Description:
Les civils apparaissent peu dans les récits de guerre byzantins, qui eux-mêmes ne sont guère abondants. L’Empire byzantin est habitué à l’état de guerre, notamment en Orient où seules des trêves précaires étaient négociées. Le civil était donc amené à défendre son village ou
Civilians rarely appear in the Byzantine war stories, which themselves are hardly abundant. The Byzantine Empire is accustomed to a state of war particularly in the East where only precarious truces were negotiated. The civilian was therefore required to defend his village or small town, when the military were absent or in short supply. Chroniclers lift a partial veil during the sieges that suffered major cities of the Empire, Constantinople and Thessaloniki. In these circumstances all contribute, including women, to defend the walls. When a city fell, the civilian survivors ended up in the slave markets or were ransomed and thus paid a heavy price when the Persians, the Arabs and the Turks invaded the imperial territory.