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111-773: The crusaders first encountered Turcopoles in the Byzantine army during the First Crusade . Reference is made to 30 Turcoples being lent by the Emperor Alexius I to act as guides for one division of the Franks. These auxiliaries were of mixed Byzantine and Turkic origins. Raymond of Aguilers writes that they were called Turcopoles because they were either reared with Turks or because their fathers were Turks and their mothers Christians. Albert of Aix writes that their fathers were Turks and their mothers Greeks. From

222-471: A Knight Hospitaller later venerated as a Roman Catholic martyr , is said to have been one of the victims. Imad ed-Din , Saladin's secretary, wrote: Saladin ordered that they should be beheaded, choosing to have them dead rather than in prison. With him was a whole band of scholars and sufis and a certain number of devout men and ascetics; each begged to be allowed to kill one of them, and drew his sword and rolled back his sleeve. Saladin, his face joyful,

333-754: A bulwark against Arab invasions and raids that lasted until the late 11th century. Themata were also formed in the west, as a response to the Serb and Bulgar incursions that drove the empire's frontier from the Danube River south to Thrace and the Peloponnese. The five original themata were all in Asia Minor and originated from the earlier mobile field armies. They were: Within each theme, eligible men were given grants of land to support their families and to equip themselves. Following revolts strengthened by

444-514: A caravan of camels bring goatskins of water up from Lake Tiberias (now known as the Sea of Galilee ). On the morning of 4 July the crusaders were blinded by smoke from the fires set by Saladin's forces. The Franks came under fire from Muslim mounted archers from the division commanded by Gökböri, who had been resupplied with 400 loads of arrows that had been brought up during the night. Gerard and Raynald advised Guy to form battle lines and attack, which

555-492: A collection of militias, personal entourages and mercenary detachments. In the period after the Muslim conquests , which saw the loss of Syria and Egypt, the remnants of the provincial armies were withdrawn and settled in Asia Minor , initiating the thematic system . Despite this unprecedented disaster, the internal structures of the army remained much the same, and there is a remarkable continuity in tactics and doctrine between

666-627: A combination of skill, determination and years of campaigning, Alexios I Komnenos , John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos managed to restore the power of the Byzantine Empire by constructing a new army from the ground up. Battle of Hattin 18,000–20,000 men 20,000–40,000 men Most of the army Period post-First Crusade Second Crusade Period post-Second Crusade Third Crusade Period post-Third Crusade Fourth Crusade Fifth Crusade Sixth Crusade and aftermath Seventh Crusade End of

777-606: A direct result of the battle, Muslims once again became the eminent military power in the Holy Land , re-capturing Jerusalem and most of the other Crusader-held cities and castles. These Christian defeats prompted the Third Crusade , which began two years after the Battle of Hattin. The battle took place near Tiberias in present-day Israel. The battlefield, near the village of Hittin , had as its chief geographic feature

888-576: A double hill (the " Horns of Hattin ") beside a pass through the northern mountains between Tiberias and the road from Acre to the east. The Roman road , known to the Arabs as Darb al-Hawarnah, served as the main east–west passage between the Jordan fords, the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean coast. Guy of Lusignan became king of Jerusalem in 1186, in right of his wife , Sibylla , after

999-517: A force of 25,000, defeated the Persian emperor's army of 40,000. In addition to his reconquest of Carthage, noted above, Belisarius also recaptured Sicily, Naples, Rome and the rest of Italy from the Goths in a war lasting from 535 to 554 . Another famous commander of the time was the imperial eunuch Narses , who defeated a Gothic army at Busta Gallorum on the eastern coast of Italy in 552. Towards

1110-514: A large number of mercenaries (including indigenous Turcopoles ) hired with money donated to the kingdom by Henry II, King of England . The army's standard was the relic of the True Cross , carried by the Bishop of Acre , who was sent on behalf of the ailing Patriarch Heraclius . Saladin decided to lure Guy into moving his field army away from their secure fortified encampment, located by

1221-471: A native army, instituting the pronoia system of land grants in exchange for military service. Nevertheless, mercenaries remained a staple feature of late Byzantine armies since the loss of Asia Minor reduced the Empire's recruiting-ground, while the abuse of the pronoia grants led to a progressive feudalism in the Empire. The Komnenian successes were undone by the subsequent Angeloi dynasty, leading to

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1332-512: A part-time militia basis as hereditary limitanei . As such they were separate from the new mobile field army. The army of Justinian I was the result of fifth-century reorganizations to meet growing threats to the empire, the most serious from the expanding Persian empire. Gone were the familiar legions , cohorts and alae of old Rome, and in their place were small Greek infantry battalions or horse regiments called an arithmos , tagma or numerus . A numerus had between 300 and 400 men and

1443-603: A quilted aketon or jerkin and a conical steel helmet. Regulations of the Hospitallers made a clear distinction between the heavy war saddles of the knights of the military order and the "Turkish saddles" issued to the Syrian Turcoples who served with them. As lightly armed and mobile auxiliaries the Turcopoles were of particular value when scouting and raiding expeditions were undertaken. On such occasions

1554-514: A separate table from the other mounted soldiers of the Templars or Hospitalers . In contrast to the unsalaried brother-knights and brother-sergeants of the fighting orders, Turcopoles were paid warriors. An indication of the approximate numbers of Turcopoles available to the military orders is given by a pledge made by the Hospitalers in 1186, when an invasion of Egypt was being planned. Of

