However, these “Northern Crusades” played a very important role in shaping the history of the entire region.

The Battle: Ross Cowan, The Battle of Loch Lochy, 1544 AD - More like lions than men

On 15 July 1544, Hugh Fraser, the third Lord Lovat, marched north along the shore of Loch Lochy. The chief of the Frasers was
Accompanied by his son and heir, Simon, the Master of Lovat, and his nephew, Ranald Gallda, a claimant to the title of Captain of Clan Ranald, they were followed by 400 warriors, selected from the leading knights and able men of Clan Fraser. This host was about to fight one of the most famous battles in highland history.

Knights of the Movie: Murray Dahm, Medieval Warfare in Cinema - King Arthur II

In our last Movie Knights article, we briefly looked at general depictions of King Arthur in cinema. This time we will delve into the details of several films and examine their depiction of war: especially John Boorman's Excalibur (1981), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and The Knights of the Round Table (1953).
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