International Conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION Vol. XXIII No 2 2017 ANCIENT GREEK MILITARY THEORY AND PRACTICE. AENEAS TACTICUS (I) Dana DINU University of Craiova, Romania [email protected] Abstract: The intention of this article is to present the oldest surviving work of military art of the Greek antiquity written in the mid-fourth century B.C. by of the author known today as Aeneas Tacticus. In 1609 Isaac Casaubon, its first editor, gave it the Latin title Commentarius de toleranda obsidione, How to Survive under Siege. Aeneas Tacticus was an experienced general on the battlefield, and had an equally solid theoretical training based on treatises of warfare which undoubtedly existed before his own, but were less fortunate and have not reached us. The study of this manual reveals that Aeneas Tacticus wrote or designed to write at least five books on military themes and information exists from other sources that he might have written three more books on the subject. Thus, all these works could have formed a Corpus Aeneanum, comparable in value to Clausewitz's famous work On War. Aeneas's work was highly appreciated and extremely useful for commanders and strategists of the Antiquity and the Middle Ages and was used and cited by all the authors of treatises on siege until the era of pre-modern warfare. Keywords: Aeneas Tacticus, treatise, pre-modern warfare, siege 1. Introduction text were subjected to thorough We owe the discovery and the spreading of examination and were translated in some of this treatise by Aeneas Tacticus to Isaac major modern languages. Casaubon, who published it as a Its value is praised by H. Delbrück, a supplementum to his 1609 edition of historian of warfare art, from different Polybius, Orelli tells us. And it was Orelli perspectives: “The first comprehensive work himself, Aeneas' modern publisher [1], who on military theory, free of any poetic trapping noted that, for more than two centuries after and oriented directly toward practical the editio princeps of this work, the text applications, came from the pen of an remained largely ignored by publishers and Arcadian, the Stymphalian Aeneas, who, critics, notwithstanding Casaubon's very using Xenophon as a source, wrote around scholarly commentary. One of the reasons the year 357 B.C. Only one of the various for this lack of interest in the lapse of time books of this work, that dealing with the between the two editions might be that, at defence of a city, has come down to us, and the moment of the first printed edition, the even it does not give us very much military theory, practice and logistics had information. Most of the book is taken up largely evolved, making the Renaissance with precautionary measures against treason, and post-Renaissance military specialists to stratagems of war, secret writing, telegraphy discard it as obsolete. Since Orelli's and general observations. Nevertheless, the publication in the nineteenth century the book contains but little concerning siege number of new editions, comments and machines and countermeasures for the studies dedicated to this treatise increased, defence, and even this little is possible a later all manuscripts [2] of the original Greek interpolation.” [3]. In addition to its DOI: 10.1515/kbo-2017-0128 © 2017. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License. 281 documentary value for the military political and not in the least economic historiography and for the historic field in changes took place, marking the end of the general, this manual is a solid Bronze Age. After the eighth century B.C. complimentary source for studies this led to the birth of independent city- concerning the Ancient Greek mercenary states and, more often than not, to the [4] or the role played by the hoplite troupes inevitable rivalries between them. Later on, in the defence of the city [5], the social the hoplite revolution broke out in cities relations within the city, the social with a democratic constitution, such as conflicts, the relations between citizens and Athens, and brought about an increased role outsiders. At the same time it constitutes a of the common citizens in the city wars. valuable source for specific military terms This will produce a crucial consequence on related to the siege and for the technical the political playground, as Aristotle vocabulary concerning tools of the city demonstrated, namely a greater defence apparatus. participation of the demos in the city governance, hence to democracy. It was 2. Warfare evolution in the Greek world patriotic pride, as well as duty, which made Information about the very early Greek the Greeks into citizens and soldiers. But antiquity, approximately twelfth century never simultaneously, since the citizens B.C., comes down to us from a few were intrinsically landowners and could iconographic materials found in Crete, only serve as active soldiers outside the including information