Table Of ContentThe
Byzantinist
•
Issue No. 1 The newsletter of the
Spring 2011 Oxford Byzantine Society
A Message from the Editor
It gives me inestimable pleasure to would be able to gain new insights into the live on through the OBS website and will,
present to you the first issue of The subject. In addition to five scholarly articles, in time, be joined by others. This project
Byzantinist. This newsletter is the the newsletter also includes a fascinating would not have got off the ground without
latest in the Oxford Byzantine Society’s interview with James Howard-Johnston the enthusiastic participation of the con-
ongoing endeavour to represent the inter- about his new book and an opportunity to tributors and the encouragement of senior
ests of graduate students of Late Antique read about the personal and academic tra- members of the Interfaculty Committee of
and Byzantine Studies at Oxford, to provide jectory that has brought one of our new Late Antique and Byzantine Studies. The
them with platforms for the sharing of ideas graduate students to us this year. present form of the newsletter could not
and information, and to showcase their Finally, as current students consider their have been realised without the design skills
exciting and varied academic output. The futures after the degree, one hopes that the of Jesse Simon and the eagle editorial eye of
unique and world-renowned reputation of newsletter shall, in times to come, provide Sean Leatherbury. All that remains for me
the University of Oxford as a hub of research an indication of the possible career paths in to say is that it is a singular privilege for me
into Late Antiquity and Byzantium attracts their chosen field. We have made a start in to present to you the combined efforts of
some of the brightest and most motivated this issue, with a profile of a recent graduate your colleagues and students.
graduate students from across the globe. and news from four more graduates who have
Prerona Prasad
It is entirely fitting that this newsletter is recently completed their doctorates. Every
President
being launched in a year in which a record future issue of the newsletter can build on Oxford Byzantine Society
number of students have commenced grad- this, providing current students and students
uate studies in Late Antique and Byzantine to come with news from the growing ranks
The ByzanTinisT
Studies at Oxford. Three of the five articles of alumni. As we grapple with an unprec-
in this inaugural issue have been submitted edented crisis in higher education, building • is published by •
by first-year Master of Studies students. networks that link current and former stu-
The Oxford Byzantine society
Apart from harnessing new talent, this dents can only have a positive impact on
newsletter also attempts to represent the academic and professional outcomes. The Prerona Prasad
broad spectrum of disciplines and time Oxford Byzantine Society has always consid- President
periods that inform graduate research at the ered the publicising of funding and academic Sean Leatherbury
university. The late antique, middle and late opportunities an issue of absolute primacy Secretary
periods are all represented, as are the fields and has addressed this through our regular
Design and Layout by
of art and architecture, archaeology, history emails and website updates. The experiences
Jesse Simon
and literature. The brief to all contributors of former students are a welcome addition to for Nouvellevague
of articles was to discuss a small, contained this corpus of resources. The texts and photographs printed herein are
© 2011 by the Authors and may not be
aspect of their research in such a way that After its modest print run is distributed, reproduced without permission.
the non-expert (though academic) reader an electronic version of the newsletter will
Contents
Ammianus and the elephants An interview with James Howard-Johnston 12
by Michael Stawpert 2
Book Reviews 14
Echoes of the Fourth-century Apostoleion
by John Lansdowne 4 Alumni Profile 16
You cannot deny that you are my son this time, Alexander Graduate Profile 16
by Caterina Franchi 6
Alumni News 17
The Battle of Beroia
by Maximilian Lau 8 Recent Publications 18
It was predicted
by Annika Asp 10 back cover: Fresco in the Karanlık Kilise, Göreme, Cappadocia
Ammianus and
the elephants
ROman-PeRsian siege waRfaRe
in The fOuRTh cenTuRy
Michael Stawpert St John’s College
Ammianus Marcellinus provides investment of strongholds during the fourth- much shattering of heads under the crush-
the most enthralling account of century wars between Rome and Persia, and ing weight of stones hurled by our engines.’
military affairs available for the what part was played by that seldom men- (XIX.19.4). Siege towers and rams were by far
fourth century. His narrative covers the tioned weapon of the age, the elephant. the most common methods of approaching
crucial battles and campaigns during the fortifications, and against these Ammianus
What I have just said suggests I should, as
reigns of the emperors from Constantius I to shows many successful defences – the use
briefly as my modest ability permits, give a
Valens and the disaster of Adrianople in 378. of scorpions and onagers by defenders to
concise description of engines of this kind
Though Ammianus provides more descrip- bring down towers, hand-thrown projectiles
for those who are unacquainted with them.
tions of the pitched battles of the period, against rams as well as methods to ignite
(XXIII.4.1)
sieges are events of major significance; the the siege engines. The relationship between
strategic importance of each site, the terror At the time of Ammianus, siege technol- artillery and the regular army, however,
of the civilian population, the tactical inge- ogy was not significantly different to that was radically different in Late Antiquity
nuity needed to unlock the defences and of the late classical period. Rams, hurling compared to the principate. Traditionally,
the heroic deeds of the defenders, heighten machines, mobile towers were still the artillery detachments were assigned to each
the drama and tension of a siege in the set dominant weapons available to a besieging legion, providing firepower for the march-
piece events of Ammianus’s account. The army. Ammianus’ digression on the siege ing camps or garrisoned positions. By Late
truly epic description of the siege of Amida weapons of his day gives an insight into the Antiquity, a specialised artillery corps
provides one of the most memorable and approaches taken for reducing fortified posi- existed for the Roman army, which, like
detailed description in the account, told by tions on the Roman-Persian border. What is engineers, performed a specific function for
a narrator who combines the roles of an eye telling in the account Ammianus provides, the garrisoned troops of the empire. Rather
witness and a military expert. In most schol- however, is that these weapons, especially than viewing this as evidence for the dimin-
arly works dealing with Ammianus and his the ever present onager, were not used to ished role of artillery, as its presence was no
military accounts, the ability of Roman and attack the walls of cities or bring down for- longer ubiquitous, this should perhaps be
Persian forces to capture fortified strong- tifications, but to attack the personnel inside seen as a recognition of the crucial and spe-
holds receives at least some attention, the defences. Equally, weapons we would cialised role for war machines in late antique
concentrating mostly upon technology, lit- identify as siege machines such as the onager warfare, which is attested by the role of the
erary features of Ammianus or the narrative were used by defenders to foil the schemes Gallic legions at Amida, who were ‘admira-
history of the period. In this paper I wish to of the enemy to take the walls, as well as anti- bly suited to fighting in open country, but
briefly examine how much of a part tech- personnel weaponry, which appears to have quite useless, indeed a positive nuisance,
nological capabilities really played in the been devastatingly effective – ‘There was in the kind of warfare to which we were
2 | The Byzantinist
restricted. They were no help in working the frontier of the Sassanian world. What is conventional methods have been employed.
