Welcome to the second Mortem et Gloriam Players Podcast. The first proved popular so we decided to do another - so its all your fault dear listener ;) ;D
In this episode Ray, Richard and Nik discuss a period of the history of the Byzantine empire that is less well known - the period following the fall of Constantinople to the 4th Crusade in 1204 CE.
The team look at the Nicaean Byzantine and Late Imperial Byzantine lists for MeG, with a selection sample armies for your consideration and/or derision. They also look at what figures they would recommend to build the armies, and offer some suggestions for reading up on the military history of the period.
Additionally, there is a feature where the organisers of a number of the UK MeG competitions talk about what is being run later this year in the UK when, hopefully, we are able to meet up and play our favourite wargame ;D Late breaking news - since this was recorded and additional competition has been announced: December 11th & 12th the Ribble Rumble at Element Games in Stockport.
Follow this link for the podcast - https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-536ax-fe3f7a (https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-536ax-fe3f7a)
The lists discussed, figure suppliers and the suggested reading material will be posted below.
We'd love feedback on this our first attempt, and any suggestions for future topics or questions from players on the lists and/or rules that we might be able to answer would be welcome. As well as any posts here on the forum or on social media you can email us at MortemPod@yahoo.com - we look forward to hearing from you 8)
If you missed the first episode the link to it and all the supporting material can be found on the forum here - https://mortem-et-gloriam.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1680.0 (https://mortem-et-gloriam.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1680.0)
(https://i.imgur.com/oqeAATN.jpg)
Here are the lists that the guys drew up - these are Maximus sized lists. As noted in the podcast there may well be errors with these, they haven't been list checked, so you have been warned ...
(https://i.imgur.com/YQ8mxHC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/uNeVFpu.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/aUfrrAC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/O3VA11h.jpg)
And the same in Pacto version. Note that these are pretty much a straight conversion from the Maximus lists and so have not been drawn up to a specific points value.
(https://i.imgur.com/kNBWMqv.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/r9tEzNK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/YqTzYtT.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/eUQ486y.jpg)
15mm Medieval Byzantines
No dedicated ranges I know of, but figures are available from various supplier's ranges. May need to be a mix and match approach.
Essex Miniatures - https://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/collections/15mm-medieval-eastern-european ; EMED range has some later Byzantines, also there will probably be other suitable figures if you trawl through some of their other ranges. Definitely do suitable knights for the period.
Outpost Wargames Services - http://www.outpostwargameservices.co.uk/ ; Crusades period Byzantines and Later Crusaders ranges.
Donnington - https://shop.ancient-modern.co.uk/ ; the "Originals" range includes a medieval Byzantine and eastern peoples range and the "New Era" Feudal Europe & Crusades and Armies of Islam ranges have some suitable figures.
Legio Heroica - http://www.legio-heroica.com/index-en.html ; Crusades, Islamic and Feudal ranges all have some suitable figures for the period.
Fighting 15's - https://fighting15s.com/?v=79cba1185463 ; in the Gladiator range have Komnenan Byzantines which could do for some of the troops.
In addition, careful selection from earlier Nikeforian Byzantine ranges should provide some suitable figures.
28mm Medieval Byzantines
Magister Militum - https://www.magistermilitum.com/ ; have Late Byzantine, Crusader and Saracen ranges that have some suitable figures.
That is the only one I know about. Suggest that careful picking of figures from Nikeforian Byzantine ranges could be successful with knights, etc. from Crusader and enemies ranges.
Books
"The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453" by Mark Bartusis; possibly the book to get if interested in the armies of the period, but no nice colour pics for inspiration - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019O61DYM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
"Byzantine Armies AD 1118-1461" by Ian Heath; Osprey published 1995 so a bit dated now - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Byzantine-Armies-AD-1118-1461-Men-at-Arms/dp/1855323478
"Armies and Enemies of the Crusades, 1096-1291" by Ian Heath; one of the old WRG series, published 1978 so again dated, has a section on the Byzantines; out of print but secondhand copies crop up from time to time - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Armies-Enemies-Crusades-1096-1291-Heath/dp/0904417085
"Armies of the Middle Ages, Volume 2: The Ottoman Empire, Eastern Europe and the Near East" by Ian Heath; another of the WRG series from 1984, has a section on Byzantines; also out of print but occasional second hand copies crop up - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Armies-Middle-Ages-Ottoman-1300-1500/dp/B001C3WBAQ
"A History of the Byzantine State and Society" by Warren Treadgold; covers Byzantium from Diocletian to the final fall so puts the period under review into the context of the Byzantine empire as a whole; author is a noted Byzantine expert - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M7SP1L7/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
"Warfare in Late Byzantium, 1204-1453" by Savvas Kyriakidis; also a good source but is published by Brill and so rather expensive and doesn't add that much to the Bartusis book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warfare-Late-Byzantium-1204-1453-History/dp/9004206663
"The Fourth Crusade" by David Nicolle; Osprey covering the fall of Constantinople as background to the period covered in this podcast - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fourth-Crusade-1202-04-Campaign/dp/1849083193/ref=sr_1_28?
Google Images - https://www.google.co.uk/imghp?hl=en&authuser=0&ogbl – is also a useful resource for images. As well as pictures from Osprey books, etc. there are images from Byzantine manuscripts available which can help no end when looking for figures given the lack of dedicated ranges.
Other useful links for MeG gaming
MeG Website - https://mortem-et-gloriam.co.uk/meg/ ; there are ready made lists to download and links to other resources.
MeG YouTube videos - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPemvpT3ANJ45P9XXGgTcLA ; introductory videos from author Simon Hall on how MeG plays.
Society of Ancients - http://www.soa.org.uk/joomla/ ; the bi-monthly Slingshot journal is a great publication for the ancient/medieval period.
The SoA also have a forum - http://soa.org.uk/sm/ - useful for asking questions and where you can get info.
UK MEG Events Diary for 2021.
July. 17th & 18th Battlefield Hobbies ArMeGeddon. Classical 500BC to 500AD.
Aug. 21st & 22nd Element Games Stockport. Warriors of The Cross & Crescent.
Sept 25th & 26th London GT (Skull Rollers) World Championships Open Comp.
Oct 30th & 31st Derventio. Boards & Swords Derby Classical Comp.
Nov 27th & 28th Warfare. Ascot. Biblical Comp.
December 11th & 12th Ribble Rumble Element Games Stockport
Details can be found in the tournament section of the forum here - https://mortem-et-gloriam.co.uk/smf/index.php?board=7.0
Any further info regarding other UK events please let Robin Spence know and the list will be edited.
Mailing list
There is a mailing list to update MeG players of competitions and the like - if you want to be added to the UK MEG events mailing list PM Robin your email address; he is "Robin" on this forum and also is contactable through Facebook.
I've been asked about my Nicaean list I mentioned in the podcast - used at Campaign 2019 - so here it is. It is quite similar to the list Ray came up with.
(https://i.imgur.com/QG7wlsh.jpg)
It should be similar ;)
I've tweaked it since then ...