1665-400: A system of unit identification that sounds like a fore-runner of medieval heraldry. The flags of a meros or division, should be the same color. The streamers of its immediate sub-units, the several moiras or brigades, should also have their own color. Thus, the manual states, "each individual tagma, (battalion or squadron) may easily recognize its own standard. Other distinctive devices known to

1776-462: A total Hospitaler contingent of 1,000 men, half were to be Turcopoles. A perennial problem for the Christian states of Outremer was the limited quantities of Frankish manpower, horses and weapons available. To a certain extent this weakness was redressed through the employment of locally recruited Turcoples, riding indigenous horses and using the same equipment as their opponents. The cost of paying

1887-566: A well-watered position with a small castle, which had previously served as a mustering point in the event of Muslim intrusions from the east. On this occasion the Crusader force consisted of around 18,000–20,000 men, including 1,200 knights from Jerusalem and Tripoli and 50 from Antioch. Though the army was smaller than Saladin's it was still larger than those usually mustered by the Crusaders. The usual levy of those who owed feudal service

1998-468: Is given by Saladin's 17-year-old son, al-Afdal. It is quoted by Muslim chronicler Ibn al-Athir: When the king of the Franks [Guy] was on the hill with that band, they made a formidable charge against the Muslims facing them, so that they drove them back to my father [Saladin]. I looked towards him and he was overcome by grief and his complexion pale. He took hold of his beard and advanced, crying out "Give

2109-595: Is that thema was being used to denote "emplacements". Modern historians agree that the designations of the first themes came from the field armies that were stationed in Asia Minor. The themata were organized as a response to the enormous military and territorial losses suffered during the conquests of the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate – Syria in 637, Armenia and Egypt in 639, North Africa in 652 and Cyprus in 654. Treadgold cites estimates that indicate

2220-620: The Optimatoi (Gr. Ὀπτιμάτοι , "the Best"), a support unit responsible for the mules of the army's baggage train (the τοῦλδον, touldon ). Treadgold estimates that between 773 and 899, the strength of the Schools, Excubitors, Watch and Hicanati was 16,000 cavalrymen, that of the Numera and Walls 4,000 infantry. The Optimates had 2,000 support troops until sometime after 840, when their strength

2331-563: The Huns , Cumans , Alans and (following the Battle of Manzikert ) Turks , meeting the Empire's demand for light cavalry mercenaries . Since much of the Byzantine military focused on the strategy and skill of generals utilizing militia troops, heavy infantry were recruited from Frankish and later Varangian mercenaries. From the 7th to the 12th centuries, the Byzantine army was among

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2442-609: The Knights Hospitaller . The Teutonic Order also called its own native light cavalry the "Turkopolen". The Turcopoles had their own leaders called Turcopoliers who outranked ordinary sergeants, at least in battle. The senior office-holders of the Knights Templar included a Turcopolier who commanded both the mercenary cavalry recruited by the Order in the east and the sergeant-brothers. The personal attendants of

2553-831: The Obsequium ), were the personal guard of the Emperor, and were created to replace the Praetorian Guard disbanded by Constantine I . Following a major reorganisation of the Roman army during the Emperor Diocletian 's reign (284–305 AD) the legions in the third and fourth century bore little resemblance to those of the Republic or earlier Roman empire. Reduced in numbers to about 1,000 men per legion, these units became static garrison troops, sometimes serving on

2664-619: The Tessarakontarioi , a special marine unit, and John I Tzimiskes created a corps called the Athanatoi (Gr. Ἀθάνατοι, the "Immortals") after the old Persian unit. At the beginning of the Komnenian period in 1081, the Byzantine Empire had been reduced to the smallest territorial extent in its history. Surrounded by enemies, and financially ruined by a long period of civil war, the empire's prospects had looked grim. Yet, through

2775-553: The bull Audita tremendi calling for a new crusade within days of his election. In England and France, the Saladin tithe was enacted to raise funds for the new crusade. The subsequent Third Crusade did not get underway until 1189, but was a very successful military operation through which many Christian holdings were restored. Nonetheless, Christian control over territories in the Holy Land remained vulnerable for decades until

2886-516: The knights and sergeants (mounted men at arms ), being armed with lances and bows to help combat the more mobile Muslim forces. The Turcopoles served as light cavalry providing skirmishers , scouts, and mounted archers , and sometimes rode as a second line in a charge, to back up the Frankish knights and sergeants. Turcopoles had lighter and faster horses than the western mounted troops and wore much lighter armour. Usually this comprised only

2997-419: The scutarii and promoti ) featured high amongst the limitanei, being very useful troops on patrol. They included horse archers ( Equites Sagittarii ). The infantry of the comitatenses was organized in regiments (variously named legiones , auxilia or just numeri ) of about 500–1,200 men. They were still the heavy infantry of old, with a spear or sword, shield, body armour and a helmet. But now each regiment

3108-497: The springs at La Saphorie (an important local source of water). He calculated the Crusaders could be defeated more easily in a field battle than by besieging their fortifications. On 2 July Saladin personally led an assault on Raymond's fortress of Tiberias, while the main Muslim army remained at Kafr Sabt . The garrison at Tiberias tried to bribe Saladin to leave the castle undisturbed, but he refused, later stating that "when

