Ancient Warfare VII-4 9 MoveMent and supply By Łukasz Różycki In the time of Emperor Maurice (r. 582– 602) the main strength of the Byzantine Empire was the ability to field mobile armies operating in its eastern and west- ern territories. The Roman limes was partially destroyed, particularly in the Balkans, where the Avars and the Slavs crossed the Danube, captured and razed many border strongholds, and were pil- laging the Empire’s provinces virtually unopposed. The war with Persia, which broke out when Justin II was still the ruling emperor (r. 565–578), was waged in borderland areas. After Maurice’s ascension to the throne, the war moved mostly to the mountainous land of Arzanene, where both sides were set to capture and hold key strongholds. The situation was rather different in Italy: after the defeat of the Goths at the hands of Justinian, it was invaded by the bel- ligerent Longobards, plunging the land into political and military chaos. These major conflicts, as well as other smaller ones, kept the majority of the Empire’s forces occupied. And the Roman Empire itself, weakened after the period of Justinian’s expansion, suffering from plagues and financial problems, was unable to maintain a numerous army. The first reform, improving the speed, training and overall effectiveness of the mobile army, was implemented during the reign of Maurice. It was the result of difficulties plaguing the Empire. The limitanei formations lost their original value and in certain prov- inces the limes system ceased to func- tion altogether. As such, the emperors of Constantinople had at their disposal only the mobile army and the elite units of Scholae Palatinae. @F(Rozycki – FIG1.tif):Coin of Maurice; currently in the Antalya Archaeological Museum. @Fdc:Livius.org Rebuilding the costly garrison-based system similar to that established by Constantine the Great, or even Justinian, was out of the question. The only possi- bility was to modify the mobile armies to successfully engage the barbarian invaders. These reformed armies acted as intervention forces, dispatched immediately whenever a threat pre- sented itself. The reform was a huge success, as shown, for example, by the illustrious victory against Persia in 591, or victorious engagements with Avars and Slavs, who were partially pushed back beyond the Danube limes in the last years of Maurice’s reign. Despite The Roman army of the sixth century AD was significantly different from the infantry legions of the Republic or the Principate. Already at the beginning of the Dominate period, during the reign of Diocletian and Constantine the Great, the Roman war machine underwent the first serious reforms, which were to finally transform it into the themata -based army. The defining feature of this new force was mobility resulting from a simple distribution of responsibility. The fortified Roman border, the limes, was guarded by limitanei (garrison forces). In the event of a bigger threat, the Romans dispatched their mobile army consisting of comitatenses. Although in the course of many wars and difficult situations this system saw significant changes, its traces could still be seen in the Eastern Roman Empire at the end of the sixth century. The Strategikon as source Late Roman baggage trains Diagram showing the cavalry line of battle. © Karwansaray Publishers