How Do You Explain an Army That's More Sophisticated Than His to You?

The romans were part of the roman empire that never fell. They're still around centuries later. And they never lost the understanding of how to organize troops in a professional, regular way. Drill them the same way cadets on the parade ground at graduation at military academies all over the world still march. That's how the byzantines marched. It might be a much longer conversation before they stood.