Misplaced Pages

#620379

70-588: The Opsician theme was one of the first four themes, and has its origin in the praesential armies of the East Roman army . The term Opsikion derives from the Latin term Obsequium ("retinue"), which by the early 7th century came to refer to the units escorting the emperor on campaign. It is possible that at an early stage, the Opsikion was garrisoned inside Constantinople itself. In the 640s, however, following

140-719: A controversy arose in the Frankish kingdom , resulting in the creation of Libri Carolini . The last outburst of iconoclasm in the Byzantine Empire was overcome at the Council of Constantinople (843) , which reaffirmed the adoration of icons in an event celebrated as the Feast of Orthodoxy . The Council of Trent (XIX Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church) in 1563 confirmed iconodulism. But this council, unlike

210-686: A form of pay or reward. Some Eastern Roman soldiers wore mail or scale hoods for head protection; these could be part of mail coats or could be separate coifs . Similar armoured hoods appear in an illustration in the Vergilius Vaticanus. Iconodule Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia ) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος ( eikonodoulos ) (from Greek : εἰκόνα – icon (image) + Greek : δοῦλος – servant ), meaning "one who serves images (icons)". It

280-536: A major work on Roman military equipment, do not distinguish the equipment of the various branches of the Roman military. It is doubtful whether there were any universal differences between the equipment of the palatini, comitatenses, and limitanei. The late Roman Empire had centralized fabricae, introduced by Diocletian, to provide arms and armor for the army. The introduction of the centralized fabricae, where earlier armies had relied on legionary workshops, may reflect

350-477: A second capital to rival Rome, led to the establishment of a separate eastern court and bureaucracy. Finally, the political split became complete with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the early 5th century and its replacement by a number of barbarian Germanic kingdoms. The Western army was dissolved and was incorporated into the barbarian kingdoms. The Eastern Roman Empire and army, on

420-471: A soldier's costume, though it seems to have also been worn by non-military bureaucrats, was a type of round, brimless hat known as the pannonian cap ( pileus pannonicus ). In the 3rd century, troops are depicted wearing mail or scale armour . The artistic record shows that most late soldiers wore metal armour, despite Vegetius' statement to the contrary. For example, illustrations in the Notitia show that

490-656: Is also referred to as iconophilism (also iconophily or iconophilia from Greek : εἰκόνα – icon (image) + Greek : φιλέω – love ) designating a positive attitude towards the religious use of icons. In the history of Christianity , iconodulism (or iconophilism) was manifested as a moderate position, between two extremes: iconoclasm (radical opposition to the use of icons) and iconolatry (idolatric veritable (full) adoration of icons). In contrast to moderate or respectful adoration , various forms of latria of icons ( iconolatry ) were also starting to appear, mainly in popular worship. Since veritable (full) adoration

560-494: Is not known with any certainty. Plausible estimates of the size of the whole 4th-century army (excluding fleets) range from c. 400,000 to c. 600,000. This would place the Eastern army in the rough range 200,000 to 300,000, since the army of each division of the empire was roughly equal. The higher end of the range is provided by the late 6th-century military historian Agathias , who gives a global total of 645,000 effectives for

630-602: The magister militum Belisarius during the emperor Justinian 's wars against the Sassanid Empire and the barbarian successor kingdoms , provide a view of the East Roman army in the period, and its campaigns. The histories of Agathias and Menander continue those of Procopius. Another major source for the East Roman army includes the legal codes published in the Eastern Roman Empire in

700-482: The tagmata . Consequently, the reduced Opsikion was downgraded from a guard formation to an ordinary cavalry theme: its forces were divided into tourmai , and its count fell to the sixth place in the hierarchy of thematic governors and was even renamed to the "ordinary" title of stratēgos by the end of the 9th century. In the 9th century, he is recorded as receiving an annual salary of 30 pounds of gold, and of commanding 6,000 men (down from an estimated 18,000 of

