by Augustine H. Kobayashi
Hardback (6.4×9.5 inches). 201 pages. 2026.
Subtitle: From Justinian I to the Fourth Crusade
This broad overview of Byzantine naval warfare notes a lack of period sources — even with the impressive bibliography (p173-181) divided into period and contemporary sources — and that “Byzantine chroniclers’ use of naval terms was loose” (p173).
Nonetheless, the text concentrates on strategic aspects with some operational analysis. Tactical details of specific battles are limited, although some education speculation surrounds a few of them.
Much of the book centers around battles with the Sassanid Persians and the Avars before switching to Arab and Islamic naval warfare. Due to financial constraints, the various Byzantine emperors would build a fleet, generally do well against enemies, then disband the fleet to save funds. Piracy was a problem that waxed and waned depending on the strength of the fleet and the determination of the emperor to secure trade routes across the Mediterranean Sea.
One typo: “ageneral” needs a space (p18).
Style quirk: a tendency to include many exclamation points, or should I say many an unnecessary exclamation point. Such punctuation always makes me stop and reread the sentence when I don’t quite get the emphasis. To me, let the facts or analysis cause the reader to go “Wow!”
The book contains 10 black and white illustrations, six black and white maps, and nine black and white photos.
It’s a nice overview of Byzantine naval strategy.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
