The Tactica () is a Byzantine military treatise written by or on behalf of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise in c. 895–908 and later edited by his son, Constantine VII. Drawing on earlier authors such as Aelian, Onasander and the Strategikon of emperor Maurice, it is one of the major works on Byzantine military tactics, written on the eve of Byzantium's "age of reconquest". The original Greek title is ("short instruction of the tactics of war"). The Tactica elaborates on a wide variety of issues, such as infantry and cavalry formations, drills, siege and naval warfare etc. It is written in a legislative form of language and comprises 20 Constitutions (Διατάξεις Diataxeis) and an Epilogue and is concluded by 12 additional chapters, the latter mainly focusing on ancient tactics.
Text
The text of the Tactica is transmitted in several manuscript prototypes, of which the most authoritative date to within a generation of Leo himself. Leo mentions within the Tactica, that Christianity could adopt Islam's doctrine of a "holy war" for its military applications.
An edition with English translation by G. T. Dennis (ed.), The Taktika of Leo VI. Text, Translation and Commentary ([CFHB 49] Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. 2010), was translated from a 10th-century Florentine manuscript.
Contents
Preface
Chapter I - On Tactics and On the General
Chapter II - On who the General should be
Chapter III - On how the Decision should be taken
Chapter IV - On the Division of the Host and the Condition of the Officers
Chapter V - On Arms
Chapter VI - On the Equipment of Cavalry and Infantry
Chapter VII - On Drilling Infantry and Cavalry
Chapter VIII - On Military Punishments
Chapter IX - On Marching
Chapter X - On Baggage Trains
Chapter XI - On Camps
Chapter XII - On Military Preparation
Chapter XIII - On the Day before Battle
Chapter XIV - On the Day of Battle
Chapter XV - On Besieging a Town
Chapter XVI - On the Actions after the War is Concluded
Chapter XVII - On Surprise Attacks
Chapter XVIII - On the Studying of Various Heathen and Roman Formations
Chapter XIX - On Naval Warfare
Chapter XX - On Various Maxims
Epilogue
Additions from the Sylloge Tacticorum
Chapter XXXII - Their (Ancient Greek) Infantry Formations
Chapter XXXIII - Their (Ancient Greek) Cavalry Formations
Chapter XXXIV - Their (Ancient Greek) Mixed Formations
Chapter XXXV - How the Romans Name the Officers of the Army and their Units
Chapter XXXVIII - Roman Infantry Arms
Chapter XXXIX - Roman Cavalry Arms
Chapter XLI - Names of Troop Maneuvers
Chapter XLII - Phalanx Formations
Chapter XLIII - On Depth, that is the Depth of Infantry and Cavalry Formations, their Length and the Space Occupied by an Infantryman within the Formation, the Cavalryman and on the Interval between them within the Formations and on the Flight of an Arrow. Chapter LIII - What the General Should Do When Besieged Chapter LIV - What Should the General Do When Besieging the Enemy Chapter LV - How Should the General Speedily Build a Fort close to Enemy Border Without a Pitched Battle
Summary
Preface
The emperor announces what is in question in this work, that is to say: not to forget the old military tactics and to teach the modern ones. According to him, they seem to be neglected or even forgotten by his generals, he also states that the use of tactics and military knowledge is better than relying on the number of his troops: “[…] it is not with a multitude men whom the war ends happily, […], but by the science of tidying them up, of moving them and of sparing them.
Chapter I-On Tactics and On the General
This first chapter first explains the interpretation of tactics, it is described as “the science of movements that are made in war […] the art of arranging the troops and arranging the various weapons. ". In a second step, one evokes the separation of the military personnel in two categories: "the people intended to fight" (troops on foot and troops on horseback) and "those who follow" (all the servants, doctors and other personnel. non-combatant soldiers). Thirdly, we state what are the functions and responsibilities of a general: “[…] he is in charge of the civil and military administration of the province where he commands, of assembling the dispersed troops, of training them. army corps and to maintain discipline […] ”. This description of responsibility refers to the administrative system of Themes (Greek: θεματα: Themata)