770-851: The Byzantine Empire and lasted through the 8th and the 9th centuries. The most famous iconodules (proponents of the veneration of icons) during that time were saints John of Damascus and Theodore the Studite . The controversy was instigated by the Byzantine Emperor Leo ;III in 726, when he ordered the removal of the image of Christ above the Chalke Gate of the imperial palace in Constantinople. A wider prohibition of icons followed in 730. St.  John of Damascus argued successfully that to prohibit

SECTION 10

#1732765760621

840-549: The Dardanelles to the Halys River , with Ancyra as its capital. The exact date of the theme's establishment is unknown; the earliest reference points to a creation as early as 626, but the first confirmed occurrence is in 680. It is possible that it also initially included the area of Thrace , which seems to have been administered jointly with the Opsikion in the late 7th and early 8th centuries. The unique origin of

910-523: The De re militari emphasizes the revival of earlier Roman practices, and does not provide a clear view of the tactics, organization, and practices of any branch of the late Roman army . The histories of Ammianus Marcellinus provide a glimpse of the late Roman army before the division of the Roman Empire . Those of Procopius , especially his Wars and parts of his Buildings , written while accompanying

980-737: The Komnenian period , and was united with the Aegean theme sometime in the 12th century. It apparently also survived after the Fourth Crusade into the Empire of Nicaea . George Akropolites records that in 1234, the Opsician theme fell under the "Italians" ( Latin Empire ). East Roman army The Eastern Roman army refers to the army of the eastern section of the Roman Empire , from

1050-516: The Middle Ages , retained the Roman name ( Romanians ) and the Latin tongue. The Eastern Roman heavy infantry relied on their spears and shields in close combat. These weapons were most effective when the soldiers fought in formation. The Strategikon is the earliest surviving Roman/Byzantine cavalry manual , and directly influenced later Byzantine military manuals. The Strategikon describes

1120-406: The Opsikion was reflected in several aspects of the theme's organization. Thus the title of its commander was not stratēgos (στρατηγός, "general") as with the other themes, but komēs (κόμης, "count"), in full komēs tou basilikou Opsikiou ( κόμης τοῦ βασιλικοῦ Ὀψικίου , "Count of the imperial Opsikion "). Furthermore, it was not divided into tourmai , but into domesticates formed from

1190-609: The Opsikion were in command of a pre-eminent theme, and since that theme was located closest to the imperial capital Constantinople , these counts often challenged the authority of their emperors. Already in 668, on the death of Emperor Constans II in Sicily , the count Mezezius had staged an abortive coup. Under the patrikios Barasbakourios , the Opsikion was the main power-base of Emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695 and 705–711). Justinian II had captured many Slavs in Thrace, and

1260-483: The Scholae could have non-military missions. Eventually, Justinian auctioned off positions in what was still a prestigious ceremonial unit, but no longer a fighting force. They were outside the normal military chain of command as they did not belong to the comitatus praesentales and reported to the magister officiorum , a civilian official. However, this was probably only for administrative purposes: on campaign,

1330-675: The Scholae Palatinae as an elite guards unit of about 6,000 soldiers, and to replace the Praetorian Guard of about 10,000 soldiers. 40 select troops from the scholae , called candidati from their white uniforms, acted as the emperor's personal bodyguards. Apart from the Agentes in Rebus , the Scholae were originally organized as cavalry units to accompany the emperors on campaign, although later, individual members of

1400-470: The " Imperial Gallic ". The "Intercisa" design left the face unobstructed and had ear-holes in the join between cheek-guards and bowl to allow good hearing. In a radical change from the earlier single-bowl design, the Intercisa bowl was made of two separate pieces joined by a riveted ridge in the middle (hence the term " ridge helmet "). It was simpler and cheaper to manufacture, and therefore probably by far

