The Norman Campaigns in the Balkans, 1081-1108: 39 (Warfare in History) - Hardcover

The author is to be praised for his careful and detailed reading of the sources and for giving us such insightful observations about the various military campaigns involving the Normans on the Balkans. MEDIAEVISTIK 27, 2014

The Norman Campaigns in the Balkans is a useful introduction to and study of the Byzantine-Norman wars of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. . . . The study of the Byzantine attitude to war and the application of their numerous manuals in this period is a particular strength of this volume, as are the detailed and rich campaign narratives. COMITATUS

The rich detail of the text rewards the careful reader.... [It] is a sound addition to the literature on the topic. MEDIEVAL WARFARE, vol. V, issue 4

The Norman expansion in eleventh-century Europe was a movement of enormous historical importance, which saw men and women from the duchy of Normandy settling in England, Italy, Sicily and the Middle East. In this book the author examines the clash of two different "military cultures" - the Normans and the Byzantines - in one theatre of war - the Balkans. It is the first study to date of the military organization of the Norman and Byzantine states in the Mediterranean, and of their overall strategies and their military tactics in the battlefield. It is also the first to examine the way in which each military culture reacted and adapted to the strategies and tactics of its enemies in Italy and the Balkans. The author closely follows the campaigns conducted by the Normans in the Byzantine provinces of Illyria and Macedonia and their battles against Imperial armies commanded by the Byzantine Emperor. He also examines the ways in which the Italian-Norman and Byzantine military systems differed, and their relative efficiencies.