Abstract
In this conclusion, Parnell argues that the Byzantine army of the sixth century was more than the sum of ranks, regulations, strategies, and battle narratives. It was alive with personal relationships, alliances, rivalries, and networks. The stories of the army’s officers expose how real people worked and lived in this period. In the army, it mattered a great deal who one knew and how well one knew that person, but issues like identity mattered less than might be assumed today. Officers formed relationships with their emperor, with each other, and with their subordinates. Parnell describes the career of the general Buzes, who had several different commands and fell in and out of favor with the emperor Justinian, as an exemplar of all these complicated relationships.
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Notes
- 1.
See Chap. 6, ‘Examples of Family Military Service.’
- 2.
See PLRE 3: Buzes.
- 3.
See Chap. 4, ‘Review: Keeping a Position.’
- 4.
See Chap. 4.
- 5.
As Agathias would put it, he was able to enjoy pointing ‘out that the sole cause of the unfortunate event had been their failure to implement his suggestions’ (Agathias Histories 4.16.10, translated by Frendo 1975, 118).
- 6.
Agathias Histories 3.20.8.
- 7.
Procopius Wars 2.13.1–7.
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Parnell, D.A. (2017). Conclusion. In: Justinian's Men. New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56204-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56204-3_9
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