1470-463: The 1st and 2nd centuries, a Roman soldier's clothes consisted of a single-piece, short-sleeved tunic whose hem reached the knees and special hobnailed sandals ( caligae ). This attire, which left the arms and legs bare, had evolved in a Mediterranean climate and was not suitable for northern Europe in cold weather. In northern Europe, long-sleeved tunics, trousers ( bracae ), socks (worn inside the caligae ) and laced boots were commonly worn in winter from

SECTION 20

#1732765760621

1540-646: The 1st century. During the 3rd century, these items of clothing became much more widespread, apparently common in Mediterranean provinces also. However, it is likely that in warmer weather, trousers were dispensed with and caligae worn instead of socks and boots. Late Roman clothing was often highly decorated, with woven or embroidered strips, clavi, and circular roundels, orbiculi, added to tunics and cloaks. These decorative elements usually consisted of geometrical patterns and stylised plant motifs, but could include human or animal figures. A distinctive part of

1610-437: The 5th and 6th centuries. Size may also have varied depending on the status of the regiment. The table below gives some recent estimates of unit strength, by unit type and grade: The overall picture is that comitatenses units were either c. 1,000 or c. 500 strong. Limitanei units would appear to average about 250 effectives. But much uncertainty remains, especially regarding the size of limitanei regiments, as can be seen by

1680-550: The 5th and 6th centuries: the Theodosian code (438) and the Corpus Iuris Civilis (528-39). These compilations of Roman laws dating from the 4th century contain numerous imperial decrees relating to the regulation and administration of the late army. In 395, the death of the last sole Roman emperor, Theodosius I ( r.  379–395 AD ), led to the final split of the empire into two political entities,

1750-491: The 5th century they were part-time soldiers, and after the 6th century they were unpaid militia. The limitanei between the 4th and 6th centuries were commanded by a duke (duces). Dukes essentially controlled private armies which operated separately from the imperial army. However, during the 6th century the power wielded by these dukes diminished meaning that many of the limitanei became part-time soldiers who supported their income usually through agricultural labour. The role of

1820-683: The 6th century, Emperor Justinian I , ( r.  527–565 AD ), sent much of the East Roman army to try to reconquer the former Western Roman Empire . In these wars, the Eastern Roman Empire reconquered parts of North Africa from the Vandal Kingdom and Italy from the Ostrogothic Kingdom , as well as parts of southern Spain. The power of the army diminished in his reign owing to the Plague of Justinian . In

1890-669: The 7th century, Emperor Heraclius led the East Roman army against the Sasanian Empire , temporarily regaining Egypt and Syria , and then against the Rashidun Caliphate . His generals’ defeat at the Battle of Yarmuk would lead to the Islamic conquest of Syria and Egypt , and would force the reorganization of the East Roman army, leading to the thematic system of later Byzantine armies . Much of our evidence for

1960-493: The East Roman army's deployments at the end of the 4th century is contained in a single document, the Notitia Dignitatum , compiled c. 395–420, a manual of all late Roman public offices, military and civil. The main deficiency with the Notitia is that it lacks any personnel figures so as to render estimates of army size impossible. However, the Notitia remains the central source on the late Army's structure due to

2030-620: The East. They wintered near Constantinople at Nicaea and Nicomedia. Each was commanded by a magister militum ("master of soldiers", the highest military rank) Each magister was assisted by a deputy called a vicarius . There were three major regional comitatus , also with apparently settled winter bases: Oriens (based at Antioch ), Thraciae ( Marcianopolis ), Illyricum ( Sirmium ) plus two smaller forces in Aegyptus ( Alexandria ) and Isauria . The large comitatus were commanded by magistri ,

2100-542: The Eastern Roman army had about 150,000 field army soldiers, with an uncertain number of sailors, in 559, late in the period of Justinian . Treadgold also estimates that the Eastern Roman army had about 80,000 field army soldiers, with an uncertain number of sailors, in 641, after the Islamic conquest of Syria and Egypt. The size of the Eastern army in 395 is controversial because the size of individual regiments

