Past and Present of Warfare
Category: medieval
Introduction Armor has been used in various forms since humans evolved enough intelligence to make it. It is thus no surprise that it features heavily in history and works of fiction alike. Some forms of armor were so weird they are not even used in fiction, while on the flip side fictional armor can often … Continue reading Basics of Medieval Armor
Introduction Byzantine Empire was defined by its Roman heritage, Greek culture and Christian identity. Emperor was head of the state, but was also seen as protector of the faith, which meant that a heresy was automatically rebellion against the Empire. Because the Byzantine Empire was the only real holy Christian empire, Roman Emperor was automatically … Continue reading Religion and War in the Byzantine Empire
I will be continuing the "Attack on Poland" series afterwards, but I decided to write this since next installment of the series is taking too long. Hungarian 10 000 - 15 000 troops (The Long March 1443 - 1444) 16 000 troops (~15 000 cavalry, few hundred handgunners, plus wagon crews) (Hungarian army during Varna … Continue reading Sizes of Armies During Hungarian-Ottoman Wars
Development of Chivalry Chivalry developed in the late 10th century, as the late Carolingian society transitioned into feudal one and when castles became seats of lords instead of just fortresses. Title of knight appeared first in 971., at least in feudal sense. Originally, knight (lat. Eques, fr. Chevalier, ger. Ritter) was a warrior on the … Continue reading Chivalry in Croatia
Remi Bader, a TikTok "star", claimed that a ranch would not allow her to ride horses due to her weight. While she later clarified that she was opposed to the way she was treated by the employee and not by the ranch's restrictions on riders' weight, the original message was far from clear: “Shoutout to … Continue reading How Much Weight Can A Horse Carry
By AD 641., Roman Empire had lost its easternmost provinces. Income of the empire in the second half of 7th century was only about one-fifth (20%) of what it had been before the Arabic invasions. It has also lost most of its major urban centers, and those that remained would experience the process of reduction … Continue reading Byzantine Guerilla Warfare
Basic Principles Byzantine emperor Leo had defined strategy as utilization of theory and practice in adjusting to realities of warfare. Byzantine concept of strategy encompasses all aspects of warfare – everything that is today covered under strategy, operations, tactics, logistics and geography. Byzantines did not compartmentalize the skillset, as is done today. Byzantine emperors were, … Continue reading Basic Principles of Byzantine Strategy
Introduction Byzantines saw their conflict with Islam as a "conflict of civilizations" between traditional Roman world and a desert menace. But at first, this was not actually the case. Whereas Muslims had, from the start, separated the world into dar al-Islam ("Land of Islamd") and dar al-harb ("House of War"), from Roman point of view, … Continue reading Why Did Byzantine Empire Survive For So Long
Recently, a large number of articles appeared claiming that medieval war horses were no larger than ponies. Smithsonian Magazine claims that "The Horses of Medieval Times Weren’t Much Bigger Than Modern-Day Ponies", and that "these powerful equines were likely a much slighter, daintier animal, according to new research published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology". … Continue reading How Large Were Medieval War Horses
When Crusades are thought of, majority of people only thinks of various European expeditions mounted to reconquer the Holy Land from the Muslims. During this period, the armor would have been various types of mail. In the First Crusade, knights would have looked no different from Norman knights of the Bayeux tapestry, depicted below: During … Continue reading What Kind of Armor did the Crusaders Wear
History and War 