3219-634: The 12th century, evidence suggest that non-Turks fighting in the Turkish fashion were also included in the Turcopoles, for example, in the 14th century Turcopoles who were employed by the Catalan company included Greeks who shaved their heads like the Turks in order to be employed in this capacity. The term underwent a semantic evolution, extending to light cavalryman , mainly equipped with bows, regardless of ethnic origins. Some Byzantine Turcopole units under

3330-660: The 6th and 11th centuries. The Battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the subsequent Seljuk invasions, together with the arrival of the Crusades and the incursions of the Normans , would severely weaken the Byzantine state and its military, which increasingly had to rely on foreign mercenaries. The Eastern Empire dates from the creation of the Tetrarchy ("Quadrumvirate") by the Emperor Diocletian in 293. His plans for succession did not outlive his lifetime, but his reorganization of

3441-454: The Avar type with linen fringes outside and wool inside." Young foreigners unskilled with the bow should have lances and shields and bucellary troops ought to have iron gauntlets and small tassles hanging from the back straps and neck straps of their horses, as well as small pennons hanging from their own shoulders over their coats of mail, "for the more handsome the soldier is, in his armament,

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3552-601: The Ayyubid state. Modern historians have corroborated Saladin's belief that the turcopoles in the Ayyubid–Crusader wars were mostly recruited from converted Turks and Arabs. The rest of the captured knights and soldiers were sold into slavery, and one was reportedly bought in Damascus in exchange for some sandals. The high-ranking Frankish barons captured were held in Damascus and treated well. Some of Saladin's men left

3663-575: The Bospherus to North Africa on 500 ships protected by 92 dromons, or war-ships. Tactics, organization and equipment had been largely modified to deal with the Persians. The Byzantines adopted elaborate defensive armor from Persia, coats of mail, cuirasses, casques and greaves of steel for tagma of elite heavy cavalrymen called cataphracts, who were armed with bow and arrows as well as sword and lance. Large numbers of light infantry were equipped with

3774-722: The Crusader states in the Levant The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin . It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin , due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of that name . The Muslim armies under Saladin captured or killed the vast majority of the Crusader forces, removing their capability to wage war. As

3885-495: The Crusaders had reduced the garrisons of their castles and fortified settlements. The heavy defeat at Hattin meant there was little reserve with which to defend against Saladin's forces. Only some 200 knights escaped the battle. The importance of the defeat is demonstrated by the fact that in its aftermath, fifty-two towns and fortifications were captured by Saladin's forces. By mid-September, Saladin had taken Acre , Nablus , Jaffa , Toron , Sidon , Beirut , and Ascalon . Tyre

3996-649: The East in conquered territories. While in ca. 842 the Taktikon Uspensky lists 18 strategoi of themes, the De Thematibus of ca. 940 lists 28, and the Escorial Taktikon , written ca. 971–975, lists almost 90 strategoi of themes and other military commands. Sicily had been completely lost to the expanding Emirate of Sicily at the beginning of Constantine VII's reign in 905 and Cyprus

4107-420: The Franks were "despondent, tormented by thirst" whilst Saladin's men were jubilant in anticipation of their victory. Throughout the night, the Muslims further demoralized the crusaders by praying, singing, beating drums, showing symbols, and chanting. They set fire to the dry grass, making the crusaders' throats even drier. The Crusaders were thirsty, demoralized and exhausted. The Muslim army, by contrast, had

4218-437: The Franks, but it seems Raymond argued that a march from Acre to Tiberias was exactly what Saladin wanted while La Saphorie was a strong position for the Crusaders to defend. Raymond also claimed Guy shouldn't worry about Tiberias, which Raymond held personally and was willing to give up for the safety of the kingdom. In response to this argument, and despite their reconciliation (internal court politics remaining strong), Raymond

4329-749: The Grand Master of the Temple included a Turcopole - possibly as an interpreter or orderly. The Hospitallers included in their rank-structure a Turcopolier, who originally was probably a sergeant-brother but who in 1303 was accorded the senior status of conventual bailli (official in the Central Convent). Since the establishment of the Langues of the Knights of St John in 1319, the Pilier (head) of

4440-487: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Guy of Lusignan and Raynald of Chatillon were brought to Saladin's tent. Saladin offered Guy water, which was a sign in Muslim culture that the prisoner would be spared, but Guy was unaware of that. Guy passed the goblet to Raynald, but Saladin struck it from his hands and said, "I did not ask this evil man to drink, and he would not save his life by doing so". He then charged Raynald with breaking

4551-519: The Langue of England (with Wales , Scotland and Ireland ) was the order's Turcopolier; and in charge of the coastal defences of Rhodes and Malta. Byzantine army The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy . A direct continuation of the Eastern Roman army , shaping and developing itself on the legacy of

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4662-576: The Templars engaged Gökböri in the Battle of Cresson in May 1187 and were heavily defeated. The Templars lost around 150 knights and 300 foot-soldiers, who had made up a great part of the military of Jerusalem. Jonathan Phillips states that "the damage to Frankish morale and the scale of the losses should not be underestimated in contributing towards the defeat at Hattin". In July, Saladin laid siege to Tiberias , where Raymond III's wife, Eschiva of Bures ,

