Michael Whitby
Biographic Data
| ID | 3676630 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Whitby |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Whitby |
| SIGNATURE | WHITBY M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Warwick |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1746-0217 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 34 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 30 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 4 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1920 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Challenge, Planning, Execution
This study focusses on the nighttime defence of the American and British assault anchorages off Normandy from enemy surface attack in the period 6-14 June 1944. The subject is typically glossed over. Yet, the defence of the assault areas, like every other aspect of Operation NEPTUNE, was taken seriously by planners. Although German surface forces were not powerful enough to defeat the assault or make the anchorage untenable, if they were able to …
The Cambridge History of Strategy
Volume I of The Cambridge History of Strategy offers a history of the practice of strategy from the beginning of recorded history, to the late eighteenth century, from all parts of the world. Drawing on material evidence covering two-and-a-half millennia, an international team of leading scholars in each subject examines how strategy was formulated and applied and with what tools, from ancient Greece and China to the Ottoman and Mughal Empires an…
Ancient Rome
Evidence for discussing grand strategy in the Roman Empire is extremely limited. In reaction to Luttwak’s thought-provoking book, ancient historians have tended to focus on limitations in the information available to emperors and hence their capacity to determine priorities. Kagan’s reformulation of Luttwak’s thesis to use troop movements as a proxy for strategic decision making does not adequately take into account the personal and cultural cons…
A Defence of the Traditional Chronology of 542–545, Again
The chronology of the campaigns of the years 542–545 has been the subject of debate, with Michael Whitby defending the traditional interpretation that Procopius’ long account of the bubonic plague concealed the end of the year 542, whereas Geoffrey Greatrex has championed the chronology of Kislinger and Stathakopoulos, which locates Khusro’s march to Adarbiganon and the Roman defeat at Anglon in late 542 and the siege of Edessa in 543, with Proco…
Michele Renee Salzman. The Falls of Rome
Journal Article Michele Renee Salzman. The Falls of Rome: Crises, Resilience, and Resurgence in Late Antiquity. Get access Michele Renee Salzman. The Falls of Rome: Crises, Resilience, and Resurgence in Late Antiquity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2021. Pp. 445. Cloth $39.99. Michael Whitby Michael Whitby University of Birmingham, England Email: [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Sch…
Aspar and the Struggle for the Eastern Roman Empire, ad 421–71
The first full-length biography in English of Aspar, the eastern Roman general and statesman, this book explores his central role in the history and politics of the fragmenting Roman Empire in the fifth century. It also considers what his life and career may suggest as to the differing fates of the eastern and western parts of the empire. Taking a chronological approach, Bleeker guides us through what is known of Aspar’s life and his changing inf…
Theodore Syncellus and the 626 Siege of Constantinople
The homily on the Avar siege of Constantinople in 626 attributed to Theodore Syncellus shares numerous linguistic features both with Theodore’s homily of 623 on the Virgin’s Robe and with George of Pisidia’s poem of 626/7 on the siege. Theodore and George both celebrate the combined efforts of Patriarch Sergius and the Virgin Mary in saving the city, but Theodore also highlights the involvement of other agents, in particular the patrician Bonus a…
Recruitment in Roman Armies from Justinian to Heraclius (ca. 565-615)
1 Introduction THE NATURE of Roman armies in the sixth century is rightly regarded as important for an understanding of military and administrative developments in the seventh century, when late-Roman arrangements were eventually superseded by the Byzantine system of military organization based on the themes: there may be disagreements about the date of the change and about whether it was a grand reform instituted by a particular saviour of the s…
The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles
Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles
The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles, 3 Volume Set
"Focused on both land and sea battle narratives of the classical world, this two-volume reference covers Archaic Greece in the eighth century BC to the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD."--Provided by the publisher
David Potter. Theodora
The offer to review a book on Empress Theodora did not set my heart racing. What new insights might be provided about Theodora’s polarized reputation, and how could the considerable gaps in our knowledge of her life and actions be filled? The prospect, however, of seeing how one of our most perceptive and knowledgeable analysts of earlier imperial centuries would handle the topic persuaded me to take a look at Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint. I…
Empires and Bureaucracy in World History
How did empires rule different peoples across vast expanses of space and time? And how did small numbers of imperial bureaucrats govern large numbers of subordinated peoples? Empires and Bureaucracy in World History seeks answers to these fundamental problems in imperial studies by exploring the power and limits of bureaucracy. The book is pioneering in bringing together historians of antiquity and the Middle Ages with scholars of post-medieval E…
Geoffrey Greatrex and Hugh Elton, with assistance from Lucas McMahon, Shifting Genres in Late Antiquity. Farnham
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Siege Warfare and Counter-Siege Tactics in Late Antiquity (Ca. 250–640)
Although there are numerous remains of Late Roman walls and other defensive works, these offer little insight into how individual sieges progressed, and most of our knowledge about siege operations in Late Antiquity comes from literary sources, which, for different reasons, provide a wealth of information. Tactics and techniques were substantially the same as in earlier Roman and Hellenistic times, so that comparative evidence is relevant, and th…
