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The Byzantine general Belisarius used Hunnic archers and Heruli mercenaries in his army to reclaim North Africa and the Balearic Islands from the Vandals, and in 535–537, he recruited Heruli infantry and Hunnic horsemen to help him secure Sicily and all of southern Italy, as well as defend the city of Rome from the Ostrogoths.
Byzantine heavy infantry were armed with a long spear (kontos or kontarion) but it is possible that a minority may have been armed with the menavlion polearm. At the beginning of the Komnenian era, all Byzantine infantry still carried round shields, but these were superseded by much larger kite shields in the mid 12th century. [110]
Byzantine infantry were trained to operate with cavalry and to exploit any gaps created by the cavalry. An effective but risky tactic was to send a chiliarchia to seize and defend a high position, such as the top of a hill as a diversion, while the Cataphracts or Clibanophoroi, supported by the reserve infantry, enveloped the enemy's flank.
The tagma (Greek: τάγμα; pl.: tagmata, τάγματα) is a military unit of battalion or regiment size, especially the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.
Byzantine troops continued to consist of cavalry, infantry and archers. Since Trebizond had broken away, Cumans and Turks were used for cavalry and missile units. In the Palaiologan era, the main term for a standing regiment was the allagion .
Pages in category "Military units and formations of the Byzantine Empire" The following 23 pages are in this category, out of 23 total.
The standard infantry formation described in the treatise is a hollow square with intervals purposely placed in the lines of heavy infantry so that cavalry could enter or exit the square. The intervals were protected by light infantry, such as javeliners , slingers , and archers , who would engage and disrupt approaching enemies to allow time ...
The phoulkon (Greek: φοῦλκον), in Latin fulcum, was an infantry formation utilized by the military of the late Roman and Byzantine Empire. It is a formation in which an infantry formation closes ranks and the first two or three lines form a shield wall while those behind them hurl projectiles. It was used in both offensive and defensive ...