Byzantine army (Palaiologan era)

Byzantine army of the Palaiologan period
Participant in the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars, the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars and other conflicts
Imperial flag (basilikon phlamoulon), dynastic insignia of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologoi and propable naval banner of imperial vessels
Active	1261–1453
Leaders	Byzantine Emperor
Headquarters	Constantinople
Area of operations	Bithynia, western Anatolia, Thrace, Morea, Macedonia, Epirus, Crimea.
Strength	20,000 troops (1279).
Part of	Byzantine Empire
Originated as	Nicaean army
Became	Some elements absorbed into the Ottoman army, others became bandits.
Allies	Golden Horde, Ilkhanate, Umur Beg, Catalan Company, Genoa
Opponents	Ottoman Sultanate, Serbian Empire, Bulgaria, Sultanate of Rum, Achaea, Duchy of Athens, Kingdom of Sicily, Empire of Trebizond, Despotate of Epiros, Catalan Company.
Battles and wars	Bapheus, Nicaea, Pelekanon, Nicomedia, Gallipoli, Adrianople, Philadelphia, Constantinople, Thessalonika, Constantinople

This article is part of the series on the military of the Byzantine Empire, 330–1453 AD
Structural history
Byzantine army: East Roman army, Middle Byzantine army (themes • tagmata • Hetaireia), Komnenian-era army (pronoia), Palaiologan-era army (allagia) • Varangian Guard • Generals (Magister militum • Domestic of the Schools • Grand Domestic • Stratopedarches • Protostrator)
Byzantine navy: Greek fire • Dromon • Admirals (Droungarios of the Fleet • Megas doux)
Campaign history
Lists of wars, revolts and civil wars, and battles
Strategy and tactics
Tactics • Siege warfare • Military manuals • Fortifications (Walls of Constantinople)
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The Palaiologan army refers to the military forces of the Byzantine Empire from the late thirteenth century to its final collapse in the mid-fifteenth century, under the House of the Palaiologoi. The army was a direct continuation of the forces of the Nicaean army, which itself was a fractured component of the formidable Komnenian army. Under the first Palaiologan emperor, Michael VIII, the army's role took an increasingly offensive role whilst the naval forces of the empire, weakened since the days of Andronikos I Komnenus, were boosted to include thousands of skilled sailors and some 80 ships. Due to the lack of land to support the army, the empire required the use of large numbers of mercenaries.

After Andronikos II took to the throne, the army fell apart and the Byzantines suffered regular defeats at the hands of their eastern opponents, although they would continue to enjoy success against the Latin territories in Greece. By c. 1350 the Empire's inefficient fiscal organization and incompetent central government made raising troops and the supplies to maintain them a near-impossible task, and the Empire came to rely upon troops provided by Serbs, Bulgarians, Venetians, Latins, Genoans and Turks to fight the civil wars that lasted for the greater part of the 14th century, with the latter foe being the most successful in establishing a foothold in Thrace. By the time the civil war had ended, the Turks had cut off Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, from the surrounding land and in 1453 the last decisive battle was fought by the Palaiologan army when the capital was stormed and sacked, falling on 29 May.

The Byzantine army continued to use the same military terms with regards to numbers of troops and officers as did the Komnenian army. However, there were fewer territories to raise troops from. In Anatolia, the local support for the Ottoman conquerors grew daily, whilst in Greece the ravaging by the Crusaders states, by Serbia, by Bulgaria, and earlier on by the Angevin Empire ended the region's prominence as a of source of Byzantine levies. After 1261, the central army consisted of 6,000 men, while the number of total field troops never exceeded 10,000 men. The total number of troops under Michael VIII was about 20,000 men; the mobile force numbered 15,000 men, while the town garrisons totaled 5,000 men. However, under Andronicus II the more professional elements of the army was demobilized in favor of poorly trained and cheaper militia soldiers. The Emperor decreased the entire army's strength to 4,000 men by 1320, and a year later the Empire's standing army dropped to only 3,000 cavalry. Even though the Empire had shrunk considerably by the time of Andronicus III's reign, he succeeded in assembling an army of 4,000 men for his campaign against the Ottomans. By 1453, the Byzantine army had fallen to a regular garrison of 1,500 men in Constantinople. With a supreme effort, Constantine XI succeeded in assembling a garrison of 7,000 men (included 2,000 foreigners) to defend the city against the Ottoman army.