Quote Originally Posted by Kavhan Isbul
Anthonius I believe tries to point out that the art of war was a science in Constantinople, and that the Eastern Roman commanders had more theoretical training than their Western counterparts. Now theory is one thing, and practice another, as evidenced by history, wehere not every single Eastern Roman Emperor was a great tactician - some were, and some were not. The Eastern Romans devoted considerable effort to study their enemies, devising manuals for dealing with them and copying successfull tactics and weapons. However, as evidenced by the plentiful defeats they had to endure against pretty much all their neighbors, great theoretical knowledge and training was not enough to ensure victory. Anthonius has a good point about overtaxation creating internal dissent and helping bring about the collapse of the Empire, but I think he should also consider giving the deserved credit to the Byzantine enemies', especially since one of these enemies succeeded in creating an Empire of proportions, similar tot hos of the Eastern Roman Empire at the end of Justinian's reign. At the end Western and Turkish tactics and military technology simply proved to be better.
You have a point when you say that in the end other factions overcome the art of war the byzantines.Economical reasons but most of all the way they saw the world as part of thinging forced them to stick to nonmodern ways of life and war.Even they had artilery in the last years of the empires life they didn't have clear tactics for it.For examle the first nations developded artilery tactics where a:the ottomans,b:the french.According to arabs and byzantine historians of medeival time western military thinging focused around chivalry (bravery) and force of strait attack.Westerns beleived that bravery solves any problem in the battlefield and the opponets should behaive the same way.All other ways of thinging where ways of sniky and cowerd.The only sence of tactics they had was obout whedge or square formations...They didn't understand mouvements on the battlefield etc...When crousaders of the 1st crudade arrived outside the huge fortifided eastern cities asked byzantines for help.Anthioch falled whith ageement and not by asault...Do you see my point?