A brief history of Byzantion by Systass 03-04

[anguille]

brief history of Byzantion in classic times.


The Chalkedonian War


Byzantion and her neighbours

In the year 400 B.C., Byzantion was only one of the many Greek states around the Ionian Sea, between the Peleponnes and Asia Minor. Its location at the gates to the Pontus Exinus, or, as we today call it, Black Sea, made it an important place for trade and commerce, locked in a fierce competition with its neighboring city, Chalkedon.

Partly it was because of this competition that Byzantion was far from the metropolis it would become later in the Imperium Romanum or as the capital of the Byzantine Empire. At a time when Sparta and Athens boasted over 3,500 inhabitants, only 2,500 lived in Byzantion. Nevertheless, with Chalkedon combined, Byzantion would count over 4,000 heads. The two cities were surrounded by larger countries and a few smaller states. Their future would depend on what course the politics of the cities' rulers would make.


Byzantion, 400 B.C.

The Sytassides came to power in the year 400 B.C. Their leader, Sytassos I, decided to end the competition with Chalkedon. He ordered to expand the inner city of Byzantion, as well as raise troops for a raid against the neighboring city. Choiros, Son of Theron was elected commander of the host to set across the straight. In May of the same year, he set out with ships from Byzantion and landed near the enemy city. In the meantime, ambassadors were sent to the Thracian Asti (Paopeos, Son of Sosolos) and the Thracian Odrysi (Lamis, Son of Aristos), the largest countries to the west of small Byzantion.


The invasion of Chalkedon

In June the host of 320 men reached the plains before Chalkedon. Byzantion was not defended during this time, but Sytassos I was confident that no one would seize the opportunity, at least not until Choiros had returned, whichever the outcome of the battle was. Choiros assembled his men in a crescent formation, with the javelinmen behind them. His plan was to hold out and let the enemy make the first move, but he was prepared to order a charge if matters looked well. Indeed the plan worked out, and the enemy was drawn from the hills. Even if they hadn't, the Chalkedonians were outnumbered almost 2-1. Chalkedon was occupied by Choiros troops. The general ordered the farms to be rebuilt, so that the troops would have enough to eat.

Sytassos I sacrified several oxen, as well as fruit and cereal to the gods in the temples of Byzantion. A small band of Chalkedonian Astynomia attempted an attack against Chalkedon in the following month, but in vain. Choiros had the town firmly in his hand. Fortifying both Byzantion and Chalkedon would be the next concern of the Sytasside ruler.

Part II
Tensions in the East

Trade in Byzantion was focused mainly around horses. Sytassos I, after an unfortunate incident with an equine during his youth, was not fond of horses or cavalry troops. Therefore, Byzantion exported all the horses they produced. At the same time copper and wood were imported to lay the foundation of later troops. For that purpose, a military camp was erected in Byzantion, to allow for a more specialized training of the various hosts of troops. However, wood, an important ressource for javelinmen, was in chronically short supply.


A typical basic military camp of the era

Already Sytassos was planning is future strategy. The towns of the Bythinians to the east were offering a wide variety of ressources - marble, wood, food, even copper. The towns were far apart, so it would be relatively easy to take them one by one. With increasingly friendly neighbours in the west, a conquest of those lands might be a relatively easy task. However, first Byzantion and Chalkedon needed to be properly defended. Only then could a host be raised to invade the northern coast of Asia Minor.

In March 398 B.C., a first university was founded in Chalkedon. The Sytasside scientists would gather their knowledge in this place and expand it further by research and experiments. At the same time, the brick and food production in the cities was pushed forward by Sytassos, to provide the necessary materials for expanding the towns and food for the soldiers.

In June of the same year, a Bythinian army of medium size was sighted on the borders to the Byzantine lands. Under the command of Genthios, Son of Medokos, a host seemed to be marching on Chalkedon. Sytassos was confident that his defenders would be able to halt the enemy. He was concerned, however, that the ones he had set his mind on to conquer were now seemingly intent on conquering his lands instead. He ordered the raising of additional defenders in Chalkedon in expectance of the Bythinians.