artillery or constructing defensive works.’ most significant about Ammianus’ report However, Amida was clearly an exceptional
(XIX.5.4) It is worth mentioning, however, of the use of elephants in war, however, are case, housing three legions and being an
that the Romans enjoyed no advantage in the armies of which they are a feature. In the integral part of the Roman frontier. The
defensive technology; the Persians appear two instances in which Ammianus reports campaign which brought the Persians to
equally armed when defending their for- the use of war elephants – once in siege at Amida was one in which Roman towns by
tresses as at Pirisabora during the Persian Amida and once in the field against Julian and large paid off the invaders for security,
campaign. (XXIV.2) – they are part of the royal army, under the and in which the Persians were more than
personal command of the Shah. Clearly happy to accept payment and move on to
The greatest danger for defenders seems these beasts, slow moving and ill tempered maximise the profits of the season. The ease
to have been the chance that the enemy as they are known to be, carried significant of the Persian advance and the readiness of
might construct a tower higher than the prestige; not only for their exotic image the Roman populace to pay off the invaders
walls, from which fire could be directed (one need only imagine the feelings of a may be better understood if the accompany-
against the defenders on the walls; this is Gallic legionary when confronted by a full ing elephants were put in their role as ‘the
a feature of several of the most dramatic armoured war elephant, Ammianus’s views most frightful objects the human mind can
sieges in Ammianus’ narrative, and in one can be seen above) but for the conspicu- conceive’ (XIX.7.3).
instance in Julian’s campaign into Persia, it ous expense that they signified. To cover an
is merely the threat that the Romans may elephant in a suit of chain mail was no mean This paper has outlined some of the strata-
have a tower capable of overlooking the feat. Similarly, mounting archers in towers gems employed by both the Romans and the
walls, that prompts the surrender of the atop the elephant would have added to their Persians, as related by Ammianus, in siege
town. At Amida, the Persian towers were monstrous size and their intimidating effect warfare. What has become clear is the strate-
not only ‘armoured’ but also ‘on the high upon the enemy. gic difficulty sieges posed in Late Antiquity,
tops of these were pieces of artillery, which for though minor settlements could be over-
threw into confusion those who were active The impact of elephants in the field is well come, the time required to achieve this, and
in defence at the lower level.’ (XIX) Frontal understood, but what use could an elephant the sheer density of fortified positions in the
assault however appears to be a relatively be in a siege assault, particularly against zone of conflict between the two empires,
rare occurrence at this time; that Ammianus sophisticated defences? The very presence made the reduction of these positions
devotes attention to the instances of assault, of elephants at a siege, and the evidence of impractical and time-consuming. Equally
should indicate the unusual nature of these their use from Ammianus, is revealing about notable, from even the brief discussion of
events, as the historian is concerned with the scale of the defences of Eastern cities in Ammianus given here, is the enormity of
the remarkable events of the age rather Late Antiquity. Ammianus describes how the the supplies required by an army engaged
than the ordinary. Other tactics, such as Persians constructed towers on the backs of in siege warfare at this time. The prestige
undermining, form an important part of the the elephants, of sufficient height to allow the campaigns which both empires pursued
besiegers arsenal, though on many occa- Persian archers to attack the Roman troops were vastly expensive affairs and would have
sions, it appears that the defenders were on the battlements (XIX.7). The average needed huge amounts of material. Although
equally adept at subterranean warfare – height of Indian elephants stands at 7m. this could be occasionally pillaged from the
perhaps an indication that the engineering With the materials available to the Persians, it enemy (as the Persian artillery at Amida
corps of the Roman army was still an effi- is unlikely that a tower could be built to stand had been from Singara), one must assume
cient and well organised force. more than the height of the elephant itself; that much of this was carried by an army. To
most likely the tower was significantly smaller, commit to a siege would obviously consume
These last were accompanied by lines of
taking the total height of elephant and tower much of that material and required highly
elephants, wrinkled monsters of enormous
to under 14m high. That this height was suf- developed corps of engineers, capable of
height, which advanced slowly loaded with
ficient for Persian archers to fire into the city building an armoured siege tower with
armed men, a sight more dreadful than
could be seen as evidence for fortification of firing platforms which, in the most impres-
any other form of horror, as I have often
Eastern towns and cities being much smaller sive instances, could be wheeled up to the
declared. (XIX.19.2)
than is sometimes assumed. That relatively enemy fortifications, while a ram battered at
Though the use of war elephants has small scale defences could create such prob- the enemy walls. To begin the investment of
a long and well documented history in lems for the technologically sophisticated a siege was clearly a last resort for an invader.
the classical and antique ages, very little Persians, as to make outright storming Rather, by alternating between assurances
is made of their use under the Sassanians. impossible, while methods of tower con- of mercy and threats of destruction, it was
The supply of elephants for war was struction and undermining were frequently vastly more efficient to compel minor settle-
clearly dependent on diplomatic relations undone, is revealing about the capacity of ments, even with garrisons, to surrender. To
between the Sassanians and the neighbour- armies to attack defended positions in Late this end, the Persians possessed what must
ing peoples who could supply the beasts Antiquity. Clearly the use of elephants was a be considered the greatest terror weapon of
for the Shah’s armies. That they feature form of psychological warfare; these beasts their age: elephants.
