A RESPONSE

To Everett L. Wheeler’s review of The Armenian Military in the Byzantine Empire: Conflict and Alliance under Justinian and Maurice (Alfortville: Sigest, 2012)

By Armen Ayvazyan

I considered it a great honor, both for myself and my book, The Armenian Military in the Byzantine Empire: Conflict and Alliance under Justinian and Maurice (hereafter – the AM), that it was reviewed in The Journal of Military History (hereafter – JMH, 2013, No. 1, pp. 318-320), one of the most authoritative periodicals in the field it designates. The review, written by Everett L. Wheeler of the Duke University, presents the contents, the imprint and other particulars of the publication as follows: Glendale, Calif. (sic): Editions Sigest, 2012. ISBN: 978-2-91-732939-9 (sic). Note on Armenian personal names and toponyms. Illustrations. Maps. Notes. Appendixes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 127.

In fact, the AM was printed in Alfortville (Paris, France) rather than Glendale (California, USA)! The words Glendale and California are nowhere to be found in the AM. The questions as to why and how they could have appeared in its review are disturbing. One may even wonder whether the reviewer has ever held the book in his hands, especially if considered that no page references are provided. Incidentally – or perhaps not incidentally – two of the four dashes within the ISBN number are misplaced too, not an inconsequential mistake in our digital age (the correct ISBN is 978-2-917329-39-9). These curious mistakes are only the first indications of the utterly unprofessional and tendentious character of Wheeler’s review.

In one and a half pages the reviewer manages to accuse me of representing “a super-nationalistic branch of Armenian historiography prominent since 1991,” while branding my book as “amateurish,” “‘old military history’ in one of its worst forms, featuring presentism and excessively speculative reconstructions of campaigns,” a “curious diatribe,” etc. Apparently to ensure full indoctrination of the uninitiated reader, the indictment in nationalism is reiterated in the closing sentence: “the work exemplifies a branch of contemporary nationalistic Armenian historiography better than serious scholarship.”

To see how successfully Wheeler is able to support these sweeping, politically colored, and offensive denunciations, below I will respond to all of his criticisms.

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