List of Byzantine themes
Byzantine subjects between 660 and 960
| theme | year | Set up | Later subdivision | Capital | Original area | Cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aegean † ( subject Aigaiou Pelagous ) |
842/843 | Kibyrrhaioten from independent Droungariat emerged | maybe Mytilene or Mithymna | Lesbos , Lemnos , Chios , Imbros , Tenedos , Hellespont , Sporades and Cyclades | ||
|
Anatolikon ( subject Anatolikōn ) |
669/670 | Original theme | Cappadocia § (830) | Amorion | Phrygia , Pisidia , Isauria | Iconion |
|
Armeniakon ( topic Armeniakōn , Armeniakoi ) |
667/668 | Original theme | Chaldia (842), Charsianon § (863), Koloneia (863), Paphlagonia (by 826) | Amaseia | Pontus , Armenia Minor , Northern Cappadocia | Sinope , Amisos , Trebizond , Neocaesarea , Theodosiopolis |
|
Bukellarion ( theme Bukellariōn , Bukellarioi ) |
767/768 | Opsikion | Paphlagonia (partly), Cappadocia (partly), Charsianon (partly) | Ankyra | Galatia , Paphlagonia | |
|
Chaldia ( subject Chaldias ) |
about 840 | Armeniacon (originally a tower ) | Duchy of Chaldia | Trebizond | Pontic coast | |
|
Charpezikion ( topic Charpezikion ) |
circa 949 | New area | Asmòsata | Sophene , Upper Armenia | Harput | |
|
Charsianon § ( subject Charsianou ) |
863-873 | Armeniacon (originally a tower ), part of the Boukellarion | Caesarea | Northwest Cappadocia | ||
|
Chozanon ( subject Chozanou ) |
circa 956 | New area | Sophene , Upper Armenia | |||
|
Kherson / climates ( theme Chersōnos / climates ) |
833 | Ruled by the Khazars in the 8th century , Byzantine rule restored by Theophilos | Kherson | Southern Crimea | ||
|
Dalmatia ( topic Dalmatia ) |
by 899 | New area | ||||
|
Dyrrhachion ( subject Dyrrhachiou ) |
842 | New area | Dyrrhachion | albanian coast | Aulon , Apollonia | |
|
Edessa ( subject Edèssis ) |
circa 940 | New area | Osrhoene , Mesopotamia | |||
|
Euphrates cities ( subject of Pareuphratidōn Poleōn ) |
circa 936 | New area | Duchy of Mesopotamia | Samosata | Upper Armenia , Mesopotamia | |
|
Hellas ( subject Hellados , Helladikoi ) |
approx. 690 | Karabisianoi | Kephallenia (809), Peloponnese (811) | Corinth , Thebes (after 809) | Originally eastern Peloponnese and Attica , after 809 eastern central Greece and Thessaly | After 809: Athens , Larissa , Pharsala , Lamia |
|
Cappadocia § ( subject of Cappadocia ) |
830 | Armeniacon, part of the Boukellarion | Coron | Southwest Cappadocia | ||
|
Keltzene ( topic Keltzēnēs ) |
935 | New area | Duchy of Mesopotamia | Celtzene | Upper Armenia | |
|
Kephallenia † ( subject of Kephallenias ) |
809 | Longobardia (910), Nicopolis (899) | Ionian Islands , Puglia | |||
|
Kibyrrhaiotai † ( subject Kibyrrhaiotōn , Kibyrrhaiotai ) |
697/698 or about 720 | Originated from the Karabisianoi fleet | Aegean Sea, Samos, Seleukeia | Samos, later Attaleia | Pamphylia , Lycia , Dodecanese , Aegean Islands, Ionia | |
|
Koloneia § ( subject of Kolōneias ) |
around 842 | Armeniacon, Kleisoura in the early 9th century | Duchy of Chaldia | Northern Asia Minor | Koloneia , Satala , Nicopolis | |
|
Crete † ( topic Krētēs ) |
767, again 961 | Emirate of Crete from around 828 until the Byzantine conquest in 961 | Chandax | Crete | Rethymnon , Gortyn | |
|
Longobardia ( theme Longobardias ) |
892 | Kephallenia (originally a tower ) | Bari | Apulia | Tarent | |
|
Lykandos ( subject Lykandou ) |
916 | New area | Lykandos | Southeast Cappadocia | ||
|
Macedonia ( subject of Macedonia ) |
802 | Thrace | Strymon | Adrianople | Western Thrace | Didymoteichon , Mosynopolis |
|
Melitene ( topic Melitēnēs ) |
935 | New area | Duchy of Mesopotamia | Melitene | Upper Euphrates and Upper Armenia | |
|
Mesopotamia ( subject of Mesopotamias ) |
899-911 | New area | Duchy of Mesopotamia | upper Euphrates | ||
|
Nikopolis ( subject of Nikopoleōs ) |
899 | probably an old tower of the Peloponnese | Naupaktos | Epiros , Aetolia , Acarnania | Ioannina , Buthrotum , Rogoi , Dryinoupolis | |
|
Opsikion ( topic Opsikion ) |
680 | Original theme | Boukellarion (768), Optimatoi (775) | |||
|
Optimatoi ( subject Optimatōn , Optimatoi ) |
775 | Opsikion | Nicomedia | Bithynia across from Constantinople | ||
|
Paphlagonia ( theme Paphlagonias ) |
