International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Juho Wilskman
Järvenpää, Finland; 
[e-mail] 
Warfare in the Conflicts between the Orthodox Successors States 
of Byzantium in the Thirteenth Century
In this paper I will analyse the warfare in the conflicts between the so-called Orthodox 
Christian successor states of Byzantium in Balkans and West Anatolia after the Fourth Crusade. 
I will concentrate on the wars between “Nicaea”, “Epiros”, and Bulgaria, but I will also take into 
account their conflicts with the more short lived or secluded political entities (such as Nicaea’s rivals 
in Anatolia or Serbia). These realms competed and fought against each other to maximise their 
gains from the collapsed Byzantine and fading Latin Empires. As we know, eventually it was Nicaea, 
which took Constantinople and re-established Byzantium, but even after that the other Orthodox 
states in the region could challenge its power throughout the whole century.
I will show, for example, how in the warfare between these Orthodox polities the element of 
surprise played a vital role not only at the operational and tactical, but also at the strategic level. Wars 
were often committed, when the enemy was not prepared, and even by suddenly breaking a treaty. 
The idea of “Reconquista” probably provided ideological backing for this. Such an opportunistic 
strategy could bring maximum benefits with little cost, but there was little to prevent an opponent 
from doing the same when the opportunity arouse. Surprise attacks were often used to gain an 
upper hand in an engagement. This fits with the traditional view about Byzantine methods and 
“doctrine” of warfare, but it may also have been result of other considerations. 
The effectiveness of fortifications was often compromised by the willingness of many leaders, 
soldiers, and especially the common people to switch sides. This may not be surprising. There was 
probably little reason, above all for townspeople, to risk their lives and property in order to support 
one Orthodox Christian ruler against another, especially if these even shared a similar ethnic 
background. This may have been the most decisive issue, which shaped the warfare.
It seems that the Nicaean armies were more willing to engage battles than their adversaries, 
but this may simply result of the fact that almost all sources reflect their point of view. This also 
hampers estimations about the relative strength of armies involved and the influence of that on 
warfare. In the later half of the thirteenth century Epiros and its filial realm Thessaly began to rely 
more on Latin allies, which also reflected on type of warfare, which arguably could be described 
as more battle seeking one. With the help of Latins and their victories in field, Epiros and Thessaly 
could maintain their independence from Byzantium, although on the other hand it led to a growing 
dependence on the Franks. 

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