The Battle of Adrianople
Heading into the Roman-Turkish War of 1499-1503, Emperor John was filled with his characteristic youthful vigor that had created in his own psyche, perhaps, the truest belief that he was the greatest soul treading the earth. As Thomas Carlyle noted of John, “The emperor is the beginning of a great line of great man-kings who stepped onto history at the turn of the sixteenth century.” While this is probably too much unfettered praise for a man, whose proper demense did not extend much beyond the walls of Constantinople despite the recent gains of the past Roman emperors in delaying the final collapse of the Roman Empire – the emperor himself was not devoid of personal courage, visionary excellence, and a penchant for war that rivalled the line of old Caesars going back to Julius and Augustus, or even being filled with a militaristic spirit of Marc Antony or Flavius Aetius.
The constant storm from the east – ever since the Arab invasion of Roman Palestine in the seventh century, had been a constant thorn and serious threat to the integrity of the empire for now, nearly a millennium. At present, the Mohammedans were winning the war of attrition – and had been the de facto leaders and victors in the constant struggle for Greece and Asia Minor ever since the Battle of Manzikert. Now, however, recent gains against the Mohammedan Turks in Greece had afforded the Romans a temporary calm and sense of patriotic pride and virtue as I outlined with the new spirit of the Roman army. While their foes were numerically stronger, superior, and had a better political system – the Romans were not devoid of courage and spirit, and with the inclusion of their allies in Europe – principally Hungary and Austria to come to the aid of John, there was a real expectation that the Turks, who had failed to take into consideration the fears of Vienna, could be driven out of Europe with their rash decision to re-invade Greece in the aftermath of their failed invasion of Syria.
The Roman army that accompanied John into the field was an army both modern and backward. While the Roman army possessed a certain quantity of cannons and modern firearms, the majority of the soldiers were still armed with swords and pole-arms, principally, spears and pikes. The Roman military formations were largely constructed around the ideals of Renaissance warfare in Italy – having learned from their Italian mercenary captains of the new waves of European warfare. As an empire and military force that situated itself on the crossroads of east and west, the former splendor and glory of the Roman military in the east was the fact it had been a quality composite of western and eastern military tactics and ideals. Now, however, it was largely Westernizing itself with European mercenaries, mostly from the Iberia and Italy, and with few horses and horsemen – thus depriving the empire of its famous mobile eastern composite of the army, was not well suited to battle the Mohammedan troops in Asia Minor – although the fields of Greece still benefitted a Western-esque army.
The Roman army that marched with John, therefore, was in the awkward disposition of having to be able to fight a war both in Greece and Asia Minor while principally only being capable of fighting a war in Greece. It is for this reason, or the numerical superiority of the Turkic armies in Asia Minor – standing around 25,000 professionals, caused John to march on Adrianople (Edirne), where the Mohammedan Army, about 8,000 strong, was stationed. The Imperial Army under John was 12,000 strong, with an additional 4,000 soldiers from the Great Domestic of the Morea marching north to invade Mohammedan Macedonia. The Roman army marched well, and seemed high in morale and expected to be victorious in battle.
The Roman Army marching through Thrace on their way to war with the Turks. The newly reformed army would be put to the test at the Battle of Adrianople.
One of John’s aids, watching the 16 year old emperor at the head of “this magnificent army” wrote in a letter before the battle:
The young emperor was at the head of this magnificent army, while being far smaller in size to the armies of old Rome, was still filled with the professional spirit and ethic of war that carried Scipio’s men into Africa and Caesar’s men into Gaul and across the Rhine. There was a hope among the officers, and the minor rank of the nobility, that the Mohammedans could be driven from Greece for good. John had informed us that the Latins were coming to our aid at long last – putting aside their pompous arrogance and attitudes to the true Church of Christ, coming to their senses that the Mohammedans were as much a threat to them as to us. As this great army marched, there was an expectation that the war would be won in the first battle between us.
