Tagma (military)

Tagma (Greek τάγμα, Pl τάγματα tagmata ) was a unit of the Byzantine army. The Tagma was also called Bandon, numerus or Greek arithmos, which was commanded by a Tagmatarches, Komes or Tribounos.

Both in Strategikon as well as in the later Taktika the basic terms are apparently shown in the chapter on military title and units as interchangeable, in the following chapters, the term Bandon but is used exclusively for Kavallerietagma while the Infanterietagma are called Arithmoi. The same method was also the appointment of commanders. In Strategikon Banda commanded by Komites and Arithmoi of Tribunes. In the Taktika Although the distinction between Banda and Arithmoi remains Tagma both arms genera are, however, commanded by Komites.

In modern literature, but usually only undifferentiated spoken of Banda.

The tagmata

After introducing the topics, the term tagma almost exclusively for units of the regular army, why was mostly spoken in later period tagma as a military unit from bandon. Your final form received tagmata under Emperor Constantine V

These counting. Primarily the Tagma the Scholai, the Tagma the Exkubitai, the Tagma the Biglia and the Tagma the Ikanatoi To 971 nor was added in the Tagma the Athanatoi. These stationed in the capital elite associations are usually indicated in historical sources with a strength 4000-6000 man. However, some modern historians reject this information as too large.

In the 10th century tagmata were also in subjects with an ensuite headquarters. This is usually a strength of the original Banda from 200 to 500 man is accepted. To 967 of Nikephoros II goods were set up with three times the minimum extent, among whose owners likely to Ironshirts now increasingly used. The owner of these goods were often non- Greek origin.

During the 10th and 11th centuries were the in and of itself is not transferable Military ( stratiotika ktemata ) more and more into the hands of the nobles and monasteries, which were reinforced to landowners again.

Modern Times

In modern Greek army, the term Tagma for the battalion used again and finds its counterpart in the rank names for the rank group of staff officers of the army: Major is as Tagmatarches called ( " Tagma commander "), while from the term for regiment (Syntagma ), the rank designations Syntagmatarches ( Colonel ) and Antisyntagmatarches ( Lieutenant Colonel ) derived.

Swell

• Maurice 's Strategikon. Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. Translated by George T. Dennis. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA 1984, ISBN 0-8122-7899-2 ( Nachdruck. ibid. 2001, ISBN 0-8122-1772-1 ).
• The Strategikon of Maurikios. = Mauricii Strategicon ( = Corpus Historiae Fontium Byzantinae. Vindobonensis Series 17). Introduction, edition and indexes by George T. Dennis. Translated by Ernst Gamillscheg. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1981, ISBN 3-7001-0403-0.