2170-526: The Intercisa type, show evidence of expensive decoration in the form of silver or silver-gilt sheathing. A possible explanation is that most of the surviving exemplars may have belonged to officers and that silver- or gold-plating denoted rank; and, in the case of mounted gemstones, high rank e.g. the ornate Deurne helmet, believed by some historians to have belonged to a senior officer. Other academics, in contrast, consider that silver-sheathed helmets may have been widely worn by comitatus soldiers, given as

Opsikion - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-549: The Opsician stratēgos , George Peganes, rose up along with the Thracesian Theme against Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), then the junior co-emperor of Michael III (r. 842–867), and in c. 930, Basil Chalkocheir revolted against Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944). Both revolts, however, were easily quelled, and are a far cry from the emperor-making revolts of the 8th century. The theme existed through

2310-740: The Opsician theme against the Isaurian emperors were not only the result of its counts' ambition: the Opsicians were staunchly iconodule , and opposed to the iconoclast policies of the Isaurian dynasty. As a result, Emperor Constantine V set out to weaken the theme's power by splitting off the new themes of the Boukellarioi and the Optimatoi . At the same time, the emperor recruited a new set of elite and staunchly iconoclast guard regiments,

2380-406: The Opsicians supported the rise of Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–740) to the throne, but in 718, their count, the patrikios Isoes, rose up unsuccessfully against him. In 741–742, the kouropalatēs Artabasdos used the theme as a base for his brief usurpation of Emperor Constantine V (r. 741–775). In 766, another count was blinded after a failed mutiny against the same emperor. The revolts of

2450-485: The West ( Occidentale ) and the East ( Orientale ). The system of dual emperors (called Augusti after the founder of the empire, Augustus ) had been instituted a century earlier by the great reforming emperor Diocletian ( r.  284–305 AD ). But it had never been envisaged as a political separation, purely as an administrative and military convenience. Decrees issued by either emperor were valid in both halves and

2520-399: The army "in the old days", presumed to mean when the empire was united. This figure probably includes fleets, giving a total of c. 600,000 for the army alone. Agathias is supported by A.H.M. Jones ' Later Roman Empire (1964), which contains the fundamental study of the late Roman army. Jones calculated a similar total of 600,000 (exc. fleets) by applying his own estimates of unit strength to

2590-550: The army's fabricae (arms factories) were producing mail armour at the end of the 4th century. Actual examples of both scale armour and quite large sections of mail have been recovered, at Trier and Weiler-La-Tour respectively, within 4th-century contexts. Officers generally seem to have worn bronze or iron cuirasses, as in the days of the Principate, together with traditional pteruges . The cataphract and clibanarii cavalry, from limited pictorial evidence and especially from

2660-465: The borders of the Roman Empire. They were lower-status and lower-paid than the comitatenses and palatini. The nature of the limitanei changed considerably between their introduction in the 3rd or 4th century and their disappearance in the 6th or 7th century. In the 4th century, the limitanei were professional soldiers, and included both infantry and cavalry as well as river flotillas, but after

2730-562: The case into the late 6th century, despite the fact that Greek was the common language of the Eastern empire. This was not simply due to tradition, but also to the fact that about half the Eastern army continued to be recruited in the Latin-speaking Danubian regions of the Eastern empire. An analysis of known origins of comitatenses in the period 350-476 shows that in the Eastern army, the Danubian regions provided 54% of

2800-532: The dearth of other evidence. The Strategikon of the Emperor Maurikios , from the end of the 6th century, describes the cavalry tactics, organization, and equipment of the East Roman army towards the end of this period. The De re militari of Vegetius , probably from the beginning of the 5th century, calls for reform of the West Roman army, which was similar to the East Roman army. However,

