trajen777
Banned
The problem is financial.The Iberian army was dismissed simply because the government could not afford it’s military upkeep anymore.As for why they couldn’t afford the army,ask the courtiers and the dynatoi.The have consolidated vast tracts of Anatolian land and have been granted exemption from taxes.They have instead been given vast government pensions.Unless he can get the money back,Maniakes will have to dismiss the army.
Yes and no. The Iberian army was let go for cost, however some % were replaced by merc (at a much higher cost)/ This was a political move in that the army was deemed as not supportive of the current government. The conquest of Sicily and the captured slaves and treasure would have been a major boost to the treasury. So if George had won he would have had capital, and most likely would have dramatically reduced the wasted funds of the non military and refocused the resources to the front line troops. Under Basil you had basically the same military expense and Basil had the last 3 years of his reign without collecting taxes. George having been been in command of part of the Iberian army would have most likely reduced the military in the middle of the country (untrained troops) and kept the best troops in the field.