The situation near Chalkedon in 398 B.C.

It seemed, though, that the foreign army was only encamped on the border, casting a watchful eye on their western neighbour. Preparation of an invasion? Who could tell. For the moment, a more immediate threat for Byzantion's foothold in Asia Minor were raiders who frequently landed from what we now call the Black Sea, with their eyes set on the markets of Chalkedon. In the end, those attacks were more a nuisance than a real danger, with the largest battle taking place in September 398 B.C. Yet, those battles gave the defenders of the town valuable combat experience.


The last attack of the Raiders, late 398 B.C. (Byzantines in red)

By the end of 398 B.C., the Byzantine military was not yet strong enough to challenge the Bythinian border forces or tackle their cities. To bide his time, Sytassos offered valuable gifts fo silver to the Thracian Asti and Odrysi, hoping to secure his western frontier. This was all the more important as by then Genthios' army on the border had grown to a truly huge size. Should they dare to move into Chalkedonia, Sytassos would have to send the Byzantion garrison to aid. And as if the army on the common border wasn't threatening enough, in spring of 397 B.C. Sytassos received reports of two more large armies of the Bythinians, commanded by Morkos and Desakenthos, heading westward.

In May of 397 B.C., Genthios of the Bythinians crossed the border.

Part III
The Second Battle of Chalkedon


Sytassos ordered 6 of his 8 units of armed men to leave Byzantion as soon as news of the Bythinian invasion reached his court in Byzantion. He realized a month later, however, that the Bzyantine garrison would not make it in time to help in the defence of Chalkedon. With heavy heart, he ordered his troops to clear the town on the eastern side of the Bosporus and meet up with the Byzantine host in a month or two. The Bythinian ambassador to Byzantion, in the meantime, was expelled from the court of Sytassos I. The tyrant briefly considered beheading him or blinding him, but in the end he estimated that it would let him appear better among the peoples if he just escorted him to the border.

After the Byzantine troops had evacuated Chalkedon, Genthios, commander of the Bythinian war host, took the town without resistance. In July, the Byzantines, under the leadership of Choiros once again, launched an immediate counter attack from the shores where they had held out while the invaders took camp in the city.

On the morning of July 15th, the armies met on the plains before Chalkedon. Choiros expected the enemy to have their main body slightly to the south and distributed his troops accordingly. He organized them roughly into two lines. In front, there was a line of Astynomia, with the flanks thinned out and javelinmen behind them. This line would wait briefly to see how the enemy moved, then attack. The second line, with javelinmen at the center and more Astynomia to their flanks and rear would be the reserve, to enter battle later, hopefully reaching the enemy fresh, while the opponents were already tiring.


The Byzantine battle formation - first line in red, second in yellow

The chornists recall that it was a misty morning that cleared up rather quickly with a warm sun. As soon as the forces could see each other, the battle commenced. The Bythinian battle formation was different, and most importantly more spread out then Choiros had expected. Genthion had his horsemen at the height of the Byzantine center, with his javelins on the far sides. Roughly, their lines resembled a crescent, with the Astynomia at the center. The first line of the Byzantines was crushed rather swiftly by the Bythinians who had charged the Byzantine positions, with their javelinmen flanking Choiros' host dangerously.


The Bythinian battle line

When the second line charged, their hopes for victory were near existant. The Bythinians were already claiming victory, when a call for valor from Choiros rallied some more troops of the Byzantines who were on the verge of breaking, and this proved to make the difference. The surprised Bythinians were overcome at last, and fled the battlefield. At noon, the Byzantines were victorious, but at what cost? Over 520 of the 600 men Choiros had led to battle had been slain, heavily wounded or, worst of all, routed. None of the 580 Bythinians was left alive. In terms of losses compared to number of combattants, the Second Battle of Chalkedon was one of the bloodiest, and Choiros wept at the end, uttering the words, "We leave this field not as victors, but as survivors. The gods have punished us and the Bythinians, and we shall do penance." Funeral pires and sacrificial fires burnt for the rest of the month. Genthion received all the honours deserving a dead ruler of Chalkedon. But the Bythinians were not showing signs of admitting defeat yet. Morkos, Son of Epistor was still moving west with a large army of men towards the weakened Byzantines.


