|
The East Roman army refers to the army of the Eastern section of the Roman Empire, from the empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7th century during the Byzantine-Arab Wars. The ''East Roman army'' is the continuation of the Late Roman army of the 4th century until the Byzantine army of the 7th century onwards. The East Roman army was a direct continuation of the eastern portion of the late Roman army, from before the division of the empire. The east Roman army started with the same basic organization as the late Roman army and its West Roman counterpart, but between the 5th and 7th centuries, the cavalry grew more important, the field armies took on more tasks, and the border armies were transformed into local militias. In the 6th century, the emperor Justinian I, who reigned from 527 to 565, sent much of the East Roman army to try to reconquer the former Western Roman Empire. In these wars, the East Roman empire reconquered parts of North Africa from the Vandal kingdom and Italy from the Ostrogothic kingdom, as well as parts of southern Spain. In the 7th century, the emperor Heraclius led the east Roman army against the Sassanid empire, temporarily regaining Egypt and Syria, and then against the Rashidun Caliphate. His defeat at the Battle of Yarmuk would lead to the Islamic conquest of Syria and Egypt, and would force the reorganization of the East Roman army, leading to the thematic system of later Byzantine armies. == Sources == Much of our evidence for the East Roman army's deployments at the end of the 4th century is contained in a single document, the ''Notitia Dignitatum'', compiled c. 395-420, a manual of all late Roman public offices, military and civil. The main deficiency with the ''Notitia'' is that it lacks any personnel figures so as to render estimates of army size impossible. However, the ''Notitia'' remains the central source on the late Army's structure due to the dearth of other evidence. The Strategikon of the Emperor Maurikios, from the end of the 6th century, describes the cavalry tactics, organization, and equipment of the East Roman army towards the end of this period.〔Elton, Hugh, "Army and Battle in the Age of Justinian," in Erdkamp, Paul, ''A Companion to the Roman Army'', p. 533.〕 The De re Militari of Vegetius, probably from the beginning of the 5th century, calls for reform of the West Roman army, which was similar to the east Roman army. However, the De re Militari emphasizes the revival of earlier Roman practices, and does not provide a clear view of the tactics, organization, and practices of any branch of the late Roman army. The histories of Ammianus Marcellinus provide a glimpse of the late Roman army before the division of the Roman empire. Those of Procopius, especially his Wars and parts of his Buildings, written while accompanying the magister militum Belisarius during the emperor Justinian's wars against the Sassanid empire and the barbarian successor kingdoms, provide a view of the east Roman army in the period, and its campaigns.〔 The histories of Agathias and Menander continue those of Procopius.〔 Another major source for the East Roman army includes the legal codes published in the East Roman empire in the 5th and 6th centuries: the Theodosian code (438) and the ''Corpus Iuris Civilis'' (528-39). These compilations of Roman laws dating from the 4th century contain numerous imperial decrees relating to the regulation and administration of the late army. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「East Roman army」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|