826 | Armeniacon, Boukellarion (partially) | Amastris , gangra , tium | |||
|
Phasiane (Derzene) ( subject Phasianēs, Derzēnēs ) |
935 | New area and theme of Mesopotamia | Duchy of Mesopotamia | Upper Armenia | ||
|
Peloponnese ( subject of Peloponnēsou ) |
811 | partly Hellas, partly new area | Nicopolis (899) | Corinth | Peloponnese | |
|
Samos † ( subject Samou ) |
899 | Kibyrrhaot | Smyrna | Southeastern Aegean Islands, Ionia (shared with Thrakesion) | ||
|
Sebasteia § ( subject of Sebasteias ) |
911 | Armeniacon, Kleisoura around 900 | ||||
|
Seleukeia § ( subject of Seleukeia ) |
934 | Kibyrrhaoten, early 9th century from Kleisoura | ||||
|
Sicily ( subject of Sikelias ) |
700 | Calabria | Syracuse | Sicily and Calabria | ||
|
Strymon § ( subject Strymōnos ) |
around 840s | Macedonia, originated from Kleisoura (709) | Adrianople | about today's East Macedonia and Thrace | Kavala | |
|
Tephrike / Leontokome ( subject Tephrikēs / Leontokōmēs ) |
879 | New area | after conquering the Paulikian state in Tephrike | Tephrike | Upper Armenia | |
|
Theodosiopolis ( subject of Theodosioupoleōs ) |
949-1000 | Iberia | Upper Armenia | |||
|
Thessalonike ( theme of Thessaloniki ) |
824 | Thessalonike | about today's Central Macedonia | Beroia , Edessa , Dion | ||
|
Thrace ( subject of Thraces ) |
680 | Opsikion | Macedonia | Arcadiopolis | Eastern Thrace except Constantinople | Selymbria , Bizye |
|
Thracesian Theme ( theme Thracesian Theme , Thrakēsioi ) |
687 | Original theme | Chonai | |||
|
Cyprus † ( subject of Kyprou ) |
965 | Byzantine-Arab condominium from 688 to 965 | Nicosia | Cyprus | Kition , Limassol , Paphos , Keryneia |
Notes:
† Sea theme (Greek theme nautikòn , θέμα ναυτικόν)
§ Originally a Kleisoura
New topics after 960
| theme | year | Cities | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boleron / Neos Strymon | 971 | identical to the Roman province of Rhodope Mountains (314–641); existed around 971, comprised the northern and western parts of the Subject of Strymon after Johannes Tzimiskes conquered Bulgaria . | |
| Bulgaria | established by Emperor Basil II after his victory over Samuel of Bulgaria (997-1014) and the end of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018. Its capital was Skupi . | ||
| Sirmion | consisted of parts of the earlier Katepanat of Ras . Founded in 1018 in the northwestern part of the fallen Bulgarian Empire (northern Serbia), around the city of Sirmium . | ||
| Raszien / Serbia | 969-976 | founded around 970 under the rule of Johannes Tzimiskes ; included about the Principality of Serbia ( Raszien ) and Bosnia . | |
| Diocleia | established 970–1000 after the annexation of Rascia by Byzantium, seat in Ragusa , the capital of the older theme of Dalmatia . | ||
| Terbounia | founded 1000–1020 with headquarters in Aspàlathos (Spalato) . | ||
| Paristrion | in the year 1000 a Byzantine army under Theodorokanos conquered the entire Dobruja , the area was first organized as a strategia by Dorostolon , from 1020 as a theme of Paristrion or Paradunavon. | ||
| Iberia | founded after the annexation of some domains of the Georgian Bagratids by Basil II (1000-1021) and later enlarged at the expense of some Armenian principalities; the seat of the subject was Theodosioupolis ; in 1025 it became part of the Byzantine vassal duchy of Chaldia . | ||
| Calabria | after the Arab conquest of Sicily , the subject of Sicily was limited to Calabria from 902, but retained its name until the middle of the 10th century; the capital had been moved from Syracuse to Rhegion . | ||
| Leucania | in 968 the area of Lucania was recaptured by the Byzantine Empire and the theme of Lucania was established, the capital of which was in Tursikon (Tursi). | ||
| Italy | in the years 938 and 965 the theme of Longobardia ( Apulia ) appears united with the theme of Calabria and that of Leucania , although the duration of this regulation is unclear. After 968 these three subjects were permanently united in the Katepanat of Italy, the seat of the Katepan was Bari . | ||
| Hexacomia | established in the middle of the 11th century in the region of Catonia ; named after the 6 important cities of the region (Hexakomia or Hexapolis ): Komana , Arabissos , Kukusos , Arka, Ariaratheia, Melitene . |