Byzantine Fortifications: Protecting the Roman Empire in the East

by Nikos D. Kontogiannis

Overview

This wide-ranging study examines the Byzantine Empire’s network of military fortifications from the Aegean to Asia Minor and Africa.

The Byzantine empire was one of the most powerful forces in the Mediterranean and Near East for over a thousand years. Strong military organization, anchored by widespread fortifications, was essential for its defense—yet this aspect of its history is often neglected. Historian Nikos Kontogiannis corrects this oversight with this ambitious account of Byzantine fortifications, detailing their construction and development as well as their role in times of war.

Byzantine Fortifications combines the results of decades of wide-ranging archaeological work with an account of the armies, weapons, tactics and defensive strategies of the empire throughout its long history. Fortifications built in every region of the empire are covered, from those in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Africa, to those in Asia Minor, the Aegean and the Balkan peninsula.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526710277
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	07/07/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	918,946
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dr Nikos Kontogiannis is Assistant Professor of Byzantine Archaeology and Art at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. He is a leading expert on the archaeology of the Byzantine empire and has made a special study of Byzantine fortifications and defenses. His most recent publication in this area, with Michael Heslop, is a reassessment of the defenses of Middle Byzantium in Greece.

Editorial Reviews

…a big help for those wishing to recreate [fortifications] in scale on the tabletop. It's a magnificent and inspirational survey.

HGMS

[W]ithout doubt a stimulating and significant contribution to the field, not just of Byzantine history in general, but to the history and evolution of medieval fortification and military technology more broadly. It will be useful for specialists of the Byzantine world as well as those from neighboring fields of historical study.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review