Katepanat Italy
The Katepanat Italy ( Greek κατεπανάτον Ἰταλίας ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire in Italy , which was located south of a line from the Gargano to the Gulf of Salerno . Also Amalfi and Naples , although north located this line, were under the Byzantine katepano in Bari . The Katepanat is the result of the reorganization of the Longobardia theme by Nikephorus II and Johannes Tzimiskes and included Apulia , the Salentine Peninsula and parts of Basilicata .
history
In 870 the Byzantines recaptured Bari, which had been occupied by the Saracens in 840 , making it the capital of the emirate of Bari . They established the theme Langobardia Minor , administered by a strategos based in Bari. The themes of Calabria and Sikelia continued to exist, and Calabria was co- ruled several times in personal union from Bari. In 969 the strategist of Bari received the title Katepan of Italy. Katepano (κατεπάνω) means “commander” in Greek .
In 1009 insurgents under the Lombard nobleman Meles of Bari and his brother-in-law Dattus conquered the city of Bari, which was regained on June 11, 1011 by a Byzantine army under the command of Katepan Basileios Mesardonites.
In 1016, Meles recruited some Norman pilgrims who were on their way to the sanctuary of the Archangel Michael on Monte Gargano, for his cause. In 1017 they supported the Longobard cities of Apulia in the fight against the Byzantines. From 1016 to 1030 the Normans were exclusively mercenaries, once serving the Lombards and another time the Byzantines.
In 1030, Duke Sergius IV of Naples gave the county of Aversa to the leader of the Norman mercenaries Rainulf Drengot and the Normans began the systematic conquest of the country. In 1030, Wilhelm Eisenarm and Drogo von Hauteville, the eldest sons of Tankred von Hauteville , a nobleman from Coutances in Normandy , arrived in Italy. The two made a combined effort to conquer Apulia and achieved that the Byzantine Empire lost most of the province by 1040. When Bari fell on April 16, 1071, the Byzantines were finally ousted from southern Italy. They only returned briefly in 1156 to siege Bari unsuccessfully.
The title catepanus , like other Byzantine functional titles , continued to be used at the local level under Norman rule.
Byzantine katepans of Italy
| time | Katepan | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 969 | Eugenios | patricius |
| 970-975 | Michael Abidelas | Patricios |
| 975 | Michael | Anthypatos, Patrikios |
| before 982 | Romanos | Patricios |
| 982-985 | Kalokyros Delphina | Anthypatos, Patrikios |
| 985-988 | Romanos | anthipatus, patricius, besti |
| 988-998 | Johannes Ammiropulos | anthipatus, patricius |
| 998-1006 | Gregorios Tarchaneiotes | Protospatharios |
| 1006-1008 | Alexios Xiphias | gr. Αλέξιος Ξιφίας, Protospatharios . |
| 1008-1010 | Johannes Kurkuas | gr. Ιωάννης Κουρκούας, Anthypatos . |
| 1010-1016 | Basil Mesardonites | Protospatharios . Restored Byzantine rule in Bari. |
| 1017 | Tornikio's account | Protospatharios . Lost several battles against Meles of Bari. |
| 1017-1028 | Basil Boioannes | gr. Βασίλειος Βοϊωάννης. Protospatharios . Defeated the Normans under Meles at Cannae . |
| 1028-1029 | Christophoros Burgaris (?) | Protospatharios |
| 1029-1032 | Pothos Argyros | Protospatharios |
| 1032-1033 | Michael | Protospatharios |
| 1033-1038 | Konstantinos Opos | Patricios |
| 1039-1040 | Nikephoros Dokeianos | |
| 1040-1041 | Michael Dokeianos | gr. Μιχαήλ Δουκειανός, Protospatharios |
| 1041 | [Exaugustus] Boioannes | captivity |
| 1042 | Georgios Maniakes | gr. Γεώργιος Μανιάκης, Magistros , counter-emperor |
| 1042 | Pardos | Protospatharios , Patricius |
| 1043 | Basil Theodorokanos | Magistros |
| 1045-1046 | Eustathios Palatinos | Protospatharios |
| 1046 | Johannes Raphael | Commander of the Varägergarde |
| 1051-1058 | Argyros | Magistros Beste , son of Meles of Bari ; not referred to as Katepan, but as δοῦξ ᾿Ιταλίας |
| 1060-1061 | Marules | |
| 1061-1062 | Sirianus | |
| 1063-1068 | Abulchares | gr. δοὺξ Ίαλίας, probably of Arabic origin |
| 1068 | Perenus | δοὺξ from Durazzo, could not land in Puglia |
| 1069-1070 | Avartutele | only when Amatus of Montecassino called |
| 1069, 1071 | Stephanos Pateranos | Praetor , is captured by the Norman in the fall of Bari |
See also
- Norman conquest of southern Italy
- Italy rune stones - rune stones for Varangians who died in Katepanat Italy ("Langbarðaland")
literature
- Vera von Falkenhausen : Studies on Byzantine rule in southern Italy from the 9th to the 11th century [Writings on the intellectual history of eastern Europe, 1], Wiesbaden 1967; improved Italian edition La dominazione bizantina nell'Italia meridionale dal IX all'XI secolo , Bari 1978.
- Gay, Jules: L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin . Paris 1904.