Michael Baizerman Author

  I'm not ready yet to unveil the outline of my current project titled " The Fright and Thrill of Navigation:  Seafaring in the Medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean,"  but I will disclose a few details. The first part will be "The Age of the Galley." It consists of the intro, A Tale of the Two Watercraft Brands, and two chapters, Early War Galleys and Late War Galleys.  The introduction is ready, at least as a magazine version, and I even uploaded it on the Academia site, not as one but as three articles: https://www.academia.edu/104456432/War_galleys_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean https://www.academia.edu/107397680/Sailing_Ships_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean https://www.academia.edu/109918628/Galleys_vs_Sailing_Ships_Comparison_and_Contrast I am currently editing Chapter 1: Early War Galleys, which I divided into portions for possible magazine publication.  I am also assessing the material collected for a new chapter based on the Battle of   Los Form...

 A friend asked me whether I retell the known circumstances in my writing. I find it a tricky issue. Of  course, I base my narrative on familiar descriptions, trying to relate the events in my words. I search for lively expressions to convey the meaning. However, I check the well-known descriptions with the sources, applying logic to estimate the value of both the sources and modern rendering.  I have recently finished writing a new chapter, The Battle of Meloria (August 6, 1284), which pitted the Pisan and Genoese fleets in the view of Porto Pisano.  Before that, the Pisan fleet made an abortive effort to blockade the port of Genoa, taking advantage of the fact that a decent-sized Genoese squadron under Benedetto Zaccaria engaged elsewhere. The Ligurian war council recalled the ships, and Zaccaria entered the harbor unharmed. How could it be when the Pisans surrounded the entrance to the port? Why didn't the Genoese attempt to squeeze the less powerful rival navy an...

  I have finished writing this chapter. It starts with a small introduction about Byzantine chronicles. I added this section because my narrative primarily draws from these chronicles, and I want   to caution the reader about their credibility. Often penned by monastic historians poorly versed in naval and military matters, they contain hagiographic material or facts biased by the witnesses' viewpoints and political agenda. I also attached the Reassessment, the summing up of my story. As usual, I will keep it on hold. My next chapter will deal with the Battle of Meloria, August 1284, which pitted the Pisan and Genoese fleets off Porto Pisano. Like the Battle of Chandax, it was a decisive confrontation that put an end to the naval domination of the City on the Arno. It also supplies an excellent  example of the encirclement of  hostile forces, worth discussing in military academies. I also received an OK from the Institute of  Integration coordinator for a s...

  I spent some time collecting and evaluating material for my new topic.  Last week, I started writing a first draft. I offer you its template (unfinished): a. The Importance of Crete (on the geopolitical map) b.  The Emirate of Crete (as the Muslim polity, ca. 824-961) c. The Preparations for the Campaign (the energetic chief minister, the young emperor, and the head of the expedition) d. The Voyage (we do not have the entire itinerary but only some stopovers) e. The Landfall (The armada anchors at Crete, and Nikephoros Phokas conducts the pitched battle on the beach) f. Setting the Military Camp (Pitching the siege camp in the view of Chandax. The Byzantine practice of setting up camps) g. The Siege (The failure of the direct assault, the drawn-out confrontation, an attempt to starve out the besieged) h. Guerilla Operations (The elimination of a Byzantine detachment and Phocas' revenge on Cretan partisans) i. The Winter (The weather hardships fortified by running out of...

  My new chapter is called "The Siege of Chandax." This city, the capital of the Emirate of Crete (c. 924-961), was under siege by the Byzantine army between July 960 and March 961. Despite the numerical advantage, it took the general Nikephoros Phokas over seven months to take over the fortified location.  It was a great victory since Crete, the erstwhile Roman enclave, was under Muslim domination for nearly 140 years. The island lay at the crossroads of routes connecting Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, the Levant, and Egypt, i.e., the eastern Mediterranean. The Cretan navy endangered trade lanes in the Aegean, took control of several islands, and ravaged the mainland.  The Emirate was a wealthy polity and a convenient way station for Egyptian and Syrian fleets poised against the East Roman Empire.  There are many blank spots about Muslim Crete and the Byzantine recovery. I am trying to scramble through Byzantine and Arab sources to scribble a readable and trustworthy sto...

  I will devote this chapter to t he Byzantine admiral, Niketas Ooryphas's  indigenous decision  to transfer his dromons along the long-forgotten land route across the Isthmus of Corinth. He did this unusual deed to catch his opponent, Photios, the admiral of the Cretan Muslim fleet, off guard. I picked up this character because I want to show the tactical depth of medieval naval commanders.  This chapter belongs to Unit II of my project,  The Intricacies of Naval Warfare. Up until now, it has included four chapters:       1.   Naval Factories, where I describe medieval naval bases.          2.  The Battle of Ad Decimum. The collision of the Byzantine Empire with the Vandals, without a maritime battle but with the participation of the East Roman fleet, where we, for the first time, discern the use of dromons.         3.  The Omayyad Siege of Constantinople (August 717...

 The new trend is taking shape. The material is so vast that the title, "The Intricacies of Naval Warfare," will cover the entire book unit instead of individual chapters. The content will spread via the sixth-fourteenth centuries and include the main battles viewed through their strategy and tactics. As an epithet, I chose the following extract from Thucydides:  “Sea power is a matter of skill; it is not possible to get practice in the odd moment when the chance occurs, but it is a full-time occupation leaving no moment for other things.” I had another look at Chapter 1, Naval Factories, and made minor corrections to this solid piece describing how shipyards looked like, which facilities they encompassed, and which workers they engaged.  Chapter 2, The Battle of Ad Decimum (September 13, 533), is a land battle that pitted the Byzantine army commanded by General Belisarius against the Vandal army headed by King Gelimer. I stopped on this episode as it required the fleet's...