Komnenian Byzantine Army - Size

Size

During the reign of Alexios I, the field army numbered around 20,000 men. By the end of John II's reign, the entire Byzantine army amounted to about 50,000 men. By 1180 and the death of Manuel Komnenos, whose frequent campaigns had been on a grand scale, the army was probably considerably larger. Modern historians have estimated the size of Komnenian armies on campaign at about 15,000 to 20,000 men. In 1176 Manuel I managed to gather approximately 35–40,000 men, of which 25,000 were Byzantines and the rest were allied contingents from Hungary, Serbia, and Antioch, though this was for an exceptional campaign. His military resources stretched to putting another, smaller, army in the field simultaneously. During this period, the European provinces in the Balkans were able to provide more than 6,000 cavalry in total while the Eastern provinces of Asia Minor provided about the same number. This amounted to more than 12,000 cavalry for the entire Empire, not including those from allied contingents. In 1200, the field army numbered 30,000 men while the entire army was estimated at 60,000 men (of which 15,000 men were foreign mercenaries). Constantinople had a permanent garrison of 10,000 troops not including the 5,000 Varangians garrisoned in the two Imperial palaces.