Review by Raffaele D'Amato
of Armen Ayvazyan's latest book
in Medieval Warfare (2013, volume III-6)
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| cliquer sur le lien pour le compte rendu | http://fr.scribd.com/doc/191249507/Review-by-Raffaele-D-Amato |
Le dernier livre d'Armen Ayvazyan "Les Forces Militaires Arméniennes dans l'Empire Byzantine" a été très favorablement commenté par Raffaele d'Amato dans la revue spécialisée Medieval Warfare.
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Medieval
Warfare 111-G 55 :
Reviews
Dec.2013
The
Armenian Military in the Byzantine Empire.
Conflict
and Alliance under Justinian and Maurice.
ISBN:
978-2917329399 Author: Dr. Armen Ayvazyan Pages: 12 8
Publisher:
Editions Sigest
Address of
Publisher: http://editions.sigest.net
Reviewer:
Raffaele d'Amato
ARMENIAN
MILITARY BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Dr. Ayvazyan
has written a good book, in which episodes, places and the names of the
protagonists in Armenian history and their relations with Byzantium between the
sixth and the early seventh century are described with extreme precision.
The book,
splendidly introduced by Ilkka Syvanne, is divided into two parts. The longer
first part deals with the insurrection of the Armenian army against the
Imperial power of Justinian in AD 538-9, culminating in the Battle of Avnik
and the escape of the Armenian rebels into Sassanid Persian territory. The
chief protagonist in this rebellion was Prince ('Nakharar') Artabanes
Arshakuni, one of Justinian's generals who, before and after the rebellion,
played an important role in the Roman Imperial army. Ayvazyan skillfully
introduces the very complex situation in Armenia, divided between the two
superpowers of Rome and Persia, but defended by a mainly ethnie army driven by
pride and feelings of national independence. He explains that the rebellion was
staged by a Roman army mainly composed of Armenians against the oppressive
behaviour and taxation of the Imperial governor Acacius.
In the first
chapter, Ayvazyan touches on the reasons for the revolt. In the second chapter,
dealing with the geopolitical situation of Armenia, he reconstructs the various
phases of the confrontation between Artabanes and the rebels on one side, and
Justinian's general Sittas, probably also an Armenian and sent by the Emperor
to put down the insurrection, on the other. The third chapter presents a very
good reconstruction of the Battle of Avnik, in which Sittas was killed and the
Imperial army defeated. Ayvazyan's detailed analysis, notwithstanding the
paucity of the sources and the scarce historical evidence, is impressive in the
richness of the notes and quotations, and shows his encyclopedic knowledge of
the period - which characterizes the whole book.
Alter narrating
the end of the rebellion - when the Armenian forces withdrew into Persarmenia,
offered their service to the Sassanian king, and subsequently spontaneously
returned to the Roman side - Ayvazyan analyses the tactics of the Armenians and
compares them with their previous exploits against both Romans and Sassanians.
He concludes that the favourite tactics were often (a) retreat and the
engagement of the enemy in the rugged terrain of Armenia, combined with a
transition to counter-offensive; (b) combat in the highlands of Armenia, which
was easier for the native warriors; or (c) the premeditated killing of the
enemy commandera. He also demonstrates the great reputation that the Armenians
enjoyed as fighters, both from Romans and Persians.
In the second part of the book, Ayvazyan analyses the reasons for the omission of the Armenians from the emperor Maurice's list of the empire's enemies, in his famous military treatise, the Strategikon (a topic also discussed by Ayvazyan in Medieval Warfare II-4). He demonstrates the existence of a general prejudice towards the Armenians inside the Roman empire, beginning in the classical age and continuing up to the Middle Ages, because of their fierce and independent character and their strong national identity. Nonetheless, the main reason for the omission is that, during the reign of Maurice, the Armenians were a strong element of the Roman military, and so it would have been totally inappropriate to present them (even those still fighting under Sassanian command) as enemies of the empire, especially in a field manual for officers, many of whom were themselves Armenians.
In the second part of the book, Ayvazyan analyses the reasons for the omission of the Armenians from the emperor Maurice's list of the empire's enemies, in his famous military treatise, the Strategikon (a topic also discussed by Ayvazyan in Medieval Warfare II-4). He demonstrates the existence of a general prejudice towards the Armenians inside the Roman empire, beginning in the classical age and continuing up to the Middle Ages, because of their fierce and independent character and their strong national identity. Nonetheless, the main reason for the omission is that, during the reign of Maurice, the Armenians were a strong element of the Roman military, and so it would have been totally inappropriate to present them (even those still fighting under Sassanian command) as enemies of the empire, especially in a field manual for officers, many of whom were themselves Armenians.
What I have
really appreciated in this book is the author's clear and impartial analysis of
the spirit of Armenian warriors fighting inside and outside the military
machine of the Roman Empire. He demonstrates the prejudice to which Armenians
were sometimes subjected, like the conspiracy of Emperor Maurice who, writing
to Koshrow II, King of the Persians, proposed that they remove the Armenian military
class and resettle it in remote areas of the Roman and Sassanian empires. But,
on the other hand, he underlines the importance that Armenians had in the
Byzantine army of the sixth and seventh centuries (and also later). This was
especially true after the loss of the Balkans to the Slave and Avare in the
early seventh century, which compelled the Empire to find its manpower in
Anatolia and Armenia. He also underlines how often the Armenians were proud to
be Roman generals, although their land was subjected to imperial control.
There are
some important references to the military equipment of the Armenians, who acted
mainly as heavy cavalrymen, but were also well-organized as infantry, archers
and peasant levy. The only disappointment are the illustrations of codices and
miniatures that are unrelated to this period. Maybe it would have been more
informative to see some of the carved reliefs from the fifth-seventh century
that are still visible on the Armenian churches of the period, or some
interesting miniatures from manuscripts representing Armenian warriors of the
saure period. On the other hand, the maps are detailed and, especially in the
minute description of the campaign of Sittas versus Artabanes, fill a gap in
the military cartography of the Roman north-east frontier during these two
centuries.
Dr. Ayvazan's
book is clear proof of how important it is for historians to analyse and
narrate their own land's history. They are able not only, thanks to their local
knowledge, to shed new and clear light on the terminology of places and
protagoniste, but also to identify socio-cultural elements, often ignored by
the general historian, that are very important for a better understanding of
general history.
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Vous pouvez commander le livre chez votre libraire, chez les sites spécialisés ou chez l'éditeur. http://editions.sigest.net/page0001015a.html
Publié en anglais en 2012 chez Sigest, le livre avait reçu un accueil très enthousiaste dans les pays anglophones. La première édition de la version anglaise étant presque épuisée une nouvelle édition est prévue dans le premier trimestre 2014.
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| http://editions.sigest.net/page0001013f.html |
