The Immortals ( el, Ἀθάνατοι, ''Athanatoi'') were one of the elite '' tagmata'' military units of the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

, first raised during the late 10th century. The name derives from ''a-'' ("without") + ''

thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appea ...

'' ("death").

History

The ''Athanatoi'' were a body of young men of noble status that was originally raised by John I Tzimiskes (r. 969-976) in 970 for his

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

with the Rus', where they played a decisive role in the battles before

Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new ...

and during the

Siege of Dorostolon The Battle of Dorostopol was fought in 971 between the Byzantine Empire and forces of Kievan Rus'. The Byzantines, led by John I Tzimiskes, were victorious. Background During the course of the Rus'-Bulgarian war, Svyatoslav I of Kiev overran t ...

. The unit was commanded by a ''

domestikos ''Domestikos'' (; el, δομέστικος, from the la, domesticus, , of the household), in English sometimes heDomestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Military usage The ''dom ...

'', as with most of the other '' tagmata'' (the professional standing regiments), and on campaign camped near the imperial bodyguard, the ''

Hetaireia The ( grc-gre, Ἑταιρεία, Latinized as ''hetaeria'') was a term for a corps of bodyguards during the Byzantine Empire. Etymology and usage of the term means 'the Company', echoing the ancient Macedonian Companions and the Classical Gr ...

''. The contemporary historian

Leo the Deacon Leo the Deacon ( el, Λέων ο Διάκονος) (born c. 950) was a Byzantine Greek historian and chronicler. He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor, and was educated in Constantinople, where he became a deacon in the imperial palace. Whi ...

describes the ''Athanatoi'' as heavily armoured shock cavalry, "sheathed in armour" or as "armed horsemen adorned with gold". Tzimiskes' unit was probably disbanded shortly after his death, since it does not appear again in the sources. The name of the ''Athanatoi'' was revived under the Emperor Michael VII (r. 1071–1078), when his minister

Nikephoritzes Nikephoritzes ( el, Νικηφορίτζης) was an influential Byzantine eunuch official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was ...

reorganised the army. This reconstruction was part of an effort to address a major military crisis for the Empire, following the disastrous defeat suffered by the Byzantines against the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Seljuks had subsequently overrun most of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, which had provided the main recruiting ground for the pre-Manzikert army. As part of the reorganisation process, the remnants of the provincial troops of the Eastern '' themata'' (military provinces) were brought together as the Immortals, providing a new element of the ''tagma''. The new Immortals may have been cavalry, like the bulk of the old Byzantine field army, but this is not certain. Contemporary documents seem to place the ''Athanatoi'' among other foreign contingents, but modern scholars usually consider the unit to have been composed of native Byzantines. A schematic diagram of the standard field camp layout of the Byzantine army in the late 10th century shows the Immortals as deployed by the Imperial tent, within an outer square of Thematic units. The Byzantine historian

Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger Nikephoros Bryennios (or Nicephorus Bryennius; Greek: Νικηφόρος Βρυέννιος, ''Nikēphoros Bryennios; ''1062–1137) was a Byzantine general, statesman and historian. He was born at Orestias ( Adrianople) in the theme of Macedoni ...

records that the Immortals numbered 10,000, but this is most likely an allusion to the old Persian Immortal Guard."Byzantine Armies, 886–1118", Ian Heath & Angus McBride, The new unit fought under the future emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

in the

Battle of Kalavrye The Battle of Kalavrye (also Kalavryai or Kalavryta) was fought in 1078 between the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine imperial forces of general (and future emperor) Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios Komnenos and the rebellious governor of Durrës, Dyrrhach ...

(1078) against the rebel general

Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder ( el, Νικηφόρος Βρυέννιος ο πρεσβύτερος), Latinized as Nicephorus Bryennius, was a Byzantine Greek general who tried to establish himself as Emperor in the late eleventh century. His c ...

, and are mentioned in the wars against the

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

in the 1090s, but disappear thereafter, along with another contemporary creation, the ''

Archontopouloi The ''archontopouloi'' ( gr, Ἀρχοντόπουλοι) were an elite military formation of the Byzantine army during the Komnenian era, in the 11th-12th centuries. They were founded by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos () as part of his military refor ...

''.

In popular culture

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's novel '' Count Robert of Paris'' the Immortals appear as rivals to the Viking or Anglo-Saxon

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...

for Imperial favour. In

Rise of The Tomb Raider ''Rise of the Tomb Raider'' is a 2015 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Microsoft Studios and Square Enix's European subsidiary. The game is the eleventh main entry in the ''Tomb Raider'' series, the s ...

(2015) the “Athanatoi” or “deathless ones” are armoured warriors who speak Greek and guard the fictional city of Kitezh.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Byzantine Empire topics Military units and formations established in the 10th century Guards units of the Byzantine Empire