4773-471: The Turcopoles. The Turcopoles captured at Hattin were, as perceived renegades, probably executed at Saladin 's order. The Mamluks also considered Turcopoles to be traitors and apostates, killing all those whom they captured. The Turcopoles who survived the Fall of Acre followed the military orders out of the Holy Land and were established on Cyprus with the Knights Templar , plus Rhodes and Malta with

4884-509: The armament of the "heavy-armed infantrymen" are equally terse. "The men of each arithmos or tagma," the Strategikon tells us, "should have shields of the same color, Herulian swords, lances, helmets with small plumes and tassels on top and on the cheek plates – at least the first men in the file should have these – slings, and lead-pointed darts. The picked men of the files should have mail coats, all of them if it can be done, but in any case

4995-428: The army after the battle, taking lower-ranking Frankish prisoners with them as slaves. On Sunday 5 July Saladin marched the six miles (10km) to Tiberias, and Countess Eschiva surrendered the citadel of the fortress. She was allowed to leave for Tripoli with all of her family, followers, and possessions. Raymond of Tripoli, having escaped the battle, died of pleurisy later in 1187. In fielding an army of 20,000 men,

5106-480: The army did by centuries. Rather than maintain the traditional infantry-heavy legions, Diocletian reformed it into limitanei ("border") and comitatenses (field armies). However, the last legion, Legio V Macedonica, survived until the 7th or 8th centuries, when it was destroyed fighting the Arabs on the Anatolian front. There was an expansion of the importance of the cavalry , though the infantry still remained

5217-497: The back strap, one on top of the head, and one under the chin." "The men's clothing," the Strategikon continues, "especially their tunics, whether made of linen, goat's hair or rough wool, should be broad and full, cut according to the Avar pattern, so they can be fastened to cover the knees while riding and give a neat appearance. They should also be provided with an extra-large cloak or hooded mantle of felt with broad sleeves to wear, large enough to wear over their armament, including

5328-438: The bow, to support the heavy infantry known as scutatii (Meaning ″shield men″) or skutatoi . These wore a steel helmet and a coat of mail , and carried a spear , axe and dagger . They generally held the centre of a Greek line of battle. Infantry armed with javelins were used for operations in mountain regions. Notable military events during the reign of Justinian included the battle of Dara in 530 , when Belisarius, with

5439-487: The bulk of the Frankish ( Western European ) led infantry of Outremer is not available but there are specific references to their participation in the Siege of Tripoli by Raymond de Saint-Gilles . The Turcopoles employed by the crusader states were not necessarily Turkish or mixed-race mercenaries. Many were probably recruited from Christianized Seljuqs , or from Syrian Orthodox Christians living under crusader rule. By

5550-521: The claim of Sibylla's half-sister Isabella and Isabella's husband, Humphrey IV of Toron , and led the rival faction to the court party. Open warfare was prevented only by Humphrey of Toron swearing allegiance to Guy, which ended the succession dispute. The Muslim chronicler Ali ibn al-Athir claimed that Raymond was in a "state of open rebellion" against Guy. In the background of those divisions, Saladin had become vizier of Egypt in 1169 and had taken Damascus in 1174 and Aleppo in 1183. He controlled

5661-461: The coat of mail and the bow." "Each squad should have a tent, as well as sickles and axes to meet any contingency. It is well to have tents of the Avar type, which combine practicality with good appearance." "The men," according to The Strategikon, "should certainly be required to provide servants for themselves, slave or free ... Should they neglect this and find themselves without servants, then in time of battle it will be necessary to detail some of

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5772-608: The command of General Tatikios accompanied the First Crusade and may have provided a model for the subsequent employment of indigenous auxiliary light horse in the crusader states . It has been argued that, while Turcopoles certainly included light cavalry and mounted archers , the term was a general one also applicable to indigenous Syrian footmen serving as feudal levies in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . Evidence that Syrian levies, whether designated as turcoples or not, provided

5883-486: The commanders' retinues and barbarian allies. The expeditionary force of Belisarius during his reconquest of Carthage from the Vandals in 533 is illustrative. This army had 10,000 comitatenses and foederati infantry, with 3,000 similarly composed cavalry. There were 600 Huns and 400 Herules, all mounted archers, and 1,400 or 1,500 mounted bucellarii of Belisarius' retinue. The small force of less than 16,000 men voyaged from

5994-577: The core of the imperial army on campaign, augmented by the provincial levies of thematic troops who were more concerned with local defense. The four main tagmata were: There were also auxiliary tagmata , such as the Noumeroi (Gr. Νούμεροι), a garrison unit for Constantinople, which probably included the regiment "of the Walls" (Gr. τῶν Τειχέων, tōn Teicheōn ), manning the Walls of Constantinople ., and

6105-581: The course of the march and veer to the left in the direction of the Springs of Kafr Hattin, only 6 miles (9.7 km) away. From there they could march down to Tiberias the following day. The Muslims positioned themselves between the Frankish army and the water so that the Franks were forced to pitch camp overnight on the arid plateau near the village of Meskenah. The Muslims surrounded the camp so closely that "a cat could not have escaped". According to Ibn al Athir,

6216-401: The crusaders on various occasions and according to Jamal ad-Din Hajji the crusaders even manipulated the Assassins to kill his three elder brothers. Saladin's army was organised as a centre and two wings: Gökböri commanded the left of the army, Saladin himself commanded the centre and his nephew, Al-Muzaffar Umar (Taki ad-Din), the right. The opposing Crusader army amassed at La Saphorie ,