Chapter Four. The role of the emperor
There are plenty of emperors in Jones? Later Roman Empire, especially in the narrative chapters which are organised by individual reigns or groups of reigns, but little discussion of the position of the emperor: the index contains only one relevant entry, for ?emperor, office and powers?. Jones? single passage on the emperor (321?9) opens Chapter XI, ?The Government?, and hence launches the descriptive second part of Later Roman Empire, an approp…
Emperors and Armies, ad 235–395
This chapter shows that the relationship of emperors and armies had always been intricate, with the realities conveniently concealed behind civilian fictions. In the later Empire military need dictated various changes in Roman military forces in terms of numbers, balance and disposition of forces, and recruitment; the imperial adoption of Christianity also affected the religious attachment of soldiers. These changes should not be seen in too nega…
The Church Historians and Chalcedon
The Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451 was an event of fundamental importance for the definition of Christian doctrine and organization of the Church, including the question of its relations with secular authorities. This chapter investigates how these perceptions were constructed and sustained through identification of key figures as heroes or bogeymen, selective reporting of the Council's decisions, and critical assessment of those m…
The Cambridge Ancient History XIV
Government and administration
The late Roman period saw the development, for the first time in the Roman world, of complex bureaucratic structures which permitted emperors, who had now abandoned the campaigning or peripatetic style of most of their predecessors during the first four centuries of imperial history, to retain their authority. The emperor and his court with its glittering ceremonies in Constantinople was the focus for the eastern empire, and from there issued the…
The army, c. 420–602
The late Roman armies of the fourth and early fifth century are relatively well documented: Ammianus and other narrative historians describe them at work in their main theatres of operations on the Rhine, Danube and Persian frontiers, as well as in Britain and North Africa; the Theodosian Code preserves a range of laws pertaining to their creation, sustenance and functioning; the Notitia Dignitatum offers a view, albeit complicated by partial rev…
Armies and society in the later Roman world
The Roman empire was a structure created and sustained by force that had to be available for deployment both against external threats to the state’s existence and against any of its inhabitants who attempted to reject or avoid its authority. But for its first 250 years the empire managed to maintain a considerable separation between civilian and military spheres: soldiers were legally and socially distinct from civilians, and to a large extent ge…
The Cambridge Ancient History
With Volume 14 The Cambridge Ancient History concludes its story. This latest volume embraces the wide range of approaches and scholarship which have in recent decades transformed our view of Late Antiquity. In particular, traditional political and social history has been enormously enhanced by integrating the rich evidence of Christian writing, and the constantly expanding results of archaeological research. A picture emerges of a period of cons…
Matelots, Martinets, and Mutineers
Sparta
This volume introduces the reader to every important aspect of the society of Sparta, the dominant power in southern Greece from the seventh century BC and the great rival of democratic Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries. During this period Sparta evolved a unique social and political system that combined egalitarian structures, military ideals and brutal oppression, and permitted male citizens to focus on the practice of war. The system fa…
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Reconstructing ancient warfare
Close examination of ancient historical narratives, whose authors' methods and attitudes need to be evaluated, is essential for all reconstructions of ancient warfare. This chapter discusses the problems of this material. The fullest and most regular information about ancient warfare is provided by the sequence of Greek and Latin historians whose accounts of significant public events were usually dominated by military action, but these are comple…
War
War shaped the existence of the Roman empire, determined its decline and conditioned the nature of post-Roman structures. The majority of wars were undertaken in response to external threats, serious ones in contrast to the excuses which were sometimes exploited during the Republic to justify expansionist campaigns. Most warfare had the predictable rhythms imposed by seasons and logistics. In the east Roman commanders could forecast when Arab tri…
The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
Warfare was the single biggest preoccupation of historians in antiquity. In recent decades fresh textual interpretations, numerous new archaeological discoveries and a much broader analytical focus emphasising social, economic, political and cultural approaches have transformed our understanding of ancient warfare. Volume II of this two-volume History reflects these developments and provides a systematic account, written by a distinguished cast o…
The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
Warfare was the single biggest preoccupation of historians in antiquity. In recent decades fresh textual interpretations, numerous new archaeological discoveries and a much broader analytical focus emphasising social, economic, political and cultural approaches have transformed our understanding of ancient warfare. Volume I of this two-volume History reflects these developments and provides a systematic account, written by a distinguished cast of…
The History of Theophylact Simocatta
The History of Theophylact Simocatta
The "Other" navy at war
Chronicon Paschale 284-628 AD
Introduction - the chronicle and its context, sources, interests, translation Chronicon Paschale - translation and notes. Appendices: the terminal date of CP the great chronographer Ericcson's postulated textual transposition the date of Heraclius' encounter with the Avars
Deus Nobiscum Christianity, Warfare and Morale in Late Antiquity
