Byzantine concepts of mercenaries in the eleventh century (988-1081)

Abstract

The eleventh century is the period when the Byzantine Empire saw an influx of ‘soldiers of fortune’ who were recruited from outside the boundaries of the empire and served in exchange for salaries. Warfare played a minor role in the Chronographia of Michael Psellos, which focused on events that occurred in and around Constantinople. Therefore, it is not surprising that the group of mercenaries which features prominently in the Chronographia is the Varangian imperial guard. Like almost all Byzantine authors, Psellos identifies the Varangian mercenaries interchangeably with their function as bodyguards (doryphoria) and their geographical origin (Tauroscythians) as foreigners and allies (ksenikon/symmachikon). Psellos uses the terms ‘foreign’ and ‘allies’ to refer not only to the Varangians but also to every non-native soldier. Describing the campaign of Romanos III in Syria in 1030, he remarks that the emperor augmented his forces by employing foreign troops.