6327-433: The death of her son Baldwin V . The Kingdom of Jerusalem was divided between the "court faction" of Guy, consisting of Sibylla and relative newcomers to the kingdom such as Raynald of Châtillon , Gerard of Ridefort and the Knights Templar ; versus the "nobles' faction", led by Raymond III of Tripoli , who had been a regent for the child-king Baldwin V and had opposed Guy's succession. Raymond III of Tripoli had supported

6438-404: The direction of the thematic strategoi , tourmarchai commanded from two up to four divisions of soldiers and territory, called tourmai . Under them, the droungarioi headed subdivisions called droungoi , each with a thousand soldiers. In the field, these units would be further divided into banda with a nominal strength of 300 men, although at times reduced to little more than 50. Again,

6549-408: The dissolution of the Empire at the hands of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Emperors of Nicaea managed to form a small but effective force using the same structure of light and heavily armed troops, both natives and foreigners. It proved effective in defending what remained of Byzantine Anatolia and reclaiming much of the Balkans and even Constantinople itself in 1261. Another period of neglect of

6660-492: The empire's population dropped from 19.5 million in 560 to 10.5 million in 641. At the same time the size of armed forces plunged from 379,300 men to 129,000. By 662, the empire had lost more than half its territory in 30 years, and the first mentions occur in surviving records of themata under the command of generals, or strategi, that are the remnants of the former mobile armies now stationed in set districts. At some later time, when payment in cash had become difficult,

6771-444: The end of the sixth century, the Emperor Maurice , or senior officers writing for him, described in great detail the Byzantine army of the period in The Strategikon , a manual for commanders. Maurice, who reigned from 582 to 602, certainly had extensive military experience. In 592, he forced the Persians to sign a treaty that regained extensive Armenian territory for the empire that had been lost in earlier wars. Maurice then turned to

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6882-411: The enemy. For men who might not have bows or are not experienced archers, small javelins or Slavic spears should be provided. They should also carry lead-pointed darts in leather cases, and slings." The strength of the Byzantine army and navy in 565 is estimated by Teadgold to have been 379,300 men, with a field army and part of the guards totaling 150,300, and the frontier troops, part of the guards and

6993-537: The entire southern and eastern flanks of the crusader states. He united his subjects under Sunni Islam and convinced them that he would wage holy war to push the Christian Franks from Jerusalem. Saladin often made strategic truces with the Franks when he needed to deal with political problems in the Muslim world, and one such truce was made in 1185. It was rumoured by the Franks that Raymond III of Tripoli had made an agreement with Saladin under which Saladin would make him King of Jerusalem in return for peace. That rumour

7104-420: The fear of empowering effective revolts was largely behind these subdivisions. The following table illustrates the thematic structure as found in the Thracesian Theme, circa 902–936. The tagmata (τάγματα, "regiments") were the professional standing army of the Empire, formed by Emperor Constantine V after the suppression of a major revolt in the Opsician Theme in 741–743. Anxious to safeguard his throne from

7215-425: The first two in the file. They should also have iron or wooden greaves, at least the first and second in each file." The light-armed infantryman, still quoting the Strategikon, "should carry bows on their shoulders with large quivers holding about 30 or 40 arrows. They should have small shields, as well as crossbows with short arrows in small quivers. These can be fired a great distance with the bows and cause harm to

7326-435: The formation of cavalry tagmas of 300 to 400 men into morias of 2,000 to 3,000 and the morias into meros of 6,000 to 7,000. The themata (Gr. θέματα) were administrative divisions of the empire in which a general (Gr. στρατηγός, strategos ) exercised both civilian and military jurisdiction and a Judge (Κριτής του Θέματος, Krites tou thematos ) held the judicial power. The name is peculiar; Treadgold's closest guess

7437-412: The frequent revolts of the thematic armies, Constantine reformed the old guard units of Constantinople into the new tagmata regiments, which were meant to provide the emperor with a core of professional and loyal troops. They were typically headquartered in or around Constantinople, although in later ages they sent detachments to the provinces. The tagmata were exclusively heavy cavalry units and formed

7548-463: The front ranks of the battle line, should have protective pieces of iron armor about their heads and breast plates of iron or felt, or else breast and neck coverings such as the Avars use. The saddles should have large and thick cloths; the bridles should be of good quality; attached to the saddles should be two iron stirrups, a lasso with thong, hobble, a sadle bag large enough to hold three or four days' rations when needed. There should be four tassels on

7659-479: The heavily armoured and relatively slow moving horsemen of the western armies were at a disadvantage. Accordingly this was the sole occasion when Turcopoliers (Turcopole commanders) could issue direct orders to accompanying knights. Turcopoles served in both the secular armies of Outremer and the ranks of the military orders . In the latter, Turcopoles had lower status than the Frankish sergeants and were subject to various restrictions. These included having to eat at

7770-525: The hill. I again shouted, "We have beaten them!" but my father rounded on me and said, "Be quiet! We have not beaten them until that tent [Guy's] falls." As he was speaking to me, the tent fell. The sultan dismounted, prostrated himself in thanks to God Almighty, and wept for joy. Prisoners after the battle included Guy, his brother Amalric II , Raynald de Chatillon , William V of Montferrat , Gerard de Ridefort , Humphrey IV of Toron , Hugh of Jabala , Plivain of Botron , Hugh of Gibelet , and other barons of

