Anatolic Theme
| Theme of the Anatolics Άνατολικόν θέμα, θέμα Άνατολικῶν | ||
|---|---|---|
Seljuks . | c. 1078 | |
| Today part of | Turkey | |
The Anatolic Theme (
Seljuk Turks
in the late 1070s.
Geography and administration
In its "classical" form during the 8th and 9th centuries, the theme stretched over the ancient regions of
Polybotos.[8]
According to the 10th-century
History
The exact date of the theme's establishment is unknown. Along with the other original themes, it was created sometime after the 640s as a military encampment area for the remnants of the old field armies of the
East (Greek: Άνατολή, Anatolē).[11][12][13] The theme is attested for the first time in 669, while the army itself is mentioned, as the exercitus Orientalis, as late as an iussio of Justinian II in 687.[11][13][4]
Wars with the Arabs and the Turks
During the wars with the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries, the Anatolic Theme—especially Cappadocia, its easternmost region—was frequently either a target of Arab invasions, or at the forefront of the Byzantine counter-raids into Arab territory, which began after the middle of the 8th century.[14]
The thematic capital, Amorium, was also a frequent target of the Arabs. It was attacked already in 644, captured in 646, and briefly occupied in 669. The Arabs reached it again in 708 and besieged it without success in 716, during their
march on Constantinople.[14][15] The tide of the Arab attacks ebbed in the 740s, after the Byzantine victory at the Battle of Akroinon and the turmoil of the Third Fitna and the Abbasid Revolution,[16] and under Emperor Constantine V (r. 741–775), the Anatolics spearheaded the Byzantine campaigns into Arab-held territory. This in turn provoked the reaction of the Abbasid Caliphate, which in the quarter-century after 780 launched repeated invasions of Byzantine Asia Minor. Thus the Anatolics suffered a heavy defeat at Kopidnadon in 788, and Amorium was threatened again in 797.[14] In the early years of the 9th century, Cappadocia was the focus of Arab attacks, which culminated in the great invasion of 806 led by Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809) himself, which took Heraclea Cybistra and several other forts.[17]
The
Iconium.[17] The 10th century was largely peaceful, with the exception of yet another sack of Amorium in 931 and a raid that reached Iconium in 963.[17]
The first
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in the 12th century.[19] The last appearance of the Anatolic Theme in the historical sources is in 1077, when its stratēgos, Nikephoros Botaneiates, proclaimed himself emperor (Nikephoros III, r. 1078–1081).[4] The Byzantines managed to recover some of the western and northern portions of the theme in the subsequent decades under the Komnenian emperors, but the Anatolic Theme was never reconstituted.[19]
Rebellions
Directly facing the forces of the
Theodosios III (r. 715–717).[4][21] Henceforth, the Anatolics would be stalwart supporters of the Isaurians, including their iconoclastic policies, and in 742 Leo III's son and successor, Constantine V, found refuge and support in the theme against the usurper Artabasdos.[4][21]
The Anatolic Theme served as the base for several bids for the throne in later centuries as well: the failed revolt of Bardanes Tourkos in 803 was followed by the successful proclamation of Leo V the Armenian (r. 813–820) by the Anatolic troops in 813, and the large-scale rebellion of Thomas the Slav in 820–823. In the 10th century, however, the theme appears on the sidelines of the rebellions of the period. The next and last rebellion by a stratēgos of the Anatolics was that of Nikephoros Xiphias in 1022, against Basil II (r. 976–1025).[22]
Strategoi
- Leo (682?)[23]
- Leontius (after 682-692)[24]
- Sissinios Rendakios? (c.705-711)[25]
- Leo (c.713-717)[26]
- Michael Melissenos (766-771?)[27]
- Artabasdos (778?)[28]
- Marianos (8th century)[29]
- Peter (8th century)[30]
- Demetrius (8th century)[31]
- Artabasdos (8th/9th century)[32]
- Maurice (8th/9th century)[33]
- Bardanes (8th/9th century)[34]
- Marinos (8th/9th century)[35]
- Bardanes (8th/9th century)[36]
- Aetios (c.800-802)[37]
- Bardanes Tourkos (802-803)[38]
- Romanos (after 803-811)[39]
- Leo (811-813)[40]
- Manuel (816-819)[41]
- Krateros (816-?)[42]
- Photeinos (820s)[43]
- Aetios (c.838)[44]
- Theodotus Melissenos (c.843/844)[45]
- Leo Krateros (c.867)[46]
- John (9th century)[47]
- Phokas (9th century)[48]
- Leo (9th century)[49]
- Theodore (9th century)[50]
- Eustathios Argyros (c.904-907)[51]
- Basil (9th/10th century)[52]
- Balantios (9th/10th century)[53]
- Andreas (9th/10th century)[54]
- Bardas Phokas the Elder (after 910-before 919)[55]
- Nikephoros Phokas (945-955)[56]
- Leo Phokas the Younger (955-960)[57]
- John Tzimiskes (c.963- before 969)[58]
- Adralestus Diogenes (c.970)[59]
- Leo Melissenos (Late 10th century)[60]
- Alexios (10th century)[61]
- Nikephoros (10th century)[62]
- Andronikos (10th century)[63]
- Gregoras (10th century)[64]
- Leo (10th century)[65]
- Nikephoros (11th century)[66]
- Nikephoros Xiphias (after 1018-1022)[67]
- Theophylact Dalassenos (1022- before 1027)[68]
References
- ^ Haldon 1997, p. 157.
- ^ a b c Pertusi 1952, pp. 114–115.
- ^ Nesbitt & Oikonomides 1996, p. 144.
- ^ a b c d e f g h ODB, "Anatolikon" (C. Foss), pp. 89–90.
- ^ Haldon 1999, p. 114.
- ^ a b Gyftopoulou 2003, § 5.2.
- ^ Pertusi 1952, p. 115.
- ^ Gyftopoulou 2003, § 5.1.
- ^ a b Gyftopoulou 2003, § 3.
- ^ Bury 1911, pp. 39–41.
- ^ a b Pertusi 1952, p. 114.
- ^ Haldon 1999, p. 73; Treadgold 1995, p. 23.
- ^ a b Gyftopoulou 2003, § 1.
- ^ a b c Gyftopoulou 2003, § 6.1.
- ^ ODB, "Amorion" (C. Foss), pp. 79–80.
- ^ Lilie 1976, pp. 97–162
- ^ a b c Gyftopoulou 2003, § 6.2.
- ^ Gyftopoulou 2003, § 5.3.
- ^ a b Gyftopoulou 2003, § 7.
- ^ Gyftopoulou 2003, § 8.
- ^ a b Gyftopoulou 2003, § 8.1.
- ^ Gyftopoulou 2003, