Thrakesion

The theme Thracesian Theme ( Greek  Θρᾳκήσιον θέμα , Thracesian Theme theme ), also known as the theme of Thrakesier ( Greek  θέμα Θρᾳκησίων , subject Thracesian Theme or shortly Greek  Θρᾳκήσιοι , Thrakēsioi ), was a Byzantine theme in western Asia Minor (now Turkey). Launched in either the middle of the 7th or 8th century, it was one of the more important subjects of the Byzantine Empire throughout its existence.

history

As with many topics, the exact year it was founded is unclear. The Thrakesians are first described in 711, when a " Tourmarchēs of the Thrakesians" named Christopheros was sent on the subject of Cherson by Emperor Justinian II . A Stratēgos in command is only named 741. So it is believed that the Thrakesians were originally a turma of the subject of Anatolia . At some point after 695 they were upgraded to a topic; probably in the early 7th century. However, some current scholars such as Ralph-Johannes Lilie and John Haldon believe that the Thrakesians are to be equated with the Thracianus exercitus ("Thracian Army"), which is mentioned in a decree of 687, and consequently the Thrakesian theme is one of the original Asia Minor themes was.

The name of the theme is derived from the fact that in the seventh century the themes were established as settlement areas for the remains of the Eastern Roman army after the Islamic expansion : in the case of the Thrakesians, the remains of the field army of the magister militum per Thracias . Well-known vexillations from the 4th / 5th Century, like the Palatini of the Equites Theodosiaci Iuniores and the auxilium palatinum of the Victores as the later tourmai of the Theodosiakoi and Viktores in the 10th century. Thus, the Thracesian theme could bring up some of the oldest Byzantine units. This ancient origin led to the formation of legends, e.g. B. reports Emperor Constantine VII. (Ruled 913–959) in his work De Thematibus that the subject was after Thracians in the 6th century BC. Colonized by Alyattes II , from where it got its name.

The first known Stratēgos of the Thracese theme, a certain Sisinnios, supported Constantine V (ruled 740–775) against the usurper Artabasdos (ruled 741–742), but was later blinded by the same emperor because he was suspected of treason. Constantine arranged for the appointment of some loyal strategists, such as the iconoclastic Michael Lachanodrakon . Lachanodrakon began a bloody persecution of the iconophiles , especially the monks, so that by 772 he had largely exterminated monasticism on this subject. Other well-known commanders of this issue are Bardanes Turkos , who was his Stratēgos in the 790s and rebelled against Nikephoros I (ruled 803–811) in 803 ; Konstantin Kontomytes , who defeated the Cretan Saracens at Mount Latros in 841 and married into the imperial family; Petronas , the uncle of Michael III. (ruled 842–867) and leading general of the empire between 856 and 863; and Symbatios , who, together with the strategist of the Opsikion theme , Georgios Peganes, rebelled against Basil I , Michael's protégé.

In the 10th century, as the threat of Arab raids dwindled, the soldiers on the subject appear to have been involved in overseas military operations such as that against the emirate of Crete in 911, 949 and 960. With the same development the subject slowly became a peaceful hinterland; in 1029, the appointment of Constantine Diogenes , who was subject to aspirations to the throne, to Stratēgos appeared to contemporaries as a degradation and an attempt to limit his power.

Much of the subject was conquered by the Seljuks in the late 11th century, but the area was quickly recaptured by Johannes Doukas as a result of the First Crusade (1096-1099). John II Comnenus (ruled 1118–1143) restored the theme in a reduced form under the leadership of a Doux based in Philadelphia . The southern half of the old theme became part of the new theme of Mylasa and Melanoudion . The subject was one of the last to fall to the Anatolian Turkish Beyliks and for a long time served as a bulwark against their raids. In the early 14th century it had been reduced to an area around Smyrna until the city fell to the Beylik of Aydın in 1330 .

Geography and administration

The Thrakesian theme included the ancient landscapes of Ionia (the late Roman province of Asia ), Lydia , the northern half of Caria and parts of Phrygia Pacatiana . In the west, the Aegean bordered the theme, which stretched from Ephesus to Adramyttion , in the north the theme of Opsikion probably on the border river Kaïkos , in the east the theme of Anatolia (somewhere east of Chonai and Laodikeia on Lykos ) and the theme of the Kibyrrhaoten in the south . The topic comprised around 20 cities, many of which, however, had shrunk considerably compared to their late antique expansion. Smyrna and Ephesus (also known as "Theologos" at the time) were probably the greatest of them. The Persian geographer Ibn Chordadhbeh names Ephesus as the capital of the subject; but it could also have been Chonae.

The Stratēgos of the Thracese theme was one of the most influential within the thematic system. He received 40 pounds of gold annually as pay. The Arab geographer Qudama ibn Ja'far reports that the subject had 6,000 soldiers, while Ibn al-Faqih speaks of 10,000. The coast of the theme was under the joint administration of the Stratēgos of the Thrakesians and that of the theme of Samos , who recruited ships and crews from there.

literature

• John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom 1997, ISBN 978-0-521-31917-1 ( online ).
• John F. Haldon: Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204 . University College London Press (Taylor & Francis Group), London, United Kingdom 1999, ISBN 1-85728-495-X ( online ).
• Alexander Kazhdan : The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford 1991, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6 .
• John W. Nesbitt, Nicolas Oikonomides: Catalog of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art . tape 3 : West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient. . Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington 1996, ISBN 0-88402-250-1 ( online ).
• A. Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus . Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome 1952.
• Warren T. Treadgold: The Byzantine Revival, 780-842 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1988, ISBN 0-8047-1896-2 ( online ).
• Warren T. Treadgold: Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1995, ISBN 0-8047-3163-2 ( online ).
• Warren T. Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society . Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1997, ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 ( online ).

Web links

• Stylianos Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. In: Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor. Foundation of the Hellenic World, October 17, 2003, accessed October 7, 2009 (Greek, Athens, Greece). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Kazhdan: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 1991, p. 2080.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Nesbitt, Oikonomides: Catalog of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art. 1996, p. 4.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. ( Chapter 2.1 ( Memento from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
4. ↑ Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. 1952, p. 124 f.
5. ^ Haldon: Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture. 1997, pp. 212-214.
6. ^ Haldon: Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204. 1999, p. 73.
7. ↑ Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. 1952, p. 124.
8. ^ Treadgold: Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081. 1995, pp. 97-100.
9. ^ Haldon: Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204. 1999, p. 112.
10. ↑ Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. 1952, p. 60; Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. ( Chapter 1 ( Memento of October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
11. ↑ ^{a b c} Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. ( Chapter 3 ( Memento of October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
12. ^ Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society. 1997, p. 364 f.
13. ^ Treadgold: The Byzantine Revival, 780-842. 1988, pp. 325, 355, 454.
14. ^ Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society. 1997, p. 450 f.
15. ↑ Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. ( Chapter 4 ( Memento of October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
16. ↑ Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. ( Chapter 5 ( Memento of October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
17. ^ Haldon: Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204. 1999, p. 97.
18. ↑ Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. 1952, p. 125; Lambakis: Θρακησίων Θέμα. ( Chapter 2.2 ( Memento from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
19. ↑ Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. 1952, p. 126.