in Ammianus perhaps reveals something play only a supporting role in the Persian
•
about the strategic situation on the Eastern assault on Amida, appearing after more
The Byzantinist | 3
Echoes of the Fourth-
century Apostoleion
in Late Antique Italia
Annonaria
John Lansdowne St Cross College
The Church of the Holy Apostles or origin—conveyed considerable author- over the crossing. The plan emphasized
(Apostoleion) was among Byzan- ity in Christianity’s first millennium. The and expanded the cruciform shape of tradi-
tium’s most celebrated buildings. early Church hierarchy adopted the impe- tional, appended or subterranean martyrs’
First established by Constantine the Great rial administrative model and its synoecistic chapels—including the Constantinian
and dedicated under Constantius II, it was framework was formalized at Nicaea in 325. Old St. Peter’s in Rome or original Holy
hailed by Procopius as Constantinople’s Bishops were ‘sent out’ to major urban Sepulchre—to fashion for the Apostoleion
‘second church’ upon its re-construction centers to establish metropolitan sees—one a synecdochic core structure with the cross
under Justinian in 550 (De Aedificiis I.IV.18). metropolitan (ἐπαρχία) per Roman prov- as its main feature. As Krautheimer noted,
The significance of the Apostoleion in medi- ince; one vicarius per dioecesis. A see able to ‘a new type of martyrium ha[d] sprung up,
eval cultural politics ensured its emulation. trace its foundation to Christ’s apostles was a self-sufficient structure centered on the
Modern and historical observers have long dubbed apostolic. In his Historia Ecclesiae of focus of veneration.’
noted the more prominent Justinianic ca. 324/5, Eusebius of Caesarea traced the Competing traditions concerning the
structure’s influence on the sixth-century see of Jerusalem to James of Antioch, of church’s original foundation are subjects
Church of St. John in Ephesus and eleventh- Rome to Peter, and of Alexandria to Mark. of scholarly debate. Krautheimer and Cyril
century San Marco in Venice. Considerably By the mid-fourth century, Constan- Mango concluded that the church was built
less has been acknowledged concerning the tinople remained the sole major by Constantine but, following earthquake
impact of the Apostoleion in its fourth-cen- metropolitan incapable of boasting apostolic damage in 358, renovated by Constantius
tury Constantinian manifestation. The first foundation. With what Cyril Mango has and officially consecrated on Easter Sunday,
Apostoleion stood out as perhaps the most named a ‘vacuum in holiness’ undermining 370. Confusion stems from ambiguous
famous Constantinopolitan church amongst their basileia, Eastern emperors presumed terminology. Constantius’ Apostoleion was
Christians in the West and as a premier pil- to counter Roman primacy by import-
preceded by Constantine’s mausoleum.
grimage destination in the city that became ing apostles’ relics. In 356-7, Constantius
This mausoleum was begun, if not fin-
New Jerusalem. ordered the corpora sepulta of SS. Andrew
ished, during Constantine’s lifetime, yet
Replication was a medieval architectural in Patras, Timothy in Ephesus, and Luke
incorporated into the Apostoleion’s super-
phenomenon, most notably showcased in in Thebes to be disinterred, translated to
structure—due east of and on axis with the
the scores of structures echoing the Church Constantinople, and relocated at the new
central nave—during the renovation spon-
of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In his Apostoleion, Constantinople’s first apostles’
sored by Constantius ca. 359. Eusebius’
seminal, 1942 attempt at establishing an church. The church was situated north of
description of the mausoleum from De Vita
‘Iconography of Mediaeval Architecture,’ the Mese in the city’s suburban Region XI.
Constantini states:
Richard Krautheimer observed that the Nichephoras Callistus dubiously alleged it
layout of medieval buildings oftentimes was built upon an Altar of the Twelve Gods …[Constantine] built up the whole shrine
relied, above all, upon a prestigious and (Hist. eccl. VIII.55). to an unimaginable height, and made it
iconic architectural precedent. This article Gregory Nazianzen, Archbishop of glint with various stones of every kind,
journeys earlier into late antique/Byzantine Constantinople, portrayed the Apostoleion facing it from the ground up to the roof.
history to offer Constantinople’s original as follows: ‘…μεγάλαυχον ἕδος Χριστοῖο He divided the ceiling into delicate coffers
Church of the Holy Apostles as the pro- μαθητῶν / πλευραῖς σταυροτύποις τέτραχα and plated the whole with gold. Up above
totype for apostles’ church foundations in τεμνόμενον’ [‘…the seat of Christ’s dis- this on the roof itself he provided copper
late antique Northern Italy, specifically, the ciples / having been hewn into four parts’ instead of tiling to protect the building
Diocese of Italia Annonaria. ] (Carmen de insomnio Anastasiae 59-60). securely against rain. Round this too glit-
This and other poetic descriptions have tered much gold, so that by reflecting back
Constantinople been interpreted as that of a Greek cross, the rays of the sun it sent dazzling light to
Apostolicity—pertaining to or being con- perhaps with elongated entrance arm, and those who looked from afar. Trellised relief-
temporaneous with the Apostles in character tambour (δωμάτιον) rising in a conical roof work wrought in bronze and gold went
4 | The Byzantinist
right around the building (IV.58-9, trans. A. of the West the fitting distinction of apos- Both churches were focal points for
Cameron). tolic protection and even that of apostolic religious processions, situated on major
foundation’. arteries—the Apostoleion on the Mese, the
Mango interpreted this description as an
Consecrated ca. 382, when the Diocese Basilica Sanctorum Apostolorum on the Via
octagonal νάος with rotunda of ‘unimagi-
of Milan fought Rome’s sedes apostolica to Romana—in suburban regions outside
nable height’ complete with relief-work
become the spiritual center of the Western their respective city centers. The Basilica
(ἀναγλῦφοι) and coffered ceiling with walls
Empire, the basilica’s dedication read: Sanctorum Apostolorum included distinctive
plastered in colored marble revetment.
features of Roman basilicae. Its elongated
The Apostoleion, with its imported apos- Ambrose founded the shrine and he dedi-
(+4.7 m.) western arm culminated in a
tles’ relics, boosted Byzantine prestige, and cated it to the Lord | In the apostolic name,
colonnaded atrium and portico. A hemi-
explicitly linked the caesaropapist Byzantine by his duty, and with the relics as a gift; | In
spherical apse capped its eastern end. Still,
regime with Christ’s apostles. In his mid- the form of a cross, the temple is temple of
its dominant cruciform configuration,
fifth-century Historia Ecclesiastica, Sozomen the Victory of Christ; | With holiness, his
amalgamating basilical and martyrium archi-
stated: triumphant image marks the place.
tectural elements, implies direct allusion to
From this period in time, it became custom Since no precedent existed in the West, Constantinople’s Apostoleion.