DEUS NOBISCUM CHRISTIANITY, WARFARE AND MORALE IN LATE ANTIQUITY Get access MICHAEL WHITBY MICHAEL WHITBY University of Warwick Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Volume 42, Issue Supplement_71, February 1998, Pages 191–208, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-5370.1998.tb01701.x Published: 22 February 2011
Government and administration
The late Roman period saw the development, for the first time in the Roman world, of complex bureaucratic structures which permitted emperors, who had now abandoned the campaigning or peripatetic style of most of their predecessors during the first four centuries of imperial history, to retain their authority. The emperor and his court with its glittering ceremonies in Constantinople was the focus for the eastern empire, and from there issued the…
The army, c. 420–602
The late Roman armies of the fourth and early fifth century are relatively well documented: Ammianus and other narrative historians describe them at work in their main theatres of operations on the Rhine, Danube and Persian frontiers, as well as in Britain and North Africa; the Theodosian Code preserves a range of laws pertaining to their creation, sustenance and functioning; the Notitia Dignitatum offers a view, albeit complicated by partial rev…
Armies and society in the later Roman world
The Roman empire was a structure created and sustained by force that had to be available for deployment both against external threats to the state’s existence and against any of its inhabitants who attempted to reject or avoid its authority. But for its first 250 years the empire managed to maintain a considerable separation between civilian and military spheres: soldiers were legally and socially distinct from civilians, and to a large extent ge…
The Cambridge Ancient History
With Volume 14 The Cambridge Ancient History concludes its story. This latest volume embraces the wide range of approaches and scholarship which have in recent decades transformed our view of Late Antiquity. In particular, traditional political and social history has been enormously enhanced by integrating the rich evidence of Christian writing, and the constantly expanding results of archaeological research. A picture emerges of a period of cons…
Matelots, Martinets, and Mutineers
Sparta
This volume introduces the reader to every important aspect of the society of Sparta, the dominant power in southern Greece from the seventh century BC and the great rival of democratic Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries. During this period Sparta evolved a unique social and political system that combined egalitarian structures, military ideals and brutal oppression, and permitted male citizens to focus on the practice of war. The system fa…
The Church Historians and Chalcedon
The Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451 was an event of fundamental importance for the definition of Christian doctrine and organization of the Church, including the question of its relations with secular authorities. This chapter investigates how these perceptions were constructed and sustained through identification of key figures as heroes or bogeymen, selective reporting of the Council's decisions, and critical assessment of those m…
The Cambridge Ancient History XIV
Emperors and Armies, ad 235–395
This chapter shows that the relationship of emperors and armies had always been intricate, with the realities conveniently concealed behind civilian fictions. In the later Empire military need dictated various changes in Roman military forces in terms of numbers, balance and disposition of forces, and recruitment; the imperial adoption of Christianity also affected the religious attachment of soldiers. These changes should not be seen in too nega…
Chapter Four. The role of the emperor
There are plenty of emperors in Jones? Later Roman Empire, especially in the narrative chapters which are organised by individual reigns or groups of reigns, but little discussion of the position of the emperor: the index contains only one relevant entry, for ?emperor, office and powers?. Jones? single passage on the emperor (321?9) opens Chapter XI, ?The Government?, and hence launches the descriptive second part of Later Roman Empire, an approp…
Siege Warfare and Counter-Siege Tactics in Late Antiquity (Ca. 250–640)
Although there are numerous remains of Late Roman walls and other defensive works, these offer little insight into how individual sieges progressed, and most of our knowledge about siege operations in Late Antiquity comes from literary sources, which, for different reasons, provide a wealth of information. Tactics and techniques were substantially the same as in earlier Roman and Hellenistic times, so that comparative evidence is relevant, and th…
Empires and Bureaucracy in World History
How did empires rule different peoples across vast expanses of space and time? And how did small numbers of imperial bureaucrats govern large numbers of subordinated peoples? Empires and Bureaucracy in World History seeks answers to these fundamental problems in imperial studies by exploring the power and limits of bureaucracy. The book is pioneering in bringing together historians of antiquity and the Middle Ages with scholars of post-medieval E…
Geoffrey Greatrex and Hugh Elton, with assistance from Lucas McMahon, Shifting Genres in Late Antiquity. Farnham
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles
The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles, 3 Volume Set
"Focused on both land and sea battle narratives of the classical world, this two-volume reference covers Archaic Greece in the eighth century BC to the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD."--Provided by the publisher
David Potter. Theodora
The offer to review a book on Empress Theodora did not set my heart racing. What new insights might be provided about Theodora’s polarized reputation, and how could the considerable gaps in our knowledge of her life and actions be filled? The prospect, however, of seeing how one of our most perceptive and knowledgeable analysts of earlier imperial centuries would handle the topic persuaded me to take a look at Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint. I…
History (29 works) · Ancient history (18 works) · Classical Antiquity Studies (18 works) · Classics (13 works) · Law (11 works) · Political science (11 works) · Art (10 works) · Byzantine Studies and History (9 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (8 works) · Empire (8 works)