The charge of Choiros' second line

Part IV
The loss of Chalkedon and the death of Sytassos I

After the successful claiming back of Chalkedon, the brick production facilities which had just been expanded, had been reduced to rubble. This threw back the Byzantine building activity considerably. More important, anyways, was to defend the town which had barely been saved from permanent conquest, for Morkos and his war host had already reached the border between the Sytasside realm and the Bythinian lands.

In October 397 B.C. the next battle for Chalkedon was waged. Choiros was once more to defend the city, and this time he had remained inside. He would certainly have preferred walls around the town, but he had to do without. Even so, the battle was fairly even, with the scriptures confirming 275 men for the Byzantines and 272 for the Bythinians.


The Third Battle of Chalkedon

The defenders had not yet fully recovered from the battle in summer, and so their units were a rag tag assembly of hosts of men. The fresh, green units were put to the front, while the worn down, experienced men were to remain behind for a while until the enemy had been engaged. Chalkedon, unlike larger cities had no healers in town who could take care of such a number of wounded and sick. Hope for the Byzantines lay only in the fact that the enemy's army was made up in large part by javelinmen who would waver easily once engaged in close combat. However, the light cavalry was worrying.


The disposition of troops before the battle

And it turned out the worries were justified. The Byzantines didn't stand a chance against the attackers. With the large host of javelinmen launching their weapons against the hosts of Choiros while the riders and footmen kept them tied, they were beaten in a bloody and merciless fight. As the sun set that day, Morkos was the new lord of Chalkedon.


Bythinian warriors after the battle

Sytassos I was deeply depressed at these news. The main part of his forces had been at Chalkedon to aid in the defense. If the Bythinians were in the mind of crossing the small channel, then Byzantion itself was doomed. At the mere prospect and in the face of failure, Sytassos I took full responsibility of the disaster and killed himself with the sword (although rumor has it that his successor poisoned him).

Onto the throne of Byzantion followed Sytassos II, son of Sytassos. His descendance is slightly sketchy. Supposedly, a hetaera who had been treated like a wife by Sytassos I was his mother. Other sources point to a foreign slave in the tyrant's household. Whatever his heritage, Sytassos II ordered the institution of new military units, but it would be at least half a year till the new hosts, armed with weapons of bronze, would be ready to take back what was Byzantion's. Sytassos hoped that the time would suffice. As if the Gods hadn't punished the city of Byzantion enough, food for horses became scarce, and the breeding of them came to a halt, crippling the exports of the city state. Dark times indeed lay ahead, and Sytassos II committed many sacrifices to the gods to regain their favor.

Part V
The military renewal under Sytassos II

Luckily for the Byzantines, the Bythinians seemed eager to rather fortify Chalkedon instead of delivering the lethal blow. Sytassos II, of course, didn't expect such leniency on the side of the enemy, and he ordered, as soon as his military strategists were ready, four hosts of Thracians, light infantry with bronze weapons, to be trained in the ways of war. At the same time, he called for javelinmen, and, a first in the Byzantine city history, for horsemen.


The new Thracian units

The Bythinians sent a new ambassador to the Sytasside court. It was clear to everyone that the purpose of this Times, as his name was, could only be to spy on the Byzantines, not to seek more peaceful relations. Again, Byzantion showed mercy by allowing the ambassador safe passage back to his lands. At the same time, the ambassadors with the Thracian Asti and Odrysi asked for Asylia for the Byzantine traders in order to gain them favors in their commerce.


The Bythinian ambassador is expelled - again

In August 396 B.C., not even a year after the city was lost, Polyainos, Son of Alkides, left the city gates and began the two months voyage to Chalkedon to challenge the city, that the Bythinian hounds had conquered so unrightfully once more for the glory of the Sytassides.


Polyainos' war host