Nicopolis (Byzantine theme)

The theme of Nicopolis or Nicopolis ( Greek  θέμα Νικοπόλεως , subject Nikopoleōs ) was the name of a Byzantine theme in Western Greece that Aetolia , Acarnania and southern Epirus included. It was established in the second half of the 9th century, probably after 886, and survived until the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

history

Like almost all of Southeast Europe , Epiros was conquered and settled by Slavic tribes in the 7th century . Therefore, almost nothing is known about the region between the 7th and 9th centuries, but the survival of Slavic place names to this day shows that they settled in large numbers. The Byzantines, however, retained control over the Ionian Islands , which, summarized on the subject of Kephallenia , were used as the basis for the re-strengthening of the Byzantines on the mainland, so that the region was re- Hellenized relatively early .

In this context, the theme of Nikopolis was established, even if the exact year of origin remains unclear. It was brought into being sometime between 843 and 899 as it is documented in the Cletorologion of Philotheos. The most likely date is sometime after 886, under the reign of Leo VI. (ruled 886-912). Sphragistic hints suggest that the theme originated from an old ( Turma ) of the Peloponnese theme .

Around 930 the subject was pillaged by Bulgarians . In 980 the Bulgarians returned under Tsar Samuil and occupied the whole area up to the Ambracian Gulf . Although the area was regained by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (ruled 976-1025) in a series of tough wars, the local bishops remained subordinate to the Archdiocese of Ohrid , the former Bulgarian patriarchate. Basil II also founded some minor themes on what is now the Greek-Albanian border (Koloneia and Dryinoupolis ).

The region was devastated in the Byzantine-Norman wars of the 11th century: Arta was besieged unsuccessfully and Ioannina was conquered by Robert Guiscard . Nicopolis survived as a subject until the Fourth Crusade . A bull from 1198 mentions it along with the subject of Dyrrhachion and Ioannina. At the time, Arta appears to have been the subject's capital.

In the partitio Romaniae of 1204, Epiros and Nicopolis were added to Venice , but the Venetians were unable to control the country (with the exception of Dyrrhachion). The Greek nobleman Michael Komnenos Dukas , who had married the daughter of Strategos of Nicopolis, took advantage of this and ruled the area within a few years. At the time of his death in 1214/1215, Michael had created a strong state, the despotate Epiros , whose heart was the former theme of Nicopolis.

Geography and administration

The theme of Nicopolis encompassed the modern Greek prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania and the greater part of Epirus as far as Buthrotum . This corresponded roughly to the late antique province of Epirus vetus , but also included Aetolia , which was part of the Roman province of Achaea . To the east it bordered on the theme of Hellas (probably on the Mornos River and the western slopes of the Pindus Mountains ) and to the north on the theme of Dyrrhachion .

Despite its name, the subject's capital was not Nicopolis , which lay in ruins in the 8th century, but Naupaktos . The theme was divided into Tourmai , each with its own tour story . In addition, the topic was a base for Byzantine naval operations in the Adriatic and southern Italy . It housed a contingent of Mardaite marines, probably under their own katepano .

literature

• John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest . University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1994, ISBN 0-472-08260-4 ( books.google.de ).
• Alexander Kazhdan: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-504652-8 .
• John W. Nesbitt, Nicolas Oikonomides: Catalog of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art . tape 2 : South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor. . Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington 1994, ISBN 0-88402-226-9 ( books.google.de ).
• Agostino Pertusi : Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus . Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, Rome 1952, OCLC 912189938 .
• Peter Soustal, Johannes Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini . tape 3 : Nikopolis and Kephallēnia. . Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1981, ISBN 3-7001-0399-9 ( books.google.de ).
• Warren T. Treadgold: Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1995, ISBN 0-8047-3163-2 ( books.google.de ).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, pp. 50-52.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Kazhdan: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 1991, p. 1485.
3. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, p. 53.
4. ^ Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. 1994, p. 83; Treadgold: Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081. 1995, pp. 33, 76.
5. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, pp. 54-55.
6. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, p. 56.
7. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, pp. 58-60.
8. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, pp. 59-61.
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Nesbitt, Oikonomides: Catalog of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art. 1994, p. 9.
10. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, p. 54.
11. ↑ Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. 1952, p. 176.
12. ^ Soustal, Koder: Tabula Imperii Byzantini. 1981, pp. 53-54.