Tactica of Emperor Leo VI the Wise

The Tactica (Greek: Τακτικά) is a military treatise written by or on behalf of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise in c. 895–908,[1] and later edited by his son, Constantine VII.

[2] Drawing on earlier authors such as Aelian, Onasander and the Strategikon of emperor Maurice,[2] 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 τῶν ἐν πολέμοις τακτικῶν σύντομος παράδοσις ("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)[3] and an Epilogue and is concluded by 12 additional chapters, the latter mainly focusing on ancient tactics.

Leo mentions within the Tactica, that Christianity could adopt Islam's doctrine of a "holy war" for its military applications.

[5] Additions from the Sylloge Tacticorum 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.

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.

It is also advisable that the participants in the debates be discreet so as not to reveal anything, it is also said that an action proposed during a council must be possible and useful otherwise it will be judged as reckless.

The potential use of different siege weapons (if he must have one) is also mentioned, as well as the use of small wooden boats to cross waterways or of transport / warships if the use of these vessels is necessary in the current situation.

[6] The chapter discusses everything related to armor and paraphernalia of equipment that archers, horsemen and infantrymen must wear (detailing especially the last two).

Also categorizing at the same time the different army corps: Apart from the equipment enumerations, we find here that various advice: "The more the soldier is armed and dressed neatly, the more it raises his courage and intimidates the enemy."

It cites some advice on which formation is suitable for battle and which ones are less so, the importance that the leader's orders must be understood and transmitted to the different parts of the troop.

We can cite a few:[6] In this chapter, we state many actions that a good leader must do on the day of the battle, such as: sanctifying his army to God, adapting the tactics according to the terrain or the troops of the adversary (archer, rider, etc.

[6] After a victory, it is described that it is important to give thanks to God for it, to reward those who fought with courage and on the contrary to punish the cowards (as much the soldiers as the officers or a whole body).

[6] This section deals with naval warfare which is described as poorly documented by the author and which was transmitted orally between generals.

The author discusses several tactics, formations and naval military strategy that should be used, as well as several precautions to be taken: guarding the ships when the fleet is disembarked to avoid sabotage, etc.

[6] The twenty first chapters are largely taken from Strategikon written during the reign of the Emperor Maurice between 582 and 602, but they were given at the end of the day and adapted according to the vision of Leon VI around the 10th century.

The text contains some drafting problems, it falls very often in unnecessary repetition and word use, despite the promises of the Emperor's preface to the reader: "I am me not dive elegance and got more attached to the essence of things than to the ornament of speech.