Hand-siphon for Greek fire, medieval illumination

A poliorceticon ( el, πολιορκητικόν, also transliterated ''poliorketikon'', ''poliorketika'' in the plural) is any member of the genre of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

literature dealing with manuals on

siege warfare A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized ...

, which is formally known as

poliorcetics A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

. As with much Byzantine literature, the ''poliorcetica'' tend to be compendia of earlier guides illustrated with Biblical and Classical anecdotes. The extent to which they might be up-to-date or representative of actual experiences in the field is sometimes questionable and greatly depends upon the author. Composed as they were during the era immediately antecedent to the arrival of

heavy artillery The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket syst ...

, the ''poliorcetica'' tend to focus less upon large machines and more upon techniques for bringing men close to fortifications, as well as on ways of undermining these once attacking forces are positioned. These Byzantine manuals also tend to give a good amount of insight on morale and advice on psychological defense employable by those being besieged, either to avoid betrayal or dissension harmful to successful and prolonged defense. They also cover means of avoiding one's own betrayal when invested by a siege. Two examples of the genre are: * ''Parangelmata Poliorcetica'' (Παραγγέλματα πολιορκητικά) of

Hero of Byzantium Hero of Byzantium (or Heron of Byzantium or sometimes Hero the Younger) ( el, Ἥρων) is a name used to refer to the anonymous Byzantine author of two treatises, commonly known as ''Parangelmata Poliorcetica'' and ''Geodesia'', composed in the ...

* ''De obsidione toleranda'' ("On Withstanding Sieges"), anonymous Although not technically ''poliorcetica'', other Byzantine military texts such as

Kekaumenos Kekaumenos ( el, Κεκαυμένος) is the family name of the otherwise unidentified Byzantine author of the '' Strategikon'', a manual on military and household affairs composed c. 1078. He was apparently of Georgian-Armenian origin and the gra ...

's '' Strategikon'' and

Nikephoros Ouranos Nikephoros Ouranos ( el, Νικηφόρος Οὐρανός; fl. c. 980 – c. 1010), Latinized as Nicephorus Uranus, was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). One of the emperor's clo ...

's '' Taktika'' often include sections or chapters dealing with siege operations. Sources which were composed by soldiers or generals themselves are naturally the most invaluable of these for reconstructing actual procedures in the field. The English word poliorcetic (relating to the siege of cities) derives from Greek ''poliorkētikos'', from ''poliorkētēs'' "taker of cities" (from ''poliorkein'' to besiege, from ''polis'' city + ''herkos'' fence, enclosure).

External links

Original texts, commentary & translations of Hero of Byzantium's ''Parangelmata Poliorcetica'' & ''Geodesia''
from

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, M ...

Sources

"Byzantine Siege Warfare in Theory and Practice"
by Eric McGeer from ''The Medieval City under Siege'' {{Authority control Byzantine military manuals Siege warfare

See also

Further reading

External links

Sources