[in the city of Constantine] to deposit the Constantinople’s Apostoleion must have
remains of subsequent Christian emper- been the prototype for the name, concept, Basilicae Sanctorum
ors in the [Apostoleion]; and here bishops, and design of the Milanese apostles’ church. Apostolorum
likewise, were buried; for the hierarchical The Basilica Sanctorum Apostolorum, Ambrose’s foundations succeeded in
dignity is not only equal in honor to impe- presently San Nazaro Maggiore, was a con- making Milan the ‘new custodian of the
rial power, but, in sacred places, even takes verted cruciform structure dominated by a apostolic mission in the West.’ St. Basil,
the ascendancy (Hist. eccl. II.XXXIV.93, longitudinal hall approx. 56 m. long from Bishop of Caesarea, deemed Milan ‘τὴν
trans. E. Walford). apse vertex to narthex, and flanked by pro- καθέδραν τῶν ἀποστόλων’ in a late fourth-
truding arms, each 18.55 m., altogether 51.3 century letter to Ambrose. The Basilica
Constantine became regarded as a saint and
m. from north to south. Its central bay was Sanctorum Apostolorum became an impor-
was given the epithet ἰσαπόστολος. St. John
sectioned off by triple arcades to north and tant prototype—a ‘trendsetter’ —for
Chrysostom—whose relics were eventu-
south and supported at the corners by 6.1 apostles’ churches in what Neil McLynn has
ally enshrined at the Apostoleion—dubbed
by 1.22 m. masonry piers. Central to this called Ambrose’s ‘sacred hinterland’ in Italia
Constantinople ‘πόλις τῶν ἀποστόλων’ in his
space rose the altar, beneath which were Annonaria. Included amongst these early
Homilia contra ludos et theatra, delivered 3
deposited relics of John, Andrew, Thomas, foundations were the Apostoleum in Laus
July 399.
and Luke in a silver casket. The Apostoleion’s Pompeia (Lòdi); St. Andrew in Concordia,
Greek cross plan likewise emphasized the founded between 385 and 397; SS. Andrew,
Mediolanum
central bay as the focus of commemoration, Luke, John, and Thomas in Aquileia,
The Apostoleion was barely a decade into its
where ‘having set up an altar-table in the founded between 388 and 397; the Basilica
official history when the Second Ecumenical middle...[Constantine] erected here twelve Concilium Sanctorum in Brescia, established
Council convened at Constantinople in coffins (θῆκαὶ)...in honor and remembrance around 400; and Basilicae Apostolorum at
381. At this critical moment for the Church of the apostolic choir’ (Vita Constantini Verona and Como dated to ca. 385 and the
in the East, St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan IV.60; translation by Cameron). ‘De munere’ early fifth century, respectively.
(Mediolanum) who Francis Dvornik in Ambrose’s dedicatory inscription implies The latter two churches were decidedly
deemed ‘initiator of [the] cult of the apos- that the relics were brought to Milan as cruciform in shape, with apse replacing
tles in Northern Italy,’ emerged as the most gifts—likely from Constantinople and pos- eastern headpiece. Ruins of Como’s apos-
dynamic ecclesiastical figure in the West. sibly from Theodosius. toleum were uncovered during restorations
Diocletian had split Italy into two A few meters east of Ambrose’s Basilica at the Church of Sant’Abbondio in 1863.
dioceses—Rome and Milan—in 297. was the octagonal satellite martyrium of St. Excavations revealed hybrid-cross elements
Thus, Milan, capital city of Dioecesis Italiae Victor. Lewis saw precedent in Constantine’s with a curved apse and an 11.19 by 23.1 m.
Annonariae (and, until 402, capital of the detached mausoleum and in other aisle-less nave, significantly wider than its
Western Roman Empire), competed with Constantinian mausolea in Rome—e.g. St. projecting arms. Altogether, the transept
Rome for ecclesiastical jurisdiction and Helena’s mausoleum adjacent to SS. Peter measured 23.89 m. Como’s forma crucis was
authority. In recognition of the successful and Marcellinus and Santa Costanza aside evident only from the interior. Porticoes
Constantinopolitan power play, Ambrose Sant’Agnese fuori le mura. Ambrose was blocked its west façade and rectangu-
employed a similar formula in dedicat- buried beneath the main altar at the Basilica lar rooms flanked the nave on either side.
ing the Basilica Sanctorum Apostolorum in Martyrum, now his eponymous Basilica di Still, the devotional experience would have
Milan. Surveying the Apostoleion’s first fili- Sant’Ambrogio, on the city’s western edge. remained true to the formula. Less is known
ation, Otto Demus remarked, ‘The model Yet Milanese Bishops Venerius, Marolus, about Verona’s Apostoleum, partly uncov-
of Constantinople was copied by Ambrose Glicerius, and Lazarus were buried in suc- ered 2.07 m. beneath the Romanesque
of Milan in order to give to the favorite resi- cession at the basilica from late fourth to
dence of the emperors and co-emperors mid-fifth centuries. Continued on Page 15
The Byzantinist | 5
You cannot deny
that you are my son
this time, Alexander;
you would not have
died if you had been
Ammon’s
alexandeR’s deaTh in anTiquiTy
Caterina Franchi Exeter College
According to the royal ephemeri- the fleet, invited Alexander to a drinking soldiers show despair at the tragedy of an
des reported by Plutarch and party. Alexander, all the historians report, uncertain succession. In the modern era,
Arrian, Alexander died on the accepted the invitation to this drinking many attempts have been made to explain
28th day of the month of Daisius, namely party and, after few hours, he drank from Alexander’s death. It has been attributed to
10 June, 323 BC. All the greatest tragic the cup of Heracles (an immense amount a degenerative type of scoliosis, or to acute
deaths of Antiquity, all the virtuous pass- of wine) after which he suddenly shouted pancreatitis, pyrogenic spondylitis, men-
ings of Homeric style, were not replicated as if a spear had pierced him in his liver. ingitis, typhoid fever, hellebore overdose
on that day in Babylon and, because of this, Alexander’s last days were spent fighting and even syphilis. One of the most incred-
the ancient historians always treated the against a very high fever, trying to con- ible ideas put forward has blamed the West
Conqueror’s death as a sort of mystery, an tinue with the plans to invade Arabia, Nile virus for his death.
