The Byzantine Strategy Shift to Sea-Power and Amphibious Warfare from the 1340s

The 1340's witnessed the loss of most Byzantine territories, practically leaving Constantinople a city-state in control of a discontinuous succession of coastal zones, port-towns and islands. Consequently, the economic basis of the Byzantine state began then to depend on commerce rather than agriculture. These changes resulted in a shift in the Byzantine stratefies, that no-longer prioritized the maintenance of a land army, but the fleet and a ship-transportable force. In this respect, the present paper studies the Byzantine efforts to establish, sustain and operate a modest-sized fleet, discussing the human and economic resources needed for such a task, as well as the mostly seaborne campaigns undertaken by the Byzantines from the 1340's onwards.