Justinian's Wonder Warriors. Some Observations on the Development of Multi-Role Cavalry in Early Byzantium

Abstract

The paper deals with Procopius' famous description of mounted bowmen who were the backbone of Justinian's reconquista in the 6th century AD. According to Procopius, some of these extremely versatile horse archers had not only bows as main weaponry but also lances. The paper explores the question why this was only an occasional pattern. It argues that the horse archers using lances had a Barbarian background and were more experienced in close combat actions. Due to fighting experiences in North Africa against the Maurusians, the horse archers were later equipped with javelins while lances were still not part of the regular weaponry. It was only after Justinian's death that these troopers got lances designed for both thrusting and throwing as described in Pseudo-Maurice's famous «Strategicon» from the late 6th and early 7th century.