Descrizione

From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Slightly rubbed dust jacket cover, faint scratches on the edge, pencil marking on the corner of the endpaper, otherwise very good and clean. / Leicht beriebener Schutzumschlag, leichte Kratzer auf dem Schnitt, Bleistifteintrag in der Ecke des Vorsatzes, sonst sehr gut und sauber. - Threatened on all sides by relentless, savage enemies for a thousand years, the Byzantines, above all else, had to make certain of the readiness of their armies and the security of their borders. The practical handbooks of military strategy compiled by experienced commanders are evidence of their concern. Three such manuals are presented here. The first, the Anonymous Byzantine Treatise on Strategy, was written by a retired combat engineer around the middle of the sixth century; the other two, Skirmishing and Campaign Organization and Tactics, date from the late tenth century and concern warfare in the mountains along the Syrian frontier and campaigns in the rugged terrain of the Balkans. These writings speak not only of tactics and weaponry but of what motivated the men who risked their lives to defend the empire. - George T. Dennis, S.J., is emeritus professor of history at the Catholic University of America and has edited and translated the Letters of Manuel II Palaeologus, Dumbarton Oaks Texts 4, as well as the basic Byzantine military handbook, the Strategikon of Emperor Maurice. ISBN 9780884021407