Charsianon
Charsianon ( Greek Χαρσιανόν ) was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the associated theme in the area of Cappadocia in eastern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey ).
history
The fortress Charsianon (Greek: Χαρσιανόν κάστρον, Charsianon kastron ; Arabic : Qal'e-i Ḥarsanōs ) is first mentioned in 638 during the early phase of Islamic expansion and was supposedly named after a general of Justinian I named Charsios. The Arabs first conquered it in 730 and it remained fought over between Byzantines and Arabs throughout the next century. In the early 9th century the fortress became the seat of a Kleisoura , a separately administered, fortified border district. Between 863 and 873, the Kleisoura was raised to the status of a full-fledged subject, receiving territories of the neighboring subjects of Bukellarion , Armeniakon, and Cappadocia . The subject's strategos received an annual wage of 20 pounds of gold and, according to Arab sources, commanded 4,000 soldiers and four fortresses.
In the 10th century the subject of Charsianon became an important base for the land-owning military aristocracy; the influential families of the Argyros and Maleinos owned their lands here. After 1045, a large number of Armenians including the former King Gagik II (ruled 1042-1045) settled in the subject, which led to disputes with the local Greeks. The subject was lost to the Seljuks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 . Gagik II is attested as the last doux from Charsianon 1072-1073.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Alexander Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . 3 vols. Oxford / New York 1991. p. 415.
- ^ A b John W. Nesbitt, Eric McGeer, Nicolas Oikonomides (Eds.): Catalog of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 4: The East . Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington DC 2001, ISBN 0-88402-282-X , p. 107.
literature
- Alexander Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . 3 vols. Oxford / New York 1991.
- John W. Nesbitt, Eric McGeer, Nicolas Oikonomides (Eds.): Catalog of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 4: The East . Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington DC 2001, ISBN 0-88402-282-X