incomprehensible tragedy and an impos- sacrificing to the gods and searching for However, antique thought could not
sible end to such a life. a cool place where to rest, until it became accept the death of such a king by illness
Before the death, every historian impossible for him to move or even to alone, and all the great theories about
reports that there were portents and pre- speak. Understanding that the end was poisoning are wonderfully shown in the
monitions. There are four great portents coming, he asked for his bed to be placed so-called Alexander Romance. What is the
in particular that are referred to by the in the center of a great hall, and for his sol- Alexander Romance? Surely not a canonical
historians: first of all, the missing lobe of diers to pass in line near him. He couldn’t Greek novel; there is no bucolic or mythical
a sacrificial victim (Plutarch and Arrian); speak, but, it is said, he made a sign with past, no love at the centre of the story, no
the tale of an ordinary soldier, jumping his eyes at each one. On the tenth of June, feminine figure in whom the main character
into the water of the Euphrates to retrieve he died without leaving a legitimate male finds his equal, and, most importantly, no
the crown of the king that had fallen from son to inherit his realm or any instructions imaginary hero. Indeed the work’s present
his head (Arrian and Diodorus); the as to who was to succeed him. and somewhat misleading title is not orig-
killing of a lion, symbol of regality, by a For historians, ancient and modern, inal, but derives from a twelfth-century
simple donkey and finally, the episode of Alexander’s death is a mystery: it is not poetical French adaptation, the famous
a fool possessed by a μανία who, without heroic, it is not exemplary and it is not a Roman d’Alexandre. The story has its origins
any reason and not knowing what he was pulchra mors. Arrian and Plutarch provide in Greece, and it is possible to list at least six
doing, sat on Alexander’s throne. The last a physiological narration of the develop- versions (or recensions) in Greek, related
is the most common portent, for it was ment of an illness. For Diodorus, it is an to one another, but at the same time, very
referred to by all the historians except extraordinary event, foretold by portents much distinct, as well as about a dozen
Curtius. After the portents, the tragedy and a prophecy of all the wars that were translations into different languages. A text
actually occurred. All the historians are in about to break out. For Curtius, it is the such as this could not be satisfied with an
agreement when discussing the last feast apocalyptic and dramatic end of a won- underlying illness and a protracted descent
Alexander attended. Around the end of derful and memorable life, where the to death and would prefer poisoning as the
May, a certain Medius of Larissa, a man of last words of this king as cried out by his cause of Alexander’s death.
6 | The Byzantinist
The following is the story in the king, as having distinctly Christ-like char- text, and where the same episode appeared
first version α from the third century. acteristics, and it is possible to find a strong in both the versions, the most pathetic or
Antipater, in Macedonia, cannot counte- element of censorship in this version’s the most adventurous one was chosen.
nance Olympias anymore, for she is always description of both the divine Alexander However, this decision does not always
spreading rumours about him, and reports and pagan religion; for instance, he is never lead to a coherent result. For instance, in
this to Alexander, who believes his moth- made to insist on his hypothetical descent its final passages, the story of the death of
er’s version of events and sends Craterus to from Ammon, and the name of Zeus is Alexander begins with the homicidal con-
replace Antipater. The Macedonian regent, mentioned eleven times as opposed to the spiracy of Antipater, his son Cassander
afraid of the king, decides to murder him; twenty-eight times in α. and Iollas, the cupbearer of Alexander.
he finds a terrible poison and sends his Recension ε is the only version of However, these characters abruptly vanish
son Cassander to Babylon to execute Alexander Romance that differs signifi- and the murderous servant of ε emerges,
the murder itself. Cassander’s brother is cantly from the others. Commonly dated without ever before having been men-
Iollas, the cupbearer of the king, and, at to the seventh-eighth century, it represents tioned, only to be killed by Bucephalus
Medius’ party, Iollas pours the poison in the really Byzantine version of the story. In (who, in reality, was already dead at this
Alexander’s wine. Alexander cries out as it, Alexander is not a Hellenic king, but the point of the story), who recognizes him as
if hit by a spear, and understands he is ideal Byzantine emperor, with the qualities his master’s assassin. We can therefore give
doomed. He had already received signs of a basileus kosmokrator, a righteous ruler a terminus post quem for this version, circa
from the gods: a child was born, half man of a kingdom where the sun never sets; the seventh-eighth century, and a terminus
half beast, with the human part dead at even his clothes, ornaments, and rituals are ante quem, as the oldest of its manuscripts
birth, a portent warning of his mortal those of the Emperor. Nor is he presented dates from the fourteenth century. The
life coming to an end. Furthermore, all in the image of Christ, but is instead por- great difference consists in the sentiment
the beasts around him had begun to fight trayed as the intermediary between Christ of mournful memento mori that fills the
one against the other for the kingdom. and men. Here, his murder is not plotted by last words of Alexander’s death. Alexander
Knowing he is going to die, Alexander his courtiers, but by a slave possessed by a cries for his fate and does not even smile
prays to Zeus to welcome him to Eleusis δαιμονικὴ μανία. Alexander, who now does in his last moments in a realistic death that
as the third of the humans, after Dionysus not cry out in pain, is sorry for the future doesn’t share anything with the hagio-
and Heracles, to be thus honoured and of his soldiers. ‘You will never more ride graphical death of ε.
tries to commit suicide, so as to disappear with me, nor will hear my voice’, he says, Alexander has always been a legend,
from earth in a divine way, but is stopped while the soldiers cry out loud and the sky a symbolic figure of history, moral and
by his wife. He then writes his will and darkens. He tries to commit suicide, but myth. His death, which was not easily
lets all his soldiers come and see him. He not in search of some divine status; he comprehensible due to its lack of grandeur
hands over the reign to the κράτιστος, and seems only a desperate man who doesn’t and exemplum, is one of the great dramas
dies. The earth trembles, the sky darkens want to die in the way that he finally did. of Antiquity. How does one write about
and the statue of Zeus in Babylon moves. Alexander writes a letter to his mother, a such an unedifying passing? Is it due to
A big star appears and it, along with a great hymn to the vanitas mundi, a résumé of his a simple illness, a murder or a portent in
eagle, plunges into the sea. Both of them life, extolling the importance of his ambi- itself? Should we say, like Lucian makes
suddenly reappear, bringing another star tion to create an universal empire and Philip say to his son in the Dialogue of
with them: Alexander is a god now. a hope that the project continues. Here the Dead, ‘You cannot deny that you are
This is Alexander’s death in the first again, he shows himself as a tender child, my son this time, Alexander; you would
version, α. It is not difficult to find the but, most of all, as a man who is afraid of not have died if you had been Ammon’s’?
