Byzantine Military Rhetoric in the Ninth Century

Georgios Theotokis is a lecturer of European history at Ibn Haldun University, Turkey. His publications include Norman Campaigns in the Balkans, 1081–1108 ad (2014) and Byzantine Military Tactics in Syria and Mesopotamia in the Tenth Century (2018).Dimitrios Sidiropoulos is currently PhD Student in Byzantine History (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).

• Introduction 1Part A: the author and the work 1Syrianos magistros and the compendium of Anonymus Byzantinus 1Assigning a name to Anonymus Byzantinus 3Assigning a date to the compendium of Syrianos 6Dating the compendium and the geo-political background of the period 11A note on the sources 21The manuscript tradition 25Part B: the contents of the work 28The history of exhortation and exhortative speeches 28The “practicalities” of exhortation speeches: where, when, how 35The skills of a commander as a public speaker 37Rhetorical topoi in building morale 39Note on the translation 55Hortatory public speeches: drawing their arguments from various sources 57For the zeal for the faith 61For the fatherland 62For the love for our compatriots 62For the punishment of evildoers 63Other made-up arguments 67From religion 70From the mode of life 70From the slander of the enemy army 70From [the right] time 70From the place 70From the cause 70From the past, in this way 71From the present, such as 71From the future, such as 71From the fabrications, such as 71The achievements of the audience 72The achievements of the ancestors of the audience 73The achievements of others 73More examples about the useful 77The preparation of weapons 77The training in war tactics 78Bravery 79The endurance of pain 79The obedience to the commanders 79The study of the glorious 80The study of the possible 80The study of the outcome of the battle 81Example of a consolatory speech, in the absence of the transposition of the cause [when the reproachtakes place, then the transposition of the cause is missing] 87Bibliography 88