International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

WAR AND PEACE IN BYZANTIUM: 
CHANGES AND TURNING-POINTS IN THE MIDDLE 
AND LATE BYZANTINE PERIOD (7
TH
- 15
TH
 CENTURIES)
Convener: 
Athina
Kolia-Dermitzaki
Salvatore
Cosentino
, 
A Silent Revolution: The Early Phase of Militarization of Byzantine Sicily
Alexandru
Madgearu
, 
The War of 971 in Bulgaria: A Model of Conflict Resolution for Present Superpowers
Leif Inge Ree Petersen
, 
A Reassessment of Byzantine and Arab Operations 634-37 AD 
Based on a Multispectral Reading of BL Syriac MS Add 14461
,
A Fragment on the Arab Conquest
Georgios
Theotokis
, 
Byzantine-Arab Wars of the Tenth Century: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Primary Sources 
and the Value of Their Authors as “Military Historians''
Nike
Κoutrakou
, 
Managing the Other Face of Byzantine War: Was there a Mode of Presenting and Accepting Defeat?
Christos G. Makrypoulias
, 
A Byzantine Band of Brothers: The Tenth- and Eleventh-Century Infantry Commanders
Katerina Nikolaou
, 
Women as Agents of Restoration of Imperial Power and Peace in Byzantium
Yannis Stouraitis
, 
Holy warriors? Some Thoughts on the Religious Identity of Byzantine Soldiers
Triantafyllitsa Maniati-Kokkini
, 
Economic Effects of Internal Wars for Individuals and the State in Byzantium, 
1282 to the Middle of the 14
th
Century
Efstratia
Synkellou
, 
War Violence Episodes in Late Byzantium: Some Remarks on Byzantine Warfare

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478
Salvatore Cosentino
University of Bologna, Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Ravenna, Italy; 
[e-mail]
A Silent Revolution: The Early Phase of Militarization of Byzantine Sicily
Throughout Antiquity, Sicily had been a region with scarce signs of militarization of its social 
fabric, cityscape and landscape. A centuries-long period of peace allowed the island to reach a 
remarkable level of economic prosperity. This evolution was interrupted towards the end of the 7
th
century, with the constitution of a 
stratēgia
on the island (namely, a regional field army under the 
command of a 
stratēgos
), possibly between 687 and 695. The paper aims at analysing the process 
that led to such a situation. It will be taken in account, firstly, the new strategic role assumed by 
Sicily in the Mediterranean facing the Muslim expansion, as well as the territorial and institutional 
conformation imposed by the Byzantine forces on the island. Then, the contribution will be focusing 
on the new military apparatus deployed by the empire in the western regions of the Mediterranean 
in the aftermath of the Muslim conquest of Carthage.