Book Review, Osprey Men At Arms, Byzantine Naval Forces 1261-1461

    

     Byzantine Naval Forces 1261-1461
     The Roman Empire's Last Marines
     Osprey Men-At-Arms MAA 502
     Author Raffaele D'Amato
     Illustrators Peter Dennis and Igor Dzis

        This volume addresses the naval forces of the rapidly declining Byzantine Empire in its final phase. Little more than a city-state by this point Byzantium represented the idea of an empire far more than the physical reality of one. That being said they still possessed the capacity to assemble effective naval forces in the brief periods when they weren't busy fighting each other. This book is particularly focused on the troops that manned those vessels, how they were organized and paid, what they were armed with and how they fought. In passing it addresses the Fleet itself and alludes to the ships that were used, if you are looking for a detailed assessment of the Byzantine Dromon of the period you will need to look elsewhere. What this book does very well is provide a feast of color pictures from original sources, the margins have been populated with full color pictures of manuscripts, mosaics and paintings in addition to the brilliant artwork of Mr. Dennis and Mr, Dzis.
 
       Happily devoid to the usual horrid maps found in most Osprey publications, and with a delightfully short chronology, this volume is loaded from front to back with the sort of detailed pictures of original works that would take the reader many years (and simply piles of money) to obtain on their own. The text is clear and easy to follow aside from the annoying habit of placing the references in the body of the text (perhaps apropos in a thesis but bloody annoying to the casual reader who has little chance of being able to check the source material on their own). It provides an understanding of how and where the naval troops were raised, their specific duties, their dress and arms and some of the battles they were involved in. The inclusion of the political and military situation is only supportive of the descriptions on the uniforms and is in no way a military history of this era, the text's main focus is on the troops and what they wore. This it does with consummate skill.

       Supporting the text is a comprehensive array of photos of original art depicting the troops as they were seen by their contemporaries.  Bringing this all together is the superb artwork of Peter Dennis and Igor Dzis, All of the drawings have a draftsman-like precision but do not lose the feeling of the sun-drenched shores of the eastern Mediterranean, they capture the brilliant color of the uniforms and the feel of the countryside.

       In all and excellent book, it certainly could be many times longer than it is but it is a good way to get started in the period. I'm happy to have it on my shelf .

        Very Highly Recommended