2870-457: The description of these troops by Ammianus, seem to have worn specialist forms of armour. In particular their limbs were protected by laminated defences, made up of curved and overlapping metal segments: "Laminarum circuli tenues apti corporis flexibus ambiebant per omnia membra diducti" (Thin circles of iron plates, fitted to the curves of their bodies, completely covered their limbs). In general, Roman cavalry helmets had enhanced protection, in

Opsikion - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-462: The disastrous defeats suffered during the first wave of the Muslim conquests , the remains of the field armies were withdrawn to Asia Minor and settled into large districts, called "themes" ( themata ). Thus the Opsician theme was the area where the imperial Opsikion was settled, which encompassed all of north-western Asia Minor ( Mysia , Bithynia , parts of Galatia , Lydia and Paphlagonia ) from

3010-516: The earlier period; and the greater use of heavily armoured cavalry called cataphracts . According to the Strategikon , the cavalry soldiers should have long "Avar" tunics reaching past the knees, and large cloaks with sleeves. According to the Strategikon , the infantry soldiers should have long "Gothic" tunics reaching the knees, or short ones with split sides, as well as "Gothic" shoes with thick hobnailed soles, and "Bulgarian" cloaks. In

3080-461: The elite corps of the old army, such as the Optimatoi and Boukellarioi , both terms dating back to the recruitment of Gothic foederati in the 4th–6th centuries. Its prestige is further illustrated by the seals of its commanders, where it is called the "God-guarded imperial Opsikion " ( θεοφύλακτον βασιλικόν ὀψίκιον ; Latin: a Deo conservandum imperiale Obsequium ). Since the counts of

3150-551: The emperor settled them in the Opsikion to boost its military strength. However, most of these transplanted soldiers deserted to the Arabs during their first battle . In 713, the Opsikian army rose up against Philippikos Bardanes (r. 711–713), the man who had overthrown and murdered Justinian, and enthroned Anastasios II (r. 713–715), only to overthrow him too in 715 and install Theodosios III (r. 715–717) in his place. In 717,

3220-511: The emperors on campaign. (2) Regional armies ( comitatus ). These were based in strategic regions, on or near the frontiers. (3) Border armies ( exercitus limitanei ). These were based on the frontiers themselves. The command structure of the Eastern army, as recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum , is represented diagrammatically in the organisation chart (above). By the end of the 4th century, there were two comitatus praesentales in

3290-607: The empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria , Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7th century during the Byzantine-Arab Wars . The East Roman army was the continuation of the Late Roman army of the 4th century, until it gradually transformed into what is now called the Byzantine army from the 7th century onwards. The East Roman army

3360-409: The face, and covered the ears save for a slit to permit hearing e.g. the "Auxiliary E" type or its Niederbieber variant. Cavalry helmets became even more enclosed e.g. the " Heddernheim " type, which is close to the medieval great helm , but at the cost much reduced vision and hearing. In contrast, some infantry helmets in the 4th century reverted to the more open features of the main Principate type,

3430-399: The form of wider cheek-guards and deeper neck-guards, for the sides and back of the head than infantry helmets. Infantry were less vulnerable in those parts due to their tighter formation when fighting. During the 3rd century, infantry helmets tended to adopt the more protective features of cavalry helmets of the Principate. Cheek-guards could often be fastened together over the chin to protect

3500-554: The helmet discovered at Burgh Castle , in England, is of the Berkasovo method of construction, but has cheekpieces with earholes. Face-guards of mail or in the form of metal 'anthropomorphic masks,' with eye-holes, were often added to the helmets of the heaviest forms of cavalry, especially cataphracti . Despite the apparent cheapness of manufacture of their basic components, many surviving examples of Late Roman helmets, including

3570-420: The limitanei appears to have included garrisoning frontier fortifications, operating as border guards and customs police, and preventing small-scale raids. Although the Eastern Roman army sometimes turned to conscription it usually relied on volunteer soldiers. Shortages of money, rather than of manpower, usually limited recruitment. In 395, the army used Latin as its operating language. This continued to be

