What was an average day like for a Byzantine cataphract in 1182?

by Chelldorado

Some additional questions: Were there any battles or skirmishes during that time the cataphracts were deployed in? How did social status factor in to their treatment, like nobles and peasants, or legitimate sons vs illegitimate? What was their training like? What was the youngest a cataphract could be? What was the process for taking temporary leave or permanently retiring from the military like? What did they think of European knights, and vice versa?

the_battle_bunny

What do you mean by "cataphract"? Cataphract was a type heavy armored cavalryman, regardless of what he was actually doing. By being a cataphract one could be:

  1. An akritai - basically a border guard, involved in watch duty and permanent low intensity warfare consisting of raids and counterraids, increasingly common as the Turkic presence in Anatolia got consolidated,
  2. A member of the tagmata - essentially a soldier in a permanent field army stationed somewhere be it a province or the capital itself, however these armies were dwindling as the Comnenian era progressed, so it's likely that there were few of them left by 1182,
  3. A pronoiar - an equivalent to Western European knight, granted land and tax exemptions by the Comnenian emperors in exchange for military service.

Obviouslty, daily life for any of these types would differ significantly.