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30-569: Aelian or Aelianus may refer to: Aelianus Tacticus , 2nd-century Greek military writer in Rome Casperius Aelianus (13–98 AD), Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan Claudius Aelianus , Roman writer of De Natura Animalium , teacher and historian of the 3rd century, who wrote in Greek Lucius Aelianus or Laelian (died 269), one of the thirty tyrants under

60-484: A brief account of the constitution of a Roman army at that time. The work arose, he says, from a conversation he had with the emperor Nerva at Frontinus 's house at Formiae . He promises a work on Naval Tactics also; but this, if it was written, is lost. Critics of the 18th century — Guichard Folard and the Prince de Ligne — were unanimous in thinking Aelian greatly inferior to Arrian , but Aelian exercised

90-473: A generic topic. Several levels of subsections go into further detail and include maps. These maps are mainly sketches and drawings to show essential symbols of troop positions and highlight the standard designs of formation and manoeuvre of the Byzantine military of the epoch. Books seven and eight tackle with practical advice for the commander in the form of instructions and military maxims . The eleventh book

120-621: A great influence both on his immediate successors, the Byzantines , and later on the Arabs , (who translated the text for their own use). The author of the Strategikon ascribed to the emperor Maurice selectively used Aelian's work as a conceptional model, especially its preface. Emperor Leo VI the Wise incorporated much of Aelian's text in his own Taktika . The Arabic version of Aelian

150-419: A war. Book VIII then covers the details of the instructions that the generals would be given by Emperor Maurice and his administrative people. These books cover the surprise attacks and siege strategies that the Byzantine military used at this point in time. They cover different strategies the military would use for a surprise attack on an enemy, or to seize enemy land without a battle. Books XI and XII cover

180-583: Is a handbook of Greek, i.e. Macedonian , drill and tactics as practiced by the Hellenistic successors of Alexander the Great . The author claims to have consulted all the best authorities, the most important of which was a lost treatise on the subject by Polybius . Perhaps the chief value of Aelian's work lies in his critical account of preceding works on the art of war , and in the fullness of his technical details in matters of drill. Aelian also gives

210-515: Is a letter to Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange from his cousin William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg on December 8, 1594. The letter is influential in supporting the thesis of the early-modern Military Revolution . In the letter, William Louis discusses the use of ranks by soldiers of Imperial Rome as discussed in Aelian's Tactica. Aelian was discussing the use of the counter march in

240-515: Is a practical manual and according to its author "a rather modest elementary handbook [...] for those devoting themselves to generalship", that was to serve as a general guide or handbook to Byzantine art of war . In the introduction of his 1984 translation of the text, George Dennis noted that "the Strategikon is written in a very straightforward and generally uncomplicated Greek." The Strategikon may have been written in an effort to codify

270-480: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Aelianus Tacticus Aelian's military treatise in fifty-three chapters on the tactics of the Greeks, titled On Tactical Arrays of the Greeks ( Περὶ Στρατηγικῶν Τάξεων Ἑλληνικῶν ), is dedicated to the emperor Hadrian , though this is probably a mistake for Trajan , and the date 106 has been assigned to it. It

300-726: Is of interest for ethnographers as it portrays various enemies of the Byzantine Empire, such as the Franks , the Lombards , the Avars , the Turks and the Slavs . The Strategikon also represents and refers to military justice and Byzantine legal literature, since it contains a list of military infractions and their respective penalties. This book contains a great deal of detail on

330-466: The military reforms brought about by the soldier-emperor Maurice. The true authorship of the Strategikon is still debated among academics. Maurice may have only commissioned it and perhaps his brother Peter or, more likely, another general was the true author. The date also remains debated. If it was written during the 6th century, the Strategikon may have been produced to analyze and reflect on

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360-415: The 6th and 7th century A.D. Its contents primarily focus on cavalry tactics and formation and several chapters elaborate on matters of infantry, siege warfare , logistics , education and training and movement. The author was familiar with antique Hellenistic military treatises, especially Onasander and Aelian , which he utilized as conceptional models rather than sources of content. Each book focuses on

390-640: The Roman empire Aelianus Meccius , 2nd-century Greek physician, tutor of Galen Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus , adopted nephew of Plautia Urgulanilla, first wife of Claudius; consul 45 and 74 AD Aelian (rebel) (fl. 285), leader of the Bagaudae peasant rebels Aelianus (comes) , leader of the Roman defensive forces at the Siege of Amida in 359 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

420-413: The baggage train encampment to the front line. An intermediate encampment, closer to the front line, should be established between the battle area and the baggage train; the camp should be fortified and supplied with food for a day at the camp for each bandon. While in transit, the baggage train should be kept separate from the soldiers' marching lines; when enemies are present, the baggage train should be in

