Most of us are aware of the Crusades of the turn of the first milleneum, but few actually think about that part of the world in the years just prior and what it was like. Basically, it was the eastern part of what many call the Holy Roman Empire after Christianity had taken hold. It covers the area from Southern Italy and what was Yugoslavia over to encompass much of what is now Turkey. This is what most of us know as the Byzantine Empire.

As an empire, it was about the closest that any middle age empire came to being a superpower. As such, it required a standing army. This army was based on a strong belief system that emphasized stealth, surprise, swift maneuver and above all, an overwhelming force against its various enemies.

The infantryman was the basic unit of this army as it continues to be up until this day. He was trained in survival, sword, spear and archery techniques. He was also expected to fight not only on land, but at sea as well. These men had perfected the  foulkon 'Turtle' formation and used it as their main battle technique.

Author Timothy Dawson is an expert in this field and covers the full range of experiences for these men, starting with how they were recruited to their clothing and equipment. Their training, terms of service and how important their belief systems and feelings of belonging were. As with others in this series, there are sections on various campaigns to show how the training affected the outcome of battles and what was learned.

All of this is accompanied by the superb illustrations of Angus McBride so that we can get a feeling of what it was like to have lived in those times. There are also a fine selection of photographs of artifacts to help add more to what we know about these men.

In all, another outstanding Osprey title on a period of time that is not that well documented. A read that I know you will find as interesting as did I.

June 2007

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