analogies with the evangelical account dying. And again, he speaks to his com- Should we believe the medical hypoth-
of Christ’s death, and it was not difficult panions, and especially to his horse and esies, which inevitably have to trust, as
for the ancients as well: the prayer a new to Charmis, his best friend. He who con- their sources, the authors who lived cen-
Gethsemane, the bitter cup Alexander quered the whole world cannot flee from turies after Alexander? Or should we just
accepts, the ascent to Heaven. All the his destiny, and his death is not glori- read all the different tales, all the different
other versions offer the same tale, and all of ous, but brought by a κύλιξ πικράv and a versions, and treat them as what they are:
them show a clearly Christological model poison. Bucephalus kills his master’s mur- reactions to a terrible and sudden death
in Alexander’s cup, but their differences derer, and then dies in Alexander’s arms. that left the world astonished and that
are more important than their similarities. Alexander smiles and dies. He does not destroyed the dream of universal suprem-
In version β of the fifth century, all hints stop smiling and seems still alive, redolent acy that had guided Alexander in his life?
to the assumption of Alexander and of of a hagiographical trope that places him
•
his prayer to Zeus are eliminated; in this in the imagery of the Byzantine emperor
version, in fact, Alexander is the exemplum as the intermediary between God and men
of the Greek king, with Greek virtues, and – a saint.
even his religiosity is less and less under- Recension γ is the last version and also
lined. In a Christian milieu, it was more the most difficult to date. It represents the
difficult to present someone, although a union of recensions β and ε in a unique
The Byzantinist | 7
The Battle
of Beroia:
a ByzanTine ‘face Of BaTTle’
Maximilian Lau Oriel College
It was by reading John Keegan’s Face of still celebrated almost a century later, making did this ‘partly to make ready for war, but
Battle that I discovered that it was pos- Beroia as important to Byzantium as Trafalgar more because he wished to win over some
sible to write military history that was was to Britain. Secondly, the battle heralded of their chieftains’. Choniates elucidates this
both intellectually rigorous and engaging to the end of the Pechenegs as an independent diplomacy, noting that John sent Pecheneg-
read. Though he opens by saying he has no force and forced their disappearance from speaking envoys who set ‘sumptuous feasts
idea what a battle is truly like, through his history. Moreover, a number of elucidating before them and charmed them with silk
examination of sources and comparisons parallels can be made with previous battles. garments and silver cups and basins’. There
with similar battles, he manages to realise as Finally, there are two differing accounts of is some disagreement as Kinnamos says that
much of his chosen battles as it is possible to this battle. some ‘came over to’ John, whereas Choniates
do. This not only appeals to the armchair- The two principal sources for the reign of seems to suggest that John attacked before
general in many historians, but, through John II are chroniclers John Kinnamos and they had decided, as the Pechenegs ‘were
this thorough exploration of what he calls Niketas Choniates. Kinnamos was secretary confident that they would be victorious in
the ‘face of battle’, we can then delve further to Manuel I, John’s son, and wrote approxi- battle, as they had always been in the past’.
into the nature of the protagonists and the mately fifty years after the events. Choniates Thus, the exercise may have been simply to
world they lived in, and gain insight into the was an important official in the government divide their councils.
operational practices of armies by engaging of the Angeloi, and wrote his History at the Alexios had defeated the Pechenegs
with their raison d’être – warfare. In this short court in exile in Nicaea after the capture at the battle of Levounion in 1091 with
study, I will conform to Keegan’s methodol- of Constantinople in 1204, approximately the aid of the Cumans, therefore if the
ogy by presenting the Campaign, the Battle, eighty years after the events. Kinnamos Pechenegs felt secure enough to believe
and the Will to Combat. This outline should states that he only records John’s reign in defeat was impossible, they must have had
enable the reader to see the implications that summary as he was not a witness, but it can an advantage at Beroia that they did not
the study of any Byzantine battle raises, and be assumed that he gained his information have at Levounion. This must have been
appreciate the account of the battle itself. from those who were active in the reign. the ‘covered wagons’ that will be discussed
When it comes to battles of the He also accompanied Manuel on campaign later. Due to the subsequent destruction of
Byzantine period, we have fewer sources and is therefore likely to have been familiar the Pechenegs as an independent force, we
compared to those Keegan had for his anal- with those who were at Beroia. Choniates’s must therefore assume that the bulk of the
ysis. This is true both of primary sources, history is temporally removed enough for it remaining Pecheneg nation was gathered
where on many occasions we have only a to be considered less partisan. near Beroia, explaining the multiple refer-
single source for a battle, and of secondary The other major source is Anna ences to women and children. Whether or
sources. Eric McGeer has stated that most Komnena’s Alexiad, in which she describes not John was successful in ‘luring away’ any
studies in Byzantine military history seem the battle of Dristra (1087 AD). This battle chieftains, both chroniclers note the ferocity
to focus on ‘what the army was rather that and Beroia have many common charac- of the battle and that it was ‘in the balance’
what it did’, that is to say, most studies are of teristics, although Alexios was defeated at for some time. Though John triumphed, his
the institutional history of the army rather Dristra. Furthermore, Anna wrote during strategy did not greatly affect the nature of
than its operational history, and battles are the reigns of John and Manuel, and some of the battle itself by giving him any particu-
often considered as events in a bigger picture the soldiers she consulted, such as George lar advantage in numbers or cohesion. With
rather than as a central human experience. Paleologos and Gregory Katakalon, could preliminaries over, we are told John wished
Using Keegan’s methodology of investi- have been at both battles. to decide matters by force; to attempt to end
gating primary sources, and cross-referencing the Pecheneg threat forever.