7881-481: The large size of these divisions, Leo III the Isaurian , Theophilus , and Leo VI the Wise all responded by breaking the themes up into smaller areas and dividing control over the armies within each theme into various tourmai . The large early themes were progressively split up in the 8th–9th centuries to reduce their governors' power, while in the 10th century, new and much smaller themes, called "Armenian themes" because many were settled by Armenians, were created in

7992-769: The largest army he had ever commanded on the Golan Heights , around 40,000 men including about 12,000 regular cavalry. He inspected his forces at Tell-Ashtara before crossing the River Jordan on 30 June. Saladin had also unexpectedly gained the alliance of the Druze community based in Sarahmul led by Jamal ad-Din Hajji, whose father Karama was an age-old ally of Nur ad-Din Zangi . The city of Sarahmul had been sacked by

8103-524: The late Hellenistic armies , it maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization. It was among the most effective armies of western Eurasia for much of the Middle Ages . Over time the cavalry arm became more prominent in the Byzantine army as the legion system disappeared in the early 7th century. Later reforms reflected some Germanic and Asian influences —rival forces frequently became sources of mercenary units, such as

8214-453: The lie to the Devil!" The Muslims rallied, returned to the fight, and climbed the hill. When I saw that the Franks withdrew, pursued by the Muslims, I shouted for joy, "We have beaten them!" But the Franks rallied and charged again like the first time and drove the Muslims back to my father. He acted as he had done on the first occasion and the Muslims turned upon the Franks and drove them back to

8325-560: The line of fire. They countered most incursions and raids. Thus, it can be assumed they had superior field experience (except in periods of long campaigning for the comitatenses), though that experience did not extend to large battles and sieges. The Scholae Palatinae units, which were more properly known as the Schola Protectores Domestici and the "Protective Association of the Royal Escort" (also called

8436-662: The major component of the Roman armies, in contrast to common belief. In preparation for Justinian's African campaign of 533–534 AD, the army assembled amounted to 10,000-foot soldiers and 5,000 mounted archers and federate lancers. The limitanei and ripenses were to occupy the limes , the Roman border fortifications. The field units, by contrast, were to stay well behind the border and move quickly where they were needed, whether for offensive or defensive roles, as well as forming an army against usurpers. The field units were held to high standards and took precedence over Limitanei in pay and provisions. Cavalry formed about one-third of

8547-543: The mercenary element amongst the Turcopoles was one of the specific reasons for repeated cash donations being sent to the crusader states from Europe. At the decisive Battle of Hattin in 1187 the Historia Regni Hierosolymitani records 4,000 turcopoles as being part of the defeated Christian army. However the historian Steven Runciman considers this number exaggerated, and notes that the Muslim light cavalry present were probably better armed than

8658-477: The military followed in the reign of Andronikos II Palaiologos , which allowed Anatolia to fall prey to an emerging power, the Ottoman Empire . Successive civil wars in the 14th century further sapped the Empire's strength and destroyed any remaining chance of recovery, while the weakening of central authority and the devolution of power to provincial leaders meant that the Byzantine army was now composed of

8769-428: The more confidence he gains in himself and the more fear he inspires in the enemy." Lances were apparently expected to be thrown, for the troops should have "two lances so as to have a spare in case the first one misses. Unskilled men should use lighter bows." The manual then describes horse gear and the trooper's clothing. "The horses, especially those of the officers and the other special troops, in particular those in

8880-498: The most powerful and effective military forces in the world – neither Middle Ages Europe nor (following its early successes) the fracturing Caliphate could match the strategies and the efficiency of the Byzantine army. Restricted to a largely defensive role in the 7th to mid-9th centuries, the Byzantines developed the theme-system to counter the more powerful Caliphate. From the mid-9th century, however, they gradually went on

8991-462: The naval themes of Hellas and Cibyrrhaeot), 18,000 in six tagmas, and 38,400 oarsmen divided between the Imperial fleet and the naval themes. By 840, the population had grown by a million, while the army had expanded to a total strength of 154,600. There were 96,000 soldiers and marines in 20 themes and 24,000 in the tagmas, while the number of Imperial and thematic oarsmen declined to 34,200. Under

9102-540: The oarsmen totaling 229,000. These numbers probably held through the reign of Maurice. However, the largest field army mentioned in the Strategikon is a force of 34,384 (16,384 heavy infantry, 8,000 light-armed troops and 10,000 cavalry) which is given as an example of "the past, when the legions were composed of large numbers of men." Writing of his own time, Maurice stipulates that an army of more than 24,000 men should be divided into four components and an army of less than 24,000 into three. In another section, Maurice describes

9213-421: The offensive, culminating in the great conquests of the 10th century under a series of soldier-emperors such as Nikephoros II Phokas , John Tzimiskes and Basil II . The army they led was less reliant on the militia of the themes; it was by now a largely professional force, with a strong and well-drilled infantry at its core and augmented by a revived heavy cavalry arm. With one of the most powerful economies in

9324-472: The other hand, little is known of the limitanei. The old legions, cohorts and cavalry alae survived there, and newer units were created (the new legions, or auxilia and vexillationes , amongst the cavalry. The limitanei infantry may have been lighter-equipped than the comitatenses infantry, but there is no evidence whatsoever. They were paid less than the field troops and recruited locally. Consequently, they were of inferior quality. However, they were in

