All roads lead to Constantinople: Exploring the Via Militaris in the medieval Balkans, 600-1204

Abstract

This thesis explores the Via Militaris, the grand military highway that diagonally bisected the Balkan Peninsula, as it existed in the Middle Ages. It explores the questions of what was the physical condition of the road during this period, in what manner did its condition and route differ from the road which existed in the Roman and Ottoman periods, and what efforts, if any, did the Byzantine state make in order to maintain its surface. In doing so this thesis explores the historiographical background of the route, charting the contributions made by Konstantin Jireček amongst others, but also examining the comparatively parlous state of contemporary research on this topic, discussing how our current understanding of this route and the role it played during the crusading period in particular, is hampered by a lack of fundamental research. Finally, this thesis presents as a case study the passage of the German contingent of the Third Crusade across the Balkans, 1188-1189, as led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. This serves as an example of how a more focused study of the road and its condition can greatly enhance our understanding of this region as a whole, and furthermore provides valuable insights into how the Byzantine state sought to strategically use geographical space as a means by which to apply logistical pressure. Through an increased emphasis on fieldwork, examples of which can be found within, and the application of new techniques of GIS imaging and logistical modelling, this thesis argues it is possible to create a far more comprehensive depiction of the route as currently exists, and demonstrates how this might not only transform current thinking on medieval logistics, but through a far more nuanced understanding of the physical connections that linked the city of Constantinople with its immediate hinterland, also the cultural and social histories of the medieval Balkans as a whole.