SECTION 50

#1732765760621

3640-656: The majority of the comitatus praesentales (80% of regiments) and constituted a minority of the regional comitatus (14%). The palatini were an elite group with higher status and probably pay. The majority of cavalry units in the comitatus were traditional melee formations (61%). These units were denoted scutarii , stablesiani or promoti , probably honorific titles rather than descriptions of function. 24% of regiments were light cavalry: equites Dalmatae , Mauri and sagittarii (mounted archers). 15% were heavily armoured shock charge cavalry: cataphracti and clibanarii The limitanei garrisoned fortifications along

3710-437: The most common type, but structurally weaker and therefore offered less effective protection. The "Berkasovo" type was a more sturdy and protective ridge helmet. This type of helmet usually has 4 to 6 skull elements (and the characteristic median ridge), a nasal (nose-guard), a deep brow piece riveted inside the skull elements and large cheekpieces. This was probably the cavalry version, as the cheekpieces lack ear-holes. Unusually

3780-413: The needs of the field armies. The basic equipment of a 4th-century foot soldier was essentially the same as in the 2nd century: metal armour cuirass, metal helmet, shield and sword. Some evolution took place during the 3rd century. Trends included the adoption of warmer clothing; the disappearance of distinctive legionary armour and weapons; the adoption by the infantry of equipment used by the cavalry in

3850-479: The old Opsikion ). The thematic capital was moved to Nicaea . The 10th-century emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos , in his De Thematibus , mentions further nine cities in the theme: Cotyaeum , Dorylaeum , Midaion , Apamea Myrlea , Lampsacus , Parion , Cyzicus and Abydus . In the great Revolt of Thomas the Slav in the early 820s, the Opsikion remained loyal to Emperor Michael II (r. 820–829). In 866,

3920-540: The organization, equipment, and tactics of the east Roman army at the end of this period. The Eastern Roman army included both light and heavy infantry, as well as light and heavy cavalry. The equipment of the Eastern Roman army changed considerably between the 4th and 7th Centuries. By the end of the period, the cavalry had armor and horse armor , with both bows and lances as weapons. The heavy infantry still had armor, with large shields, spears, and swords. The light infantry had bows. M.C. Bishop and J.C.M. Coulston, in

3990-610: The other hand, continued with gradual changes until the Persian and later Arab invasions in the 7th century. These deprived the Eastern Roman Empire of its dominions in the Near East and North Africa, especially Egypt. Warren Treadgold estimates that the Eastern Roman army had about 3,500 scolae or guards, 104,000 field army soldiers, with an uncertain number of sailors, and 195,500 border army soldiers, again with an uncertain number of sailors, in 395. Treadgold also estimates that

4060-425: The smaller ones by comites . All five reported direct to the eastern Augustus . This structure remained essentially intact until the 6th century. Units were classified according to whether they were attached to the guard ( excubitores and scholae ), the field armies ( palatini and comitatenses ) or the border armies ( limitanei ). The strength of these units is very uncertain and may have varied over

4130-409: The successor of each Augustus required the recognition of the other. The empire was reunited under one emperor under Constantine I after 324, under Constantius II after 353, under Julian after 361, and Theodosius himself after 394. The division into two sections recognized a growing cultural divergence. The common language of the East had always been Greek , while that of the West was Latin . This

4200-419: The total because cavalry unit sizes were smaller. The available evidence suggests that the proportion of cavalry was about one-fifth of the total effectives: in 478, a comitatus of 38,000 men contained 8,000 cavalry (21%). The later 4th-century army contained three types of army group: (1) Imperial escort armies ( comitatus praesentales ). These were ordinarily based near Constantinople, but often accompanied

4270-475: The total sample, despite constituting just 2 of the 7 eastern dioceses (administrative divisions): Dacia and Thracia. These regions continued to be the prime recruiting grounds for the Eastern Roman army e.g. the emperor Justin I (r. 518-27), uncle of Justinian I, was a Latin-speaking peasant who never learnt to speak more than rudimentary Greek. The Romanized Thracian and Illyrian inhabitants of those regions, who came to be known as Vlachs by foreigners in

