Nikephoros II Phokas, 912–969: The White Death of the Saracens
Finnish Byzantine scholar Syvänne has turned his dissertation into the definitive volume on Nikephoros II as military leader—don’t come looking for other aspects of the emperor’s life. The book begins with an extensive summary of the units, arms, and organization of the Eastern Roman army in the tenth century and then moves into the years before Nikephoros’ elevation to imperial dignity. Here we see him and his brothers leading the empire’s forces under the leadership of their father Bardas, the domestikos ton scholeion or generalissimo. The enemies of Byzantium included Bulgars and Lombards, but most of all the Saracens or Moslems, exploding like seltzer all over the empire. Although we know with hindsight that the Moslems would tear away almost all the Byzantine East, Nikephoros managed to hold that fate at bay, reconquering Crete and Cyprus. He eventually replaced his father as domestikos and was chosen emperor in 963, a post he held for only six years before being assassinated. This book is highly detailed and will satisfy scholars and military history nerds with Savänne’s reconstructions of battles. It is copiously illustrated and furnished with maps. Recommended for serious Byzantinists.
