Byzantine Military Rhetoric in the Ninth Century A Translation of the Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris

Byzantine Military Rhetoric in the Ninth Century is the first English translation of the ninth-century Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris. This influential text offers a valuable insight into the warrior ethic of the period, the role of religion in the justification of war, and the view of other military cultures by the Byzantine elite. It also played a crucial role in the compilation of the tenth-century Taktika and Constantine VII’s harangues during a period of intense military activity for the Byzantine Empire on its eastern borders. Including a detailed commentary and critical introduction to the author and the structure of the text, this book will appeal to all those interested in Byzantine political ideology and military history.

Introduction 1 Part A: the author and the work 1 Syrianos magistros and the compendium of Anonymus Byzantinus 1 Assigning a name to Anonymus Byzantinus 3 Assigning a date to the compendium of Syrianos 6 Dating the compendium and the geo-political background of the period 11 A note on the sources 21 The manuscript tradition 25 Part B: the contents of the work 28 The history of exhortation and exhortative speeches 28 The “practicalities” of exhortation speeches: where, when, how 35 The skills of a commander as a public speaker 37 Rhetorical topoi in building morale 39 Note on the translation 55 Hortatory public speeches: drawing their arguments from various sources 57 For the zeal for the faith 61 For the fatherland 62 For the love for our compatriots 62 For the punishment of evildoers 63 Other made-up arguments 67 From religion 70 From the mode of life 70 From the slander of the enemy army 70 From [the right] time 70 From the place 70 From the cause 70 From the past, in this way 71 From the present, such as 71 From the future, such as 71 From the fabrications, such as 71 The achievements of the audience 72 The achievements of the ancestors of the audience 73 The achievements of others 73 More examples about the useful 77 The preparation of weapons 77 The training in war tactics 78 Bravery 79 The endurance of pain 79 The obedience to the commanders 79 The study of the glorious 80 The study of the possible 80 The study of the outcome of the battle 81 Example of a consolatory speech, in the absence of the transposition of the cause [when the reproach takes place, then the transposition of the cause is missing] 87 Bibliography 88

Georgios Theotokis is a lecturer of European history at Ibn Haldun University, Turkey. His publications include Norman Campaigns in the Balkans, 1081–1108 ad (2014) and Byzantine Military Tactics in Syria and Mesopotamia in the Tenth Century (2018). Dimitrios Sidiropoulos is currently PhD Student in Byzantine History (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).