Paleologoslar Döneminde Bizans Ordusundaki Paralı Türk Askerler (13-15. Yüzyıllar)

Abstract

The Byzantine Empire is a very important state that has remained on the stage of history for centuries, spread over a wide geography and served as a bridge between east and west. One of the most important reasons for the survival of this empire for about a thousand years is its strong army. This army, which had the highest war technology of the period, became one of the most feared and superior armies of its time with its strategic genius commanders and disciplined soldiers. Blending its Roman military heritage with eastern elements and supporting its army with a developed land system, the Byzantine Empire managed to preserve the strong structure of its army for many years. But the situations such as the soil losses starting from the 7th century, the deterioration in the land system in the 9-10th centuries as a result of this process and the decrease in the reliability of the commanders with the frequent throne fights adversely affected the Byzantine army. Especially the problems in the land system and the shrinking of the Empire made it difficult to train soldiers. Accordingly, in the last period of the Byzantine Empire which we can specify as between 11-15th centuries, mercenaries and foreign soldiers started to form the majority of the army. Especially during the reign of the Palaiologos, who ruled the Empire between 13-15th centuries, mercenaries and foreign soldiers had a serious place in the army and a significant part of these were Turks. What was the situation of these Turkish soldiers in the army? How did they take part in the wars? What weapons and equipment did they use? Which folks did they belong to? This study will seek answers to these questions and examine whether the Turks in the border regions of Western Anatolia with Byzantium took part in the Byzantine army and will examine the political relations that this may lead to between the Byzantium and Anatolian beyliks.