Lykandos

Lykandos or Lycandus ( Greek  Λυκανδός ) was the name of a Byzantine fortress and at the same time the name of the subject Lykandos in the 10th and 11th centuries.

history

The fortress of Lykandos was located in the Elbistan plain in southeastern Turkey in the Antitaurus Mountains and was probably identical to Hurman Kalesi . In 903, the Armenian Mleh ( Melias in Greek sources) settled there and established a de facto autonomous rule. The area was of great strategic importance as it was located in the border area between Byzantine Anatolia and the Muslims of Syria and Mesopotamia . The fortress guarded one of the most important passes between the two domains. In the year 905 Melias was by the Byzantines (together with other Armenians) after the failed rebellion of Andronikos Doukas against Emperor Leo VI. (ruled 886-912). In 908, however, he was recalled and appointed Kleisourarches of Lykandos by Leo . Melias was commissioned to rebuild the fortress, which was in ruins, and to repopulate the district. Melias' efforts were successful: the area, which according to Constantine VII was "abundant in pastureland", was populated with Armenians.

Arabic sources indicate that this powerful new province soon posed a threat, especially to the emirate of Melitene . A major Arab attack on Lykandos in 909 failed, while in 915 the troops of Melias plundered Arab territory as far as Germanikeia (today's Kahramanmaraş ). The importance of Lykandos was recognized by the central government and in 916 it was elevated to a separate issue.

The troops of Lycandus played a major role in the Byzantine-Arab wars of the 10th century, especially in the campaigns of John Kourkouas that extended the border of the empire to the Euphrates and into Armenia and Syria, but also in the civil wars of the late 10th century Century. From an administrative point of view, the topic was often managed jointly with the other topics by Melitene and Tzamandos . After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 it was overrun by the Seljuks ; nevertheless it appears in the land allocation of Alexios I Komnenos (ruled 1081–1118) to Bohemond of Taranto in 1108.

literature

• Alexander Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . 3 volumes Oxford / New York 1991.
• A. Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome 1952.
• Warren T. Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press, Stanford 1997.
• Mark Whittow: The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025. Berkeley 1996.

Individual evidence

1. ^ TA Sinclair: Eastern Turkey An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume II . Pindar Press, 1989, ISBN 978-1-904597-75-9 , pp. 512 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Kazhdan: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 1991, p. 1258.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Whittow: The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025. 1996, p. 316.
4. ↑ Kazhdan: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 1991, p. 1334.
5. ^ Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society. 1997, p. 474.
6. ^ Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society. 1997, pp. 479-481.