Byzantine asymmetric warfare in light of “De velitatione bellica”
Byzantine asymmetric warfare in light of “De velitatione bellica”

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the significance of asymmetric warfare in the mountainous terrain during the Byzantine-Arab Wars in the 10th century. De velitatione bellica (the primary source) remains a unique kind of theoretical work which stems from the author’s own experience in minor engagements with enemy raids. The tactics described in the treatise are most likely the result of decades of evolution in frontier warfare on the mountainous Byzantine-Arab border. As such, they are an invaluable testament to the medieval understanding of asymmetric warfare. Thanks to the author of the treatise we know how the Romans/Byzantines repelled enemy invasions and halted the advance of large forces into their own territory. This makes De velitatione bellica a valuable resource, useful for the understanding of the 10th-century conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Hamdanids.

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