- Title Pages
- List of Plates
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Maps
- 1 The Transition to Late Antiquity
- 2 The Transition to Late Antiquity on the Lower Danube: the City, a Fort and the Countryside
- 3 The Lower Danube Region under Pressure: from Valens to Heraclius
- 4 The Late Roman Army and the Defence of the Balkans
- 5 Goths in the Roman Balkans <i>c</i>.350–500
- 6 The Two Anglo-Bulgarian Research Programmes and the Results of the Bulgarian Excavations
- 7 The Late Roman Agora and the State of Civic Organization
- 8 The Environmental Archaeology Research Programme at Nicopolis: Methodology and Results
- 9 Dichin (Bulgaria): Interpreting the Ceramic Evidence in its Wider Context
- 10 Seeds of Destruction: Conflagration in the Grain Stores of Dichin
- 11 A Short Report on the Preliminary Results from the Study of the Mammal and Bird Bone Assemblages from Dichin
- 12 Coin Circulation in the Balkans in Late Antiquity
- 13 The Transformation of Cities in Late Antiquity within the Provinces of Macedonia and Epirus
- 14 Caričin Grad and the Changes in the Nature of Urbanism in the Central Balkans in the Sixth Century
- 15 Nicopolis ad Istrum: Backward and Balkan?
- 16 Ephesus in the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Period: Changes in its Urban Character from the Third to the Seventh Century AD
- 17 Amida and Tropaeum Traiani: a Comparison of Late Antique Fortress Cities on the Lower Danube and Mesopotamia
- 18 The Fort of Iatrus in Moesia Secunda: Observations on the Late Roman Defensive System on the Lower Danube (Fourth–Sixth Centuries AD)
- 19 The Fortresses of Thrace and Dacia in the Early Byzantine Period
- 20 From the Danube to the Po: the Defence of Pannonia and Italy in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD
- 21 Extensive Field Survey in North Central Bulgaria
- 22 Site-Specific Field Survey: the Methodology
- 23 Geophysical Survey and Rural Settlement Architecture on the Lower Danube at the Transition to Late Antiquity
- 24 Another View on Late Antiquity: Sagalassos (SW Anatolia), its Suburbium and its Countryside in Late Antiquity
- 25 The Contribution of Regional Survey to the Late Antiquity Debate: Greece in its Mediterranean Context
The Late Roman Army and the Defence of the Balkans
The Late Roman Army and the Defence of the Balkans
- Chapter:
- (p.135) 4 The Late Roman Army and the Defence of the Balkans
- Source:
- The Transition to Late Antiquity, on the Danube and Beyond
- Author(s):
MICHAEL WHITBY
- Publisher:
- British Academy
In Late Antiquity, the Balkans were transformed from a relatively prosperous region to one of great insecurity, with emperors increasingly inclined to ignore problems as long as they did not threaten the security of Constantinople itself; the Roman troops in the Balkans might appear inadequate in both quality and quantity for dealing with the challenges from beyond the Danube, particularly those posed by the great federations of Huns and Avars. Huns and Avars both shattered the Roman Empire's defences, but the process took time. Overall, the performance of the Roman army in the defence of the Balkans might seem mixed for such a significant area, although periods of considerable success should be recognized. Logistics as well as strategic and tactical thinking were powerful advantages for the Romans, and were exploited right through until the early seventh century.
Keywords: Late Antiquity, Balkans, Roman Empire, army, defence, Constantinople, Danube, Huns, Avars, logistics
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- Title Pages
- List of Plates
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Maps
- 1 The Transition to Late Antiquity
- 2 The Transition to Late Antiquity on the Lower Danube: the City, a Fort and the Countryside
- 3 The Lower Danube Region under Pressure: from Valens to Heraclius
- 4 The Late Roman Army and the Defence of the Balkans
- 5 Goths in the Roman Balkans <i>c</i>.350–500
- 6 The Two Anglo-Bulgarian Research Programmes and the Results of the Bulgarian Excavations
- 7 The Late Roman Agora and the State of Civic Organization
- 8 The Environmental Archaeology Research Programme at Nicopolis: Methodology and Results
- 9 Dichin (Bulgaria): Interpreting the Ceramic Evidence in its Wider Context
- 10 Seeds of Destruction: Conflagration in the Grain Stores of Dichin
- 11 A Short Report on the Preliminary Results from the Study of the Mammal and Bird Bone Assemblages from Dichin
- 12 Coin Circulation in the Balkans in Late Antiquity
- 13 The Transformation of Cities in Late Antiquity within the Provinces of Macedonia and Epirus
- 14 Caričin Grad and the Changes in the Nature of Urbanism in the Central Balkans in the Sixth Century
- 15 Nicopolis ad Istrum: Backward and Balkan?
- 16 Ephesus in the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Period: Changes in its Urban Character from the Third to the Seventh Century AD
- 17 Amida and Tropaeum Traiani: a Comparison of Late Antique Fortress Cities on the Lower Danube and Mesopotamia
- 18 The Fort of Iatrus in Moesia Secunda: Observations on the Late Roman Defensive System on the Lower Danube (Fourth–Sixth Centuries AD)
- 19 The Fortresses of Thrace and Dacia in the Early Byzantine Period
- 20 From the Danube to the Po: the Defence of Pannonia and Italy in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD
- 21 Extensive Field Survey in North Central Bulgaria
- 22 Site-Specific Field Survey: the Methodology
- 23 Geophysical Survey and Rural Settlement Architecture on the Lower Danube at the Transition to Late Antiquity
- 24 Another View on Late Antiquity: Sagalassos (SW Anatolia), its Suburbium and its Countryside in Late Antiquity
- 25 The Contribution of Regional Survey to the Late Antiquity Debate: Greece in its Mediterranean Context
