Strategicon Of Maurice
The Strategikon or Strategicon (Greek: Στρατηγικόν) is a manual of war by written in the late 6th century and usually attributed to Byzantine Emperor Maurice; it is moreover a practical manual, "a rather modest elementary handbook", in the words of its introduction, "for those devoting themselves to generalship".
The Strategikon was written in an effort to codify the military reforms brought about by the soldier-emperor Maurice. There is debate in academic circles as to the true author of the Strategikon. Maurice may have only commissioned it; perhaps his brother Peter, or another general of his Court was the true author. The dating is also debated; the Strategikon may have been produced to codify the experience of the Balkan and Persian campaigns; on the other hand, those campaigns may have been carried out in compliance with the manual. In any case it is considered one of the most important military texts of the medieval years, along with the 10th century military treatises attributed to the Byzantine emperors Leo VI (Tactica) and Nicephorus Phocas (De velitatione and Praecepta Militaria); Leo's Tactica in particular drew heavily from the Strategikon.
The text consists of 12 chapters, or "books", on various aspects of the tactics employed by the Byzantine army of the 6th and 7th century A.D. It is primarily focused on cavalry tactics and formations, yet it also elaborates on matters of infantry, sieges, baggage trains, drilling and marching. Books VII and VIII contain practical advice to the General in the form of instructions and maxims. The eleventh book has ethnographic interest, with its portrayal of various Byzantine enemies (Franks, Lombards, Avars, Turks, and Slavs). The Strategikon also belongs to Byzantine legal literature, since it contains a list of military infractions and their suitable penalties.