9435-453: The people realized they had an opponent who could not be tricked and would not be contented with tribute, they were afraid lest war might eat them up and they asked for quarter   ... but the servant gave the sword dominion over them." Within a day, one of the fortress' towers was mined and collapsed. Saladin's troops stormed the breach, killing some of the opposing force and taking prisoners. Raymond's wife Eschiva of Bures held out with

9546-411: The second half of the 12th century the recorded names of individual Turcoples indicate that some were Poulains (Syrian-born Franks), as well as European Franks. In addition to indigenous Christians and converted Turks, the Turcopoles of Outremer may at various dates have included contingents from the west trained to serve as mounted archers. In the Holy Land , Turcopoles were more lightly equipped than

9657-442: The sides and Gothic shoes with thick soles, broad toes and plain stitching, fastened with no more than two clasps the soles studded with a few nails for greater durability." Boots or greaves are discouraged, "for they are unsuitable for marching and, if worn, slow one down. Their mantles should be simple, not like Bulgarian cloaks. Their hair should be cut short, and it is better if it is not allowed to grow long." The descriptions of

9768-436: The soldiers should be imposed on the fields of the flags, so that they may easily be recognized according to meros, moira and tagma. The standards of the merarchs (meros commander) should be particularly distinctive and conspicuous, so they may be recognized by their troops at a great distance." The Strategikon deals more briefly with the infantry. They are to wear Gothic tunics "coming down to their knees or short ones split up

9879-423: The soldiers themselves to the baggage train, and there will be fewer men fighting in the ranks. But if, as can easily happen, some of the men are unable to afford servants, then it will be necessary to require that three or four soldiers join in maintaining one servant. A similar arrangement should be made with the pack animals, which may be needed to carry the coats of mail and the tents." The manual then describes

9990-497: The soldiers were given land grants within their districts for their support. The dates of this process are uncertain, but Treadgold points to 659–662 as the most likely time-frame, as this is the period when the Emperor Constans II made a truce with the Arabs that gave the army time to regroup, the government ran out of money to pay the troops, and the empire's enormous losses of territory stopped. The themata provided

10101-509: The spot without resistance while the remainder were taken prisoner. Their plight was such that five of Raymond's knights went over to the Muslim leaders to beg that they be mercifully put to death. Guy attempted to pitch the tents again to block the Muslim cavalry. The Christian knights and mounted serjeants were disorganized, but still fought on. Now the crusaders were surrounded and, despite three desperate charges on Saladin's position, were broken up and defeated. An eyewitness account of this

10212-430: The strength of each man, their cases broad enough that strung bows can fit in them, and spare bow strings kept the men's saddle bags. The men's quivers should have covers and hold 30 or 40 arrows and they should carry small files and awls in their baldrics. The cavalry lances should be "of the Avar type with leather thongs in the middle of the shaft and with pennons." The men were also to have "swords and round neck pieces of

10323-406: The surviving Frankish troops in the citadel . As the Muslim troops began to construct a second mine to attack the citadel on 3 July, Saladin received news that Guy was moving the Frankish army east. The Crusaders had taken the bait. Guy's decision to leave La Saphorie was the result of a Crusader war council held on the night of 2 July. Records of this meeting are biased due to personal feuds among

10434-449: The truce. Some reports, such as that of Baha al-Din, claim that Saladin himself then executed Raynald with a single stroke of his sword. Others record that Saladin struck Raynald as a sign to his bodyguards to behead him. Guy assumed that he would also be beheaded, but Saladin assured him that "kings do not kill kings." The True Cross was supposedly fixed upside down on a lance and sent to Damascus. The Crusader king, Guy of Lusignan,

10545-521: The units, but as a result of smaller units, about one-quarter of the Roman armies consisted of cavalry. About half the cavalry consisted of heavy cavalry (including the stablesiani ). They were armed with spear or lance and sword and armored in mail. Some had bows, but they were meant for supporting the charge instead of independent skirmishing. In the field armies there was a component of some 15% of cataphractarii or clibanarii , heavily armoured cavalry who used shock tactics. The light cavalry (including

10656-405: The water supply at Lake Tiberias. The second of these enabled him to reach the lake and make his way to Tyre. After Raymond escaped, Guy's position was now even more desperate. Most of the Christian infantry had effectively deserted by fleeing en masse onto the Horns of Hattin, where they played no further part in the battle. Overwhelmed by thirst and wounds, many of Guy's soldiers were killed on

10767-742: The western frontier in the Balkans. In a war that lasted the rest of his life, he defeated the Avars and Slavs in battle, but could not gain a decisive victory. The Strategikon's author gives us a fair picture of the Byzantine army and its troops, including the equipment borrowed from the Herules, Goths, Slavs and especially the Avars, once barbarian enemies all. Cavalrymen should have "hooded coats of mail reaching to their ankles which may be drawn up by thongs and rings, along with carying cases." Helmets were to have small plumes on top and bows were to be suited to

10878-402: The world at the time, the Empire had the resources to put to the field a powerful host when needed, in order to reclaim its long-lost territories. After the collapse of the theme-system in the 11th century, the Byzantines grew increasingly reliant on professional Tagmata troops, including ever-increasing numbers of foreign mercenaries. The Komnenian emperors made great efforts to re-establish

