BYZANTINE ARCHERY

Think of horseback archers, and likely what come to mind are the Huns, the Ottomans, the Scythians, the Parthians, the Persians, the Avars. Few are aware that remarkably skilled horseback archers were just as vital to the success of the military campaigns of the Byzantines. 

It was largely the excellence of the Byzantine Empire's military organization and the martial abilities of its cavalry and bowmen that enabled it to withstand assaults from Persians, Avars, Franks, Slavs, Arabs and many others for more than 500 years between the 6th and 11th centuries.

This excellence was due largely to reforms of the emperor Mavrikios (582-602) codified in an outstanding military manual, the Strategikon, which remained considerably unadulterated for the next 500 years. Well before the Strategikon was written, when the Byzantines were fighting the Goths in Italy in the mid-sixth century, they were already doing so with the tactical edge of mounted archery. An eyewitness, Prokopios, described the skill of the Byzantine horseback archers as follows:

"They are expert horsemen, and are able without difficulty to direct their bows to either side while riding at full speed, and to shoot an opponent whether in pursuit or in flight [the rearward “Parthian shot”]. They draw the bowstring along by the forehead about opposite the right ear, thereby charging the arrow with such impetus as to kill whoever stands in the way, shield and corselet alike having no power to check its force."

The Strategikon depicts an army radically different in structure from the classic Roman model, most obviously because of a fundamental shift from infantry to cavalry as the primary combat arm. The primary type of soldier was neither an infantryman nor a cavalryman but rather both, and a bowman first of all. He required training in both foot and mounted archery with powerful bows, in using the lance for thrusting and stabbing while mounted — with unit training for the charge — and in wielding the sword in close combat. 

Few historical sources give so much detail regarding the training of troops as does the Strategikon, which provides us with specifics of the practice required for these lancer-archers. We read, for example, that the archer was to practice quickly alternating from shooting one or two arrows, to pulling out the spear from its back strap, to replacing the spear, to taking out the bow again:

"On horseback at a run (gallop) he should fire one or two arrows rapidly and put the strung bow in its case, if it is wide enough, or in a half-case designed for the purpose, and then he should grab the lance which he has been carrying on his back. With the strung bow in its case, he should hold the lance in his hand, then quickly replace it on his back, and grab the bow. It is a good idea for the soldiers to practice all this while mounted."

"He should also shoot rapidly mounted on his horse at a run [galloping], to the front, the rear, the right, the left.”

"They should be trained in rapid shooting with a bow... in either the Roman or the Persian manner. They should be trained in shooting rapidly while carrying a shield, in throwing the small javelin a long distance, in using the sling, and in jumping and running."

While it is clear that these special tagmata of mounted archers were trained in the sword and shield, the lance and the sling, the primary weapon was the composite reflex bow, the most powerful personal weapon of antiquity. The composite reflex bow was effective because it accumulated much energy but was equally resistant, so it was a good idea to choose a bow whose string could be pulled back quickly and confidently even on the fortieth arrow, and not just the first. Hence the injunction to use “Bows suited to the strength of each man, and not above it, more in fact on the weaker side.”

Weaker archers with weaker bows could compensate for lack of power with technique:

"We bend the bow toward the ear, sometimes to the neck, and sometimes we draw the bowstring to the breast. Drawing the bowstring back to the ear makes for the most powerful shot".

Power was not everything. Three things were deemed of equal importance in Byzantine archery: accuracy, power and speed:

"In archery we have three goals: to shoot accurately, to shoot powerfully, and to shoot rapidly".

None of these characteristics should be emphasized at the expense of another. What use is rapid shooting without accuracy against moving targets? What benefit is there in an accurate shot that lacks the power to pierce the heavy armour of the enemy? 

The success of the Byzantine archers, no less than the Huns, was their ability to execute powerful shots with precision and speed:

"He should be trained to shoot [the bow] rapidly on foot, either in the Roman [thumb and forefinger] or the Persian [three middle finger] manner. Speed is important in shaking the arrow loose [from the quiver] and discharging it with force. This is essential and should also be practiced while mounted. In fact, even when the arrow is well aimed, firing slowly is useless."

I am not altogether certain of the exact draw method of the Roman and Persian techniques mentioned here and further above. A similar but slightly earlier text on Byzantine archery, written around the early 6th century, may shed some light on the matter: 

"Some archers draw the bowstring with the three middle fingers..."

This sounds much like the Mediterranean draw most Western archers today are familiar with, but it seems to match the above reference to the Persian draw.

"...others with only two. Of those who use two, some will press the thumb upon the index finger..."

This is a technique I had previously never heard of, but the archer, Alexander Stover, has produced an interesting video on the subject, which you can view here.

"...and others just the opposite..."

Just the opposite from the thumb upon the index finger would be the index finger upon the thumb, which sounds just like the thumb draw used by Eastern archers, and which also seems to match the above reference to the Roman draw.

..."The last draws the bowstring back further and fires the arrow with greater force." 

"Each man should practice each one of these methods, so that when the fingers that he has been using become tired from the continual tension, he may use the others".

All the evidence suggests that these lancer-archers of early medieval Byzantium were truly remarkable and versatile bowmen who were used to great effect in a variety of situations in Byzantine warfare. Yet by the late 9th century, East Roman archery was in decline, giving the emperor Leo VI cause to complain in his Taktika (a revised version of Mavrikios' Strategikon) that the Byzantine archers were a shambles, compelling the East Roman army to hire "barbarian" (non-Roman) archers to fight for the Byzantines. 

Perhaps this is why 'Byzantium' is not the first thing to enter our heads when we think of the notable horseback archers of antiquity.