This hopeful and naïve optimism would prove wrong –the war would certainly not end in the first engagement, and although the Latins: the Austrians and Hungarians had pledged their armies in the fight; it was unlikely that they would play any significant importance in the first year of the war – which they didn’t. At Adrianople, John rejected the offers from Manuel Phokas to take direct control away from the young emperor – deciding instead, like emperors of old, it was proper from the Caesar of Rome to lead the Roman armies even if he was young, inexperienced, and in doing so threatened his own life as he was sure to be targeted by the enemy.
The plains of Adrianople had long served as a battleground of the Roman army. It was the site of the terrible defeat at the hand of the Goths where the emperor Valens had been killed in the fourth century. It was also the site, of recent, where the Romans reversed their fortunes in the Macedonian War against the Turks. Naturally, the stain of Adrianople (378 A.D.) had not been cleansed from Roman memory, but there was a thoughtful belief that another victory – a decisive victory – would erase the embarrassment of Valens on these very fields.
John addressed the troops and filled them with inspiration. He had the archbishop bless the troops before the battle. Despite the “magnificent” army that marched out with him – the army was inexperienced and raw. Many of the experienced soldiers had either been killed in the civil war that overthrow Theodoras or were too old to fight. Even the emperor’s new Imperial Guard was largely composed of inexperienced men who had never fought in a battle before. For these reasons, it seems that the decision of Phokas to want to take control of the inexperienced army from the inexperienced emperor makes sense.
The field was manned by at least 20,000 men, who crammed into the fields and a Mohammedan cannon sounded the beginning of the battle. The Romans counted their numbers at 12,000 while the Mohammedan armies totaled around 8,000 or so foot-soldiers and horsemen. The two sides rode forth to meet each other – Emperor John at the center of the advancing column with the new Guard surrounding him for protection. As the battle raged all around, he ordered his Guard into battle around midday. As the emperor watched his pride march off to their glorious deaths, he noted, “the guard shouted praise as they passed me, it was a spectacle that would have warmed the loftiest of souls.”
The Guard performed well enough, suffering about 300 losses and they managed to break the Turkish center. The Mohammedan cavalry then slammed into the gaps, but were repulsed by concentrated Roman cannon fire and a counter-attack led by Manuel Phokas. However, the Battle of Adrianople was not the great victory that the Romans were expecting or had hoped for. By the end of the day, the Mohammedans had withdrawn in good order, and although a victory as the Romans controlled the field – they lost over 3,600 men compared to around 2,100 for the Turks. Although the great disparity in casualties, John considered the battle “a great victory” and proof of his divine favor from God himself who he credited with granting him this victory, the Romans would press further into Turkish Greece, and with the Armies of the Morea moving north as well, John had a foolish optimism that “another great victory, and the war will be won.” As we will see, another “great victory” would not end the war, and even though the momentum favored the Romans – the war would protract itself for a full four years before being brought to a close. In addition, the Roman army did not crack or break, but stood and fight despite suffering heavy losses and eventually drove the Turks from the field in victory.
A fanciful painting of the Roman victory at the plains of Adrianople. Despite heavy losses, the Romans prevailed.
Indeed, it is perhaps right that the Romans were blessed with a young and energetic emperor at this time, rather than a lethargic or otherwise incompetent ruler presiding during a time when Rome was once more facing a hard trial against the constant pressures of the Turks and other Mohammedans. While it may be said he earned his epithet, “the Great”, during his performance in the war – he was not, however, comparatively equivalent with the other great rulers of history. Rome, graced with an otherwise lackluster line of caesars after the death of Michael VIII, was therefore granted one last great emperor – in a sense of the ability to guide and manage the decline of the empire rather than precipitate over its most grandiose and long decline. This ability is evidenced by his victory at Adrianople, thereby, like John VIII, shielding and masking the real holes and trails of the monarchy and the army with a victory that blinded even him – the great reformer as others would remember him as, from seeing the extreme holes in the ancient yet ‘modern’ Roman body politic and superstructural mediums – most prevalent and important being the Roman army that was still the shield of Christendom against the Turkish Mohammedan horde.
