Week 4: Wednesday, February 8
A late 19th-century depiction of Huns by the famous French war artist, Alphonse de Neuville.
As your read this chapter, remember that although the Western half of the Roman Empire collapsed at the end of the 5th century, the Eastern Roman Empire, otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire, survived for almost another 1000 years. We will focus primarily on the various forces these poor Byzantines had to encounter. In large part, we must rely on Byzantine sources for this period. The barbarians were generally not literate, and they also happened to destroy many of the manuscripts they encountered.
The Byzantines found themselves fighting many Germanic and barbaric tribes in the Balkans, the Italian peninsula, and Spain. Under the Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565), Byzantine forces attempted to recreate the old Roman Empire in its entirety along the rim of the Mediterranean. The task proved too difficult for the Byzantines, however, and an eighteen-year war against the Goths and Franks led to the complete devastation of Italy. Eventually, the Byzantines would also experience reverses at the hands of barbarians in the Balkans and Arab Muslim armies in the Near East.
If you are interested, I have included Procopius' account of Busta Gallorum on Blackboard. There are, however, no food for thought questions about this reading.
I have included
an excerpt from Agathias' The Histories (ca. 560) which describes the
battle of Casilinum (554) which took place between the Franks under Butilinus
and the Byzantines (and their Herul allies) under Narses. The Franks and the
Alamanni, both Germanic peoples, had just invaded Italy and sought to take it
away from the Byzantines. Although the Franks had converted to Christianity,
the Alamanni had not, so the latter had no problem with despoiling churches.
The other excerpt comes from Strategikon (ca. 600) which is the name not of a board game, but a military manual written by the Byzantines.
1) How did barbarian forces like the Goths and Huns change themselves as a result of constant interaction and fighting with the Roman armies?
2) How did the siege of Rome (537-538) and the Byzantine victory at Busta Gallorum (552) highlight the shortcomings of the Gothic armies?
3) What were the strengths of Byzantine (Eastern Roman) army?
4) From what you have read in Strategikon, what did the Persians appear to dislike the most?
5) According to the same source, what were the weaknesses of the Scythians?
6) In the final analysis, what did the Strategikon claim accounted for the Slavs' weaknesses?
7) What accounted for the Byzantine victory at Casilinum? How did Narses win the battle against the Franks?
Other Questions
1) What does the existence of the Strategikon suggest about the Byzantines? Indeed, what does the particular excerpt provided intimate about the Byzantines?
2) If the Byzantines were so well organized and proficient, why did they eventually encounter defeats at the hands of barbarians and Arab Muslims?
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Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2006.