with what we know from other battles, this The Campaign
study will deduce what we can about the The Pechenegs, a steppe people like many The Battle
battle of Beroia in 1122 AD. I have chosen who had troubled the empire before, John drew up his forces ‘in the morning twi-
Beroia, firstly, because of my research interest crossed the Danube into imperial lands in light’, and yet none of the chroniclers note
in the reign of John II Komnenos, for whom force in August of either 1122 or 23. John this as one of his ‘stratagems’. Therefore, it
this was a great victory, in commemoration responded by bringing his veteran campaign was probably not a surprise attack. What
of which he established a day of thanksgiv- army to meet them, wintering near Beroia, is likely is that the vast Pecheneg encamp-
ing. Niketas Choniates attests the feast was the capital of the theme. Kinnamos says he ment would have been woken early by their
8 | The Byzantinist
lookouts to the sight of the Byzantine army mentions, Adrian Komnenos charged the multi-national, it was Christian and united
arrayed before it. wagons in force and returned with only in faith. Though there is no note of services
The Pechenegs immediately attacked seven survivors. Following this, Pecheneg before battle (and only the briefest mention
in this first phase of the battle with ‘cavalry reinforcements appeared and Alexios was of ‘thanksgiving’ afterwards), or of the battle
charges, discharge of missiles and war cries’. forced to flee the field. cries of Κύριε ἐλέησον that are given in the
According to Choniates, John’s army stood John Birkenmeier has noted that this technical manuals, we do hear of John’s per-
firm and there appears to have been a pro- account presents historiographical prob- sonal piety. Choniates says, ‘whenever the
longed exchange of fire and close combat. lems, as it perfectly mirrors the battle of Roman phalanxes were hard pressed by the
Choniates also describes the Byzantines Adrianople in AD 476, where the Goths’ enemy falling furiously around them, he
being in a ‘phalanx’. This could be a classi- war wagons defeated the Emperor Valens. would look upon the icon of the Θεοτόκος,
cising term, but might also suggest that the Birkenmeier suggests that Anna’s knowl- wailing loudly and gesturing pitifully, and
Byzantines actually formed an anti-cavalry edge of the classics caused her to write shed tears hotter than the sweat of battle’. The
formation, similar to a Napoleonic infantry her account of Dristra in this way so that, Christian belief in the power of the chosen
square. During the battle of Dristra, Anna despite the defeat, Alexios ‘would gain empire would have been reinforced by the
notes that Alexios ‘linked the infantry and some amount of reflexive glory from the army’s experience. Not only had John already
cavalry squadrons (and) gave instructions allusive comparison of his deeds with those used this army for the successful Sozopolis
that no soldier was to advance in front of of Valens, an emperor from a time of greater campaign, but many of his troops had prob-
the line’, which successfully resisted the imperial power’. This is very unlikely as no ably fought under Alexios as well.
Petcheneg skirmishing. We know from Emperor would want to be equated with the There is, however, one incident during
Kinnamos that John’s doryphoroi (lance- loser of Adrianople. Thus I will treat Anna’s the battle that shows a slight wavering of this
bearing cavalry) at the siege of Sozopolis account, which blames Alexios’ army’s will to fight and could have meant a repeat
also used the bow, and that they performed failure to breach the wagon laager for the of Dristra. When John ordered the assault
a feigned retreat before turning and attack- defeat, as being largely truthful. upon the laager, Kinnamos notes that ‘the
ing the Turks – a hugely difficult battlefield John, by contrast, acted decisively Romans did not agree to this’ and that there-
manoeuvre which showed the calibre of and ordered a direct assault upon the fore John ‘ordered the axe-bearers round him
John’s army. Unlike the Pechenegs, the wagon laager, which was performed by the (of)…/the British nation’ and went himself.
Byzantines would also have had heavy cavalry Varangian guard who used their ‘long shields Meanwhile, Choniates praises John for not
in the form of either Macedonians or Latin and single-edged axes’ to break through the only giving cunning orders, but also being
mercenaries. Therefore, there is likely to have wagons. Despite his injury, John is said to the first to carry them out. Historians such as
been some cavalry close combat followed by have accompanied them personally on foot, Paul Stephenson have accused Kinnamos of
a disciplined withdrawal back behind lines of and ‘like an unbreakable wall’ they demol- showing John in a bad light so as to empha-
infantry, which was probably composed of ished the wagons and defeated the remaining sise the glory of Manuel. This might explain
peltasts (light missile infantry) in tight forma- Pechenegs in hand-to-hand combat. The why Kinnamos shows John carelessly going
tion. Thus, the Byzantines would have had wall may refer to a Saxon shield wall of the into battle when wiser emperors such as
the advantage in cavalry vs. cavalry warfare, type used in pre-Norman English armies, Manuel (and indeed Alexios who also wisely
as well as in infantry vs. cavalry skirmishing. which would have protected them from withdrew from Dristra) would have acted
The fixed formation of the Byzantines is missile fire long enough to start breaking the differently. If Kinnamos is correct, we can
also suggested by the fact that John was riding wagons. This agrees with other battles we imagine the scene of the army command-
up and down the lines with his bodyguard of know of involving wagon laagers, such as in ers, relieved that they had weathered the
Varangians (axe-bearing heavy infantry from the Hussite wars, the American West or the Pecheneg storm, who were then ordered to
Britain, who in this and other battles seem Boer war. In these cases, the German, Native attack the invulnerable wagon-fortress by an
to have acted like dragoons in that they dis- American and British horsemen could not Emperor being treated for an arrow wound.
mounted for combat), providing ‘assistance breach the circle of wagons (known as a They might have, understandably, disobeyed
all the while to his beleaguered troops’ like wagenburg, corral or laager respectively), as it his orders. Therefore, John could only pursue
Caesar at Alesia. Kinnamos says that, for a required heavy infantry such as Landsknechts the battle personally with his bodyguard if
while, the battle hung ‘in the balance’, par- or pioneer units. he wished to truly win the day. Fortunately,
ticularly when John himself was shot in the heavy infantry armed with axes was exactly
leg, but discipline held and the Pechenegs The Will to Combat what was required to breach the laager
were forced to withdraw behind their wagon Though further analysis will be beyond the and, with their fortress gone, the will of the
laager, just as they had at Dristra. scope of this study, I wish to note some pecu- Pechenegs broke.
