Acta Orientalia 

About: Acta Orientalia is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Empire & Turkic languages. It has an ISSN identifier of 0001-6438. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 434 publications have been published receiving 1340 citations.

From tribal confederation to empire: the evolution of the rouran society

Abstract: The formation of the Rouran khaganate was generated by the regional ternary structure in Inner Asia comprising the Song state (in southern China), the semi-nomadic buffer empire Toba Wei (in northern China) and the Rouran imperial confederation (in Outer Mongolia). The khaganate was characterised by an administrative-political system that was typical of the nomadic empires of Eurasia, specifically, a structure of core and periphery, distant exploitation of agrarian societies, two wings and a military hierarchy based on the decimal principle, title of khagan. The foreign policy of the Rouran khaganate was based on the traditional principles of the Inner Asian nomads. Out of several classical strategies concerning the neighbouring agricultural nations (plunder, distant exploitation, tribute, migration with subsequent assimilation), they chose the method of applying distant pressure on Chinese domains, alternating raids with periods of peaceful extortion of rich gifts.

A Contribution to the Military Revolution Debate: The Janissaries Use of Volley Fire during the Long Ottoman-Habsburg WaroOf 1593-1606 and the Problem of Origins

Abstract: According to proponents of the “Military Revolution” theory, musketry volley fire was among the military innovations that fundamentally altered early modern field warfare. The origins of European volley fire date back to the 1590s, but no western army, with the possible exception of the Dutch in 1600, was able to use this tactic in action until the 1620s. Furthermore, it has been thus far assumed that the Ottomans failed to adopt this new tactic and thus experienced setbacks in the face of their European adversaries during this period. By utilising hitherto overlooked Ottoman narrative and visual sources, this article first shows that the Janissaries were indeed using volley fire in action in 1605, and possibly before. Secondly, it raises questions about the origins of Ottoman volley fire, which are currently unclear. Overall, the Janissaries' use of this tactic during the Long War not only affects our understanding of Ottoman warfare but also necessitates a reassessment of the patterns of invention and diffusion of military innovations in the early modern period.

Imperial State Formation in Inner Asia: The Early Turkic Empires (6th to 9th Centuries)

Abstract: One of the most prevalent theories of imperial state formation in Inner Asia argues that steppe empires rose and fell in conjunction with powerful Chinese empires because of important economic and military relationships between the two. The present article examines the application of this theory to the early Turkic states of Inner Asia (6th to 9th centuries) and concludes that this theory is not appropriate for the Turkic cases. The early Turkic states did not rise and fall together with strong Chinese dynasties; therefore, other factors must be considered in understanding their histories.

Notes on the arms of the avar heavy cavalry

Abstract: The paper focuses on the characteristic and non-specific arms of the Avar heavy cavalry by comparing the technical terms of armament attested in written sources with information found in the archaeological finds and pictorial representations. The data culled from different sources lead us to the conclusion that heavy cavalry must have played a decisive role only in the first part of the early Avar age when the Avars had frequently waged war against Byzantium. Although it did not disappear completely in the late Avar age, its significance decreased. More data are available on the arms of the heavy cavalry from the period prior to the collapse of the Avar Empire, but even so they are much fewer than those relating to the early Avar period. In the second half of the 8thcentury the Avar army must have used Frankish types of armaments (winged-lance and Frankish-type armour)