SECTION 60

#1732765760621

4340-478: The tribunes commanding each schola probably reported direct to the emperor himself. The Notitia Dignitatum lists 7 scolae of cavalry and 1 of agents in the East Roman empire, as well as 5 of cavalry and 1 of agents in the West Roman empire. Comitatenses cavalry units were known as vexillationes , infantry units as either legiones or auxilia . About half the units in the comitatus , both cavalry and infantry, were classified as palatini . The palatini were

4410-538: The units listed in the Notitia Dignitatum . Following Jones, Treadgold suggests 300,000 for the East in 395. But there are strong reasons to view 200,000 as more likely: The discrepancy in army size estimates is mainly due to uncertainty about the size of limitanei regiments, as can be seen by the wide range of estimates in the table below. Jones suggests limitanei regiments had a similar size to Principate auxilia regiments, averaging 500 men each. More recent work, which includes new archaeological evidence, tends to

4480-689: The use of icons was tantamount to denying the incarnation , the presence of the Word of God in the material world. Icons reminded the church of the physicality of God as manifested in Jesus Christ . Kissing and respected worship ( Greek : «ἀσπασμόν καί τιμητικήν προσκύνησιν» ; Latin : «osculum et honorariam adorationem» ), incense and candles for icons was established by the Second Council of Nicaea (Seventh Ecumenical Council ) in 787. The Council decided that icons should not be destroyed, as

4550-447: The view that units were much smaller, perhaps averaging 250. There is less dispute about comitatus regiments, because of more evidence. Treadgold estimates the 5 comitatus armies of the East as containing c. 20,000 men each, for a total of c. 100,000, which constitutes either one-third or one-half of the total army. About one third of the army units in the Notitia are cavalry, but cavalry numbers were less than that proportion of

4620-710: The wide ranges of the size estimates. The emperor Leo I created the Excubitores as an elite bodyguard of about 300 soldiers. However, the intrigues and political ambitions of their commanders (The Counts of the Excubitors, rendered in Latin as comes excubitorum ) such as Priscus during the reigns of the emperors Maurice , Phocas and Heraclius and the Count Valentinus during the reign of Emperor Constans II , doomed Leo I's formerly famed Isaurian unit to obscurity. The emperor Constantine I created

4690-410: Was a direct continuation of the eastern portion of the late Roman army , from before the division of the empire. The East Roman army started with the same basic organization as the late Roman army and its West Roman counterpart , but between the 5th and 7th centuries, the cavalry became more important, the field armies took on more tasks, and the border armies were transformed into local militias. In

4760-430: Was advocated and practiced by the iconoclasts , nor veritable (full) worshiped or adored ( Greek : «ἀληθινήν λατρείαν» ; Latin : «veram latriam» ), as was practiced by iconolatrists , but they needed to be kissed and they needed respectful worship as symbolic representations of God, angels or saints. Such a position was approved by Pope Adrian I , but due to mis-translations of conciliar acts from Greek into Latin,

4830-439: Was not per se a significant division, as the empire had long been a fusion of Greek and Roman cultures ( classical civilisation ) and the Roman ruling class was entirely bilingual. But the rise of Christianity strained that unity, as the religion was always much more widespread in the East than in the West, which was still largely pagan in 395. Constantine's massive reconstruction of the city of Byzantium into Constantinople ,

4900-452: Was reserved for God alone, such an attitude towards icons as objects was seen as a form of idolatry . In reaction to that, the idolatrous misuse of icons was criticized and by the beginning of the 8th century some radical forms of criticism ( iconoclasm ) were also starting to emerge, arguing not only against adoration of icons, but also against any form of adoration and use of icons in religious life. The iconoclastic controversy emerged in

#620379