The second phase of this battle was liarities with the ‘Will to Combat’ – why the This study hopes to have highlighted
different. All three sources describe the men at Beroia fought and did not break and how much can be gained from the study of
wagons as being like fortresses or palisades, run. The Pechenegs were fighting for sur- battles, how the Byzantines experienced the
and Choniates describes them as having vival, which is why they ran only when the face of battle and how they conveyed it in
oblique passageways for the Pechenegs to wagon laager was breached and all hope was their accounts.
retreat. This had been the turning point in lost. For the Byzantines the will to fight was
•
Alexios’ battle at Dristra, when, as Anna more complex. Firstly, though this army was
The Byzantinist | 9
It was predicted
PROPhecies used as exPlanaTiOns fOR The
fall Of cOnsTanTinOPle in 1453
Annika Asp Exeter College
The accounts of the fall of transcended boundaries between pro-and emperor who filled it. This square was meant
Constantinople bring us one anti- Unionist affiliations. for Constantine XI, had he been officially
step closer to understanding crowned (Leonard, 14). Nestor Iskinder’s
fifteenth-century beliefs and attitudes. The early period of Byzantine apocalyp- account, written after the fall, also mentions
Regardless of the origins and backgrounds tic traditions has been studied by Paul the traditions of Methodius and Leo the
of their authors, they contain numerous Alexander (Alexander 1985) and Cyril Wise. He portrays the Rus as future libera-
references to prophecies about the end Mango (Mango 1960). Accounts of the fall tors of Constantinople and mentions one of
of the Byzantine capital. Constantinople of Constantinople contain references to the Visions of Daniel about the Great Philip
was in fact more than a capital: it played traditions that already appear in Byzantine saving the city (Pertusi, 1:296-298). In these
an eschatological role (Alexander, 151– literature in its early and middle periods, accounts, Constantinople retains its escha-
184). However, in 1453, reality contrasted such as the oracles of Leo the Wise, attrib- tological role, but the interpretation of the
harshly with Byzantine apocalyptic tradi- uted to the emperor Leo VI, the tradition of legends shifts from the belief that the city will
tions and questioned their validity. Was Methodius of Patras or Pseudo-Methodius, never fall into a belief in its future liberation.
this the end of the world? Or had the City originating in a Syriac apocalypse, and the Another source for prophecies is the
been ‘cast out’ from the divine plan? We Visions of Daniel. Bible, especially the Old Testament. Laments
can shed more light on this by reading Leonard of Chios mentions in his letter of Isaiah are used by several authors. Leonard
how the authors of the accounts of the fall an ‘oracle of Erythraea’, but he does not elab- explains that the fall took place due to God’s
perceived the situation – and what they orate further, as it was only accessible ‘for wrath at the Constantinopolitans, who insin-
intended to convey to their readers while those who can read it’ (Leonard, 15). This cerely feigned the church union. He bemoans
trying to share the mental shock of the fall suggests that the oracle was not written in this with laments of Isaiah (Leonard,
with them. Greek. Dukas presents a popular legend of a 15). Dukas uses laments of Isaiah extensively,
This article will examine how proph- poor man who receives a wooden sword from dramatically weaving them into his account
ecies and premonitions were used in the an angel descending from the sky and who to create a sense of fatalism. He marks each
accounts of the fall of Constantinople to will avenge the people of Constantinople key event in his narrative with an appropriate
explain its causes. I will discuss accounts by (Dukas, 97). Donald Nicol explains that this verse from Isaiah. Such an event is the posi-
‘Byzantine’ authors in the widest sense of prophecy was based on the Visions of Daniel tioning of the great cannon near the city wall,
the term – including Italian authors who I (Nicol, 101). Dukas depicts popular belief in which fulfilled God’s prophecy to Jeremiah
have reason to suggest were sufficiently con- this legend vividly: (Dukas, 86–87). Upon Giustiniani’s wound-
nected to a ‘Byzantine’ sphere of thought. I ing, he recalls the prophecy to Zedekiah
A number of people, believing that this was
will describe prophecies related to tradi- about God turning against his people (Dukas,
now about to happen, began running, and
tions predating the fall of Constantinople 94). He also refers to Isaiah upon the break-
advised the rest to follow them. In so doing,
and beliefs unknown in sources which ing of church vessels (Dukas, 99-100). Nestor
the Greeks were putting into practice an
predate the accounts of the fall. I will uses the same example, although he does
idea which had occurred to them long
suggest that pre-existing traditions were not expressly refer to the Bible (Pertusi,
before. ‘If we put the column of the Cross
re-interpreted and new ones sprung up so 1:295). Dukas’ narrative culminates in
behind us, we shall escape the wrath which
that an established set of beliefs about the an elaborate lament on the fall of the city,
is coming.’ This was the reason why in their
invincibility of the Byzantine capital would written to imitate the style of Isaiah’s laments
flight they went on and entered the Great
not be proven wrong by its defeat. Reading (Dukas, 108–109). Isidor of Kiev grieves that
Church. (Dukas 1972, 98)
between the lines of apparent blame on the the conquest was the greatest in history and
Constantinopolitans for the loss of their Leonard presents an elaborate proph- compares it to the conquest of Jerusalem,
city, it is possible to find attempts by authors ecy said to hail from Leo the Wise. He writes claiming that the fate of Constantinople was
to comfort and reassure the readers of such about a document lost and mysteriously still worse (Pertusi, 1:99).
accounts. The prophecies insist that, despite found in the monastery of Mangana. It had However, some authors find a par-
the fall of the city to the Ottomans, it was a full list of patriarchs and a square for each allel to the defeat of Constantinople in
ultimately invincible and any defeat would crowned Byzantine emperor. Each square mythology in the fall of Troy. Laonikos
only be temporary. Based on this reading, was filled, apart from the last one, which sig- Chalkokondyles claims this to be a pun-
such a message even appears to have nified that the empire would end with the ishment against the Greeks for the sack
10 | The Byzantinist
Description:concentrating mostly upon technology, lit- erary features of Ammianus or the
identify as siege machines such as the onager were used by Book Reviews. 14
.