10989-506: Was a condominium jointly administered with the Abbasid Caliphate until its reconquest by Nikephoros II Phokas in 965. Constantinople itself was under an Eparch and protected by the numerous tagmata and police forces. The empire is estimated by Treadgold to have had a population of 7 million in 774, with an army and navy that totaled 118,400. This included 62,000 thematic troops in 10 themes (including 4,000 marines in

11100-455: Was accused of cowardice by Gerard and Raynald. This led Guy to resolve on an immediate counter-attack against Saladin at Tiberias. On 3 July the Frankish army started out towards Tiberias, harassed constantly by Muslim archers. They passed the Springs of Turan, which were entirely insufficient to provide the army with water. At midday, Raymond of Tripoli decided that the army would not reach Tiberias by nightfall, and he and Guy agreed to change

11211-443: Was because "the minds of both men had been so poisoned by the political conflict 1180-1187 that they could only see Raymond's advice as designed to bring them personal ruin" and also because he had spent Henry II of England 's donations in calling the army and was reluctant to disband it without a battle. That was a gamble on Guy's part, as he had left only a few knights to defend the city of Jerusalem. In late May, Saladin assembled

11322-597: Was commanded by a Stratarches. Two or more numeri formed a brigade, or moira ; two or more brigades a division, or meros . There were six classifications of troops: The size of Justinian's army is unclear. Bury, writing in the 1920s, accepted the estimate of 150,000 troops of all classes in 559 given by Agathia of Myrina in his History. Modern scholars estimate the total strength of the imperial army under Justinian to be between 300,000 and 350,000 soldiers. Field armies generally had 15,000 to 25,000 soldiers and were formed mainly of comitatenses and foederati, reinforced by

11433-524: Was done by Guy's brother Amalric. Raymond led the first division with Raymond of Antioch, the son of Bohemund III of Antioch, while Balian and Joscelin III of Edessa formed the rearguard. Thirsty and demoralized, the crusaders broke camp and changed direction for the springs of Hattin, but their ragged approach was attacked by Saladin's army, which blocked the route forward and any possible retreat. Count Raymond launched two charges in an attempt to break through to

11544-434: Was echoed by Ibn al Athir, whether that was true is unclear. Raymond III was certainly reluctant to engage in battle with Saladin. In 1187 Raynald of Châtillon raided a Muslim Hajj caravan while the truce with Saladin was still in place. Saladin swore that he would kill Raynald for violating the truce, and he sent his son Al-Afdal and the emir Gökböri to raid the Frankish lands surrounding Acre . Gerard de Ridefort and

11655-461: Was extended, on this occasion of extreme threat, to include a call to arms of all able-bodied men in the kingdom. After reconciling, Raymond and Guy met at Acre with the bulk of the Crusader army. According to some European sources, aside from the knights there were a greater number of lighter cavalry, and perhaps 10,000 foot soldiers, supplemented by crossbowmen from the Italian merchant fleet, and

11766-737: Was raised to 4,000. In circa 870, the Imperial Fleet Marines were founded, adding another 4,000, for a total active force of 28,000. There was also the Hetaireia (Gr. Ἑταιρεία , " Companions "), which comprised the various mercenary corps in Imperial service, subdivided in Greater, Middle and Lesser, each commanded by a Hetaireiarchēs recalling the royal Macedonian company of old. In addition to these more or less stable units, any number of shorter-lived tagmata were formed as favoured units of various emperors. Michael II raised

11877-637: Was saved by the arrival of Conrad of Montferrat , resulting in Saladin's siege of Tyre being repulsed with heavy losses. Jerusalem was defended by Queen Sibylla, Latin Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem , and Balian, who subsequently negotiated its surrender to Saladin on 2 October (see Siege of Jerusalem ). According to the chronicler Ernoul , news of the defeat brought to Rome by Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre caused Pope Urban III to die of shock. Urban's successor, Pope Gregory VIII , issued

11988-412: Was sitting on his dais ; the unbelievers showed black despair. Captured turcopoles (locally recruited mounted archers employed by the crusader states) were also executed on Saladin 's orders. Though the prisoners claimed to be Christians by heritage , Saladin believed the turcopoles to be Christian converts from Islam , which was punishable by death under the form of Islamic jurisprudence followed by

12099-531: Was supported by a detachment of light infantry skirmishers. If needed, the infantry could take off (some of) their armour to act in a more flexible way as Modares did (according to Zosimus ) during the Gothic War of the 370s. The regiments were commanded by a tribunus ("tribune") and brigaded in pairs (cavalry units did, too) under a comes . These brigades probably were tactical and strategic units only, as no traces survive of brigade staff corps. On

12210-507: Was taken to Damascus as a prisoner and granted release in 1188, while the other noble captives were eventually ransomed. After executing Raynald of Chatillon, Saladin ordered that the other captive barons be spared and treated humanely. All 200 of the Templar and Hospitaller Knights taken prisoner were executed on Saladin's orders, with the exception of the Grand Master of the Temple. The executions were by decapitation. Saint Nicasius ,

12321-407: Was trapped. In spite of that, Raymond argued that Guy should not engage Saladin in battle and that Saladin could not hold Tiberias because his troops would not stand to be away from their families for so long. The Knights Hospitaller also advised Guy not to provoke Saladin. Gerard de Ridefort however advised Guy to advance against Saladin, and Guy took his advice. Norman Housley suggests that that

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