in the linear B (the agricultural season. Consequently the wars oldest attested script form of Greek) about they fought were season-bound. Citizens' the chariot fights. This was the quite solidarity was forged on the battlefield and advanced warfare technology of the this is nowhere more evident than in the Hittites, which later on spread in the whole way the so-called Greek phalanx - the of the Middle East and Egypt and was formidable battle formation - was born, adopted by the Greeks. Of the Bronze Age, with comradeship as an important lubricant the siege of the city of Troy is the best and factor of success. Compared to the wars known and the best documented war. in the archaic period, those which follow Homer is in this, as in so many other are re-dimensioned, as the length and the aspects concerning the antiquity, the first stakes of the confrontations change, with important reference for the Greek warfare different social groups involved and with art and in particular, for siege warfare. It is other interests than in past conflicts. In the from Homer's epic poem that we know that Trojan War for instance, which went on for in Troy the warring Greek elite made use of ten years, several Greek cities formed an battle chariots. But this type of battle, alliance and its outcome was decided by specific for the Bronze Age and for a some ambitious warring aristocrats in specific social and political system of search of the glory brought by individual organization, did not last long with the acts of bravery. In about eight hundred Greeks. The mainland and the Peloponnese years between the Trojan War and the did not have the necessary space for a type middle of the fourth century, the of conflict mainly suited for the plains, approximated moment of the completion of whereas the largely mountainous Greek Aeneas Tacticus' treatise, the Greeks landscape did not favour it. In time, the iron amassed a great deal of experience on the smelting technique enabled the Greeks to battle field. Some of their strategists and manufacture more efficient arms, thus specialists in the art of warfare put this leading to more advances in their warfare experience to use in theoretical materials, approach, at a time when radical social, which led to several practical guides for 282 military confrontations, and more 2.2. Nature of the guidebook specifically, for defence in siege situations. There are many debates regarding the But, except for Xenophon's writings on the relation between the titles given by some cavalry commander and the art of equitation editors and the content of the guidebook, in – though not proper warfare treatises – only other words, to establish which one, one treatise reached us, that of Aeneas, or between the part concerning the tactics and Aeneas Tacticus, as his first editor called that of preparing the city for a siege him. situation, is defining for the nature of this 2.1. Identity of the author of this treatise work. As for Casaubon, he grants the author The question of determining the identity of the epithet of Tacticus, placing him – as author of this treatise is crucial, because Aelianus had before him – [7], among those establishing its authorship with a reasonable who wrote treatises on tactics. degree of certitude also implies a greater On the other hand, some commentators degree of certitude concerning the period of consider that the treatise, or better, its its conception. One thing is beyond doubt, preserved fragment, does not have battle the fact that the author's name is Aeneas tactics as a main topic, therefore the epithet and that it refers to a real person. This Tacticus would be unjustified. identification is mainly owed to Polybius, However one should notice that, by giving also of Arcadian origin, one of the earliest it the Latin title of Commentarius tacticus sources on Aeneas and separated from him et obsidionalis, Casaubon underlines both by approximately two centuries. of the aspects present in the manual, the one Another argument pleading for Aeneas concerning the siege prevaling. In the first seems to be present in the actual text, as if and third chapter, Aeneas writes about the the author introduced his cryptic signature, organisation of the besieged troops and the precisely in chapter 31.18-19 where he idea of tactics becomes evident here. As for speaks about cryptography, even if this Aelianus, when he defines the term of fragment shows gaps and is very difficult to tactics in chap. 3.4, he cites Aeneas as a interpret. The name of Aeneas is not found trusted source for “the science of military in the existing manuscripts, but the text movements”, scientia bellicorum motuum. critics managed to identify the sequence – Many centuries later, the editor Arnold aine- in the altered fragment, thus finding a Hug, gives it the title Commentarius solid argument to support the assumption Poliorceticus, showing the relevance of the that the name of the author is Aeneas.