Armies of Justinian the Great

 This new Osprey MAA by Raffaele D'Amato is an overview of the Byzantine (arguably Late Roman) armies of Justinian the Great, 527-565 AD. He led a Roman recovery, including ambitious reconquests of lost Western territories, with outstanding generals such as Belisarius, Narses and Iohannes Troglita. This is a popular subject at present, with Helion publishing a two-volume study. 

He inherited an army structure that had changed little since the time of Constantine the Great. The Comitatenses was the field army, providing a defence in depth and for expeditionary forces. The Limitanei defended the borders, although Justinian turned it into a semi-regular force of soldier-settlers. The author describes the different troop types. While the heavily armoured cavalry is the iconic picture of his armies, the infantry remained important. Heavy infantry supported by light troops and archers could defeat cavalry charges. The cavalry included horse archers, increasingly hired, and heavy lancers. The elite Imperial Guard was based in Constantinople and organised into nine units. 

The recruitment of individual soldiers, along with their equipment and weapons, is covered in some detail. The types of scale and lamellar armour have been the subject of some debate, and the author takes us through the most recent archaeological evidence, including some remarkably well-preserved examples found in Türkiye. The old oval shield was still used by the infantry. This is all covered in fine colour plates, as you would expect in this series. The variety of troop types makes this a popular tabletop army to paint.

For the wargamer, this MAA has all you need to collect and paint these armies. You will need another book on the campaigns, of which there are several. The main primary source is The Wars of Justinian by Prokopios, and there is a modern translation. It has been many years since I painted my 15mm army of the period, in the days when Ian Heath's book was just about all that was available.

Some of my early Byzantine cavalry in 15mm