by Michael Edward Stewart
London & New York: Routledge, 2026. Pp. xiv, 249.
Notes, index. $190.00. ISBN:9048558166
Roman Military Command in the Sixth Century
Born to a peasant family in what is now North Macedonia about the year 482 CE, Byzantine emperor Justinian (r. 527-565) earned his epithet “the Great” as a conqueror, a builder, a lawgiver, and, according to some contemporaries, a monster. He came to the throne because his childless uncle, emperor Justin I, adopted him and provided a good education. He married a very capable woman, Theodora, and was fortunate in his choice of subordinates including the brilliant generals Belisarius and Narses.
“Across the Mediterranean and the Near East, powerful generals and military leaders played increasingly prominent roles in both military and civil society. Although much of the contemporary discourse on these military figures was rooted in traditional Graeco-Roman ideals of generalship, there were also many new developments. To explore these shifts, each chapter in this volume focuses on a specific general…. (p. x)
Although Justinian had some military experience as a young imperial bodyguard, he never campaigned in person.
The book comprises a dozen papers,
Introduction: ‘Justinian and his magistri militum at the Crossroads of a New Age.’ Michael Edward Stewart
- ‘Emperors of War: Belisarius, Narses, Germanus and the Problem of Enacting Imperial Authority.’ Clemens Koehn
- ‘Solomon, the Eunuch General Extraordinaire.’ Conor Whatley
- ‘Sittas: The Armenian Specialist.’ David Alan Parnell
- ‘Dashing John: Social Networks and Marital Alliances during the Gothic War, 538-548.’ Michael Edward Stewart
- ‘Generalship and Literature in the Sixth Century: The General Martinus in Procopius and Agathias.’ Jonathan Thomas Wild
- ‘He Was Defeated by His Own Bad Planning: A Reappraisal of Baduila’s Generalship and Statecraft.’ Marco Cristini
- ‘Artabanes: Divided Loyalties and Political Necessities in the Reign of Justinian I.’ Miranda Williams
- ‘The Generalship of Philippicus: Commanding, Fighting, and Attaining Martial Masculinity and Virtue in the Late Roman Near East.’ Sean Strong
- “Bahram Chobin: General, Rebel, and King.’ Michael Bonner
- ‘Loving the Standards of Rome.’ Christopher Heath
Coda. Leonora NevilleThe
rank title for senior military commanders in this era was magister militum,
literally “master of soldiers.” Some of Justinian’s most prominent commanders
were palace eunuchs, trusted by the emperor with great power, because under
Roman law, their mutilation made them ineligible for the throne, and they had
no sons that they could use their power to promote.
Our most important source for this era is Procopius of Caesarea (c. 500-565), who served as a legal advisor to Belisarius and was a participant in many of the events he describes. Less well-known but also useful is Agathias Scholasticus (c. 530-594), a poet, lawyer, and historian whose book On the Reign of Justinian, continues Procopius.
The editor, Michael Edward Stewart, is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. His research focuses on issues of culture, gender, and identity in Late Antiquity.
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Our Reviewer: Mike Markowitz is an historian and wargame designer. He writes a monthly column for CoinWeek and is a member of the ADBC (Association of Dedicated Byzantine Collectors). His previous reviews include The Emperor and the Elephant, Tiberius, The Roman Empire and World History, Leadership in the Ancient World: Concepts, Models, Theories, A History of the Greek World from 479 to 323 B.C., Commanders and Command in the Roman Republic and Early Empire, Love, War and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed, Nikephoros II Phokas (912-969): The White Death of the Saracens, 1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople, Naval Warfare under the Byzantine Empire: From Justinian I to the Fourth Crusade, Carthage, A New History, Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium, War and Community in Late Antiquity, and Ancient Warfare: The Basics.
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Note: Portraits of Generalship and Authority in the Age of Justinian is also available in e-editions.
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