Military secrecy in antiquity and early medieval Europe: A critical reassessment

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of military secrecy in the ancient and early medieval eras. It questions the common assumption that such secrecy, with regard to military technology and general principles of strategy and tactics, was practiced in all times and places. It examines methods of warfare and military technologies in four historic periods: the ancient Near East, classical Greece and the Hellenistic world in the Roman Republic and Empire, and the early middle ages. It explores the ways in which military knowledge was disseminated during these eras. Particular focus is given to metallurgical traditions (which produced armaments), and to traditions of military authorship within the ancient and Byzantine worlds. The authors conclude that there is much evidence for military secrecy within the context of imminent battle situations. However, with the exception of the seventh‐century Byzantine development of Greek fire, evidience for secrecy with regard to technology or general military principles is lacking.