Land and Military in the Roman Empire
It is often assumed that thematic system of military lands was a wholly novel measure, and that later pronoia grants were significantly different from previous stratioka ktemata. Yet neither assumption […]
Social Background of the Army Organization
Any army is a reflection of society which creates it. Thus it is society, more than anything else, which will determine how army is shaped. This is evident throughout history: […]
Blood Tax (Devshirme) in Ottoman Empire
Blood tax or Devshirme was a system of slavery through which Ottoman Empire recruited its Janissary Corps. Janissary in fact comes from “Jeni Ceri”, or “new troops”. Slave soldiers have […]
Argument for Monarchy
This started from posts by Libertus, but with expansion and commentary. Tyrannical nature of democracy Democracy is a self-destructive political system for several reasons. Democracy formalizes political competition between interest […]
Army of John Hunyadi and Matthias Corvinus
Become a Patron! Recruitment and organization John Hunyadi Both Hunyadis utilized army which was a combination of mercenaries and feudal banderia (banners – Exercitus Banderialis). Occassionally the army would be […]
Campaigns of Matthias Corvinus
Become a Patron! After death of John Hunyadi, his enemies decided to use the opportunity. Ulrich of Celje saw an opportunity to become the most influential magnate of the kingdom, […]
Campaigns of John Hunyadi
Introduction Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia had provided a continuous defense of Western Europe against Ottoman expansion from Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. until Battle of Mohacs in 1526. During […]
Weapons and Armour Interaction
Weapons and armour historically interact in rather consistent ways. But fantasy often completely ignores this. It should be noted however that it is usually armour development – itself a result […]
Correcting Reconstruction of Diocletian’s Palace
There are several things wrong with the reconstruction seen above. First, the location. Palace could not have been that close to the sea – under such conditions, sea will have […]
