Medieval World FORUM
Byzantine Campaigns & Enemies
crimean
Osprey has covered Byzantine armies and its allies. How about covering its enemies? Potential books could be in the format of the Osprey title Rome’s Enemies. The books could cover the Avars, Early Slavic armies, Khazars, Goths, Bulgars, Pechengs, and Seljuks. Also how about the campaigns of Justinian / Belisarius and Heraclius?
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RESPONSES
| Württemberger |
1
all of those have been covered already, particularly in Attila and the Nomad Hordes, which is an unlucky title for a book covering many Steppe people from the Xiongnu to the Cumans.
Posted: 03-Sep-2009 21:03
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| Draconifer |
2
True. The title does cover diverse people under the encompassing
derogatory term "nomad hordes". Bit of classicism there.
The Khazars alone would be an interesting and neglected topic.
I also think that there is an overtone of mere fame by association in entitling a series "Enemies of Rome". I rather enjoyed the series but it is rather a classicist phrasing. The Parthians and Sassanids especially
have been ironically overlooked as superpowers and rivals of Rome.
Their cultures were sophisticated and dynamic as Rome's.
Let's not forget that the Hellenist Greeks thought Romas were "barbarians".
As was correctly mentioned the traditional enemies of the two Romes
have been featured already. The enemies of Byzantium were basically common to Western Rome itself. It would be interesting to see them
in the context of campaigns of Byzantium.
However regarding specifically the Romioi or Byzantanium, I personally
think the campaigns of Belisarius alone deserve more attention than
has been covered. Also Heraclius has been largely neglected. Actium and Teutoburg Wald for examples simply are too well known. The campaigns against Gaiseric and the Vandals for example were very dramatic and worthy of colourful depiction.
Posted: 04-Sep-2009 04:46
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| crimean |
3
The people I have mentioned have been covered but I feel some of them deserve more coverage, as historians have neglected some of the eastern foes. Osprey has started to cover more Roman campaigns; perhaps they can also cover more Byzantine campaigns.
Posted: 08-Sep-2009 22:25
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