Military History of Late Rome 565-602

Ilkka Syvanne

Provides a new fresh analysis of the Roman Empire in the aftermath of the reconquests of Justinian I (527-65).

Military History of Late Rome 565-602 provides a new fresh analysis of the Roman Empire in the aftermath of the reconquests of Justinian I (527-65). It is often claimed that Justinian overstretched the Roman resources, but this analysis proves that view wrong. It demonstrates that the initial troubles were largely the result of the mistakes of Justin II (565-78) and that his successors, Tiberius II (578-82) and Maurice (582-602), not only restored its fortunes but were, at the time of the death of Maurice, actually poised to complete the reconquests of Justinian. It was thanks to the reforms of Maurice, which were codified in the military treatise the Strategikon, that the Roman army had achieved a position of relative superiority over all of its enemies so that by 602 the Romans had decisively defeated the Persians, Slavs and Avars and were poised to complete the project of reconquest. These gains, however, were lost when Maurice was murdered in a military mutiny which brought Phocas to power. This volume explains why the Roman army overthrew one of the greatest Roman emperors who ever lived. This was an era of epic battles so it is not a surprise that the author also pays particular attention to the period tactics and analyses all of the period battles in great detail. These include for example such battles as Melitene, Constantia, Sirmium, Nymphius River, Solanchon, Lake Urmiah, Plain of Canzak, Iatrus, and the epic battles of Priscus and Comentiolus in the Balkans.

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