450-410: The baggage train should be stationed in a defensible area with water and grass readily available at a distance of approximately 30 to 50 miles away from the location of the main battle and should be staffed with a force of two Banda ; the encampment should forage for food and have equivalent to four days of necessity. The defense force should select known and capable men to form a communication chain from

480-417: The case of an ambush. It also covers formations to deter the ambush from taking place. It provides certain spacings between squads, to prevent an ambush from reaching a squad without the intervention of a squad further behind. This method was also used to help prevent retreats by any soldier, because there would always be someone watching them. Baggage trains should be regarded with utmost care as they contain

510-404: The characters display on the map. These books cover topics ranging from recruitment, to creation of squads, to the strategy of using block formations of men instead of the one lengthy line. They also discuss the importance of having a cavalry and the importance of the cavalry in their specific military style. This book discusses what each part of the formations of the cavalry and tagma would do in

540-486: The context of the Roman sword gladius and spear pilum . William Louis in a 'crucial leap' realised that the same technique could work for men with firearms. Strategikon of Maurice The Strategikon or Strategicon ( Greek : Στρατηγικόν ) is a manual of war regarded as written in late antiquity (6th century) and generally attributed to the Byzantine Emperor Maurice . The work

570-480: The experience of the Balkan and Persian campaigns, or the campaigns may have been carried out in compliance with the manual. However, beginning in the late 19th century, a number of historians have, due to perceived philological and technological inconsistencies, argued for a later publication date during the eighth or ninth century. In any case, the work is considered to be one of the most notable military texts of

600-401: The ingredients to make a forward operating base function, including servants and children. Baggage trains should be kept away from areas of battle to avoid dispiriting soldier morale in the event of capture. Reserve horses should be kept with the baggage train at the onset of battle, their utility is not needed at the front line and will only add to the confusion in battle. The encampment area for

630-475: The medieval Byzantine period, along with treatises attributed to the Byzantine emperors Leo VI ( Tactica ) and Nicephorus Phocas ( De velitatione and the Praecepta Militaria ), among others. Leo's Tactica in particular was greatly inspired by the Strategikon . The text consists of 12 chapters or "books" on various aspects of strategy and tactics, employed by the Byzantine army during

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660-418: The middle of the caravan to avoid harassment by enemies. Book VI contains the tactics and drills that the military had at the time to properly train the individual soldier. This gave them all of the knowledge that they would need in battle with weapons, tactics, actions, and strategies. Book VII focuses on the different strategic points that generals must consider prior to engaging in a battle, not necessarily

690-591: The mixed uses of non-cavalry and tagma groups and their various formations. They explain what the rest of the army was to do while the Tagmas and cavalry were in formation and use. In a separate chapter of Book XI, the author presents everything useful, needed and important from a military point of view about the life of specific enemies. Military historians consider the Strategikon to be the earliest sophisticated theory of combined arms at battalion level ( Greek : Tagma ). However, historians still question and debate

720-404: The orderly way of marching through an army's own country when there is no hostile activity. These books cover the formations of the cavalry and Tagma. They include maps to show how these formations appeared on a smaller scale, to help people visualize the formations. These maps have many shapes and characters that some will not understand, but through study they can make sense of them because what

750-500: The origin of the Byzantine Military, and specific information of selections, organization, crimes, and punishment. They go into a great deal of detail on the topics listed below to make sure that there are no confusion on general topics of the Byzantine military. The topics that this book discusses include: training and drilling of soldiers as individuals, the armament of the cavalryman and the basic equipment to be furnished,

780-464: The semi- feudal systems of previous generations. The Macedonian phalanx of Aelian had many points of resemblance to the solid masses of pikemen and the squadrons of cavalry of the Spanish and Dutch systems, and the translations made in the 16th century formed the groundwork of numerous books on drill and tactics. The first significant reference to the influence of Aelian in the 16th century

810-428: The title Aelian . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aelian&oldid=1193364404 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Disambiguation pages with given-name-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description

840-587: The validity of these sources due to the tradition of copying from ancient Greek and Roman authors, such as Aeneas Tacticus , Arrian or Polybius in Byzantine treatises like the Strategikon , the Tactica , the Sylloge Taktikon , the Praecepta Militaria and others. The Strategikon also testifies to the lasting influence of Latin on the Byzantine terminology of warfare and shows that up until

870-454: The various titles of the officers and soldiers, the organization of the army and the assignment of officers, how the tagmatic commanders should select their subordinate officers and combat leaders and organize the Tagma into squads, the regulations about military crimes to be given to the troops, the regulations about military crimes to be given to the tagmatic commanders, military punishments, and

900-420: Was made about 1350. It was first translated into Latin by Theodore Gaza, published at Rome in 1487. The Greek editio princeps was edited by Francesco Robortello and published at Venice in 1552. In spite of its academic nature, the copious details to be found in the treatise rendered it of the highest value to the army organisers of the 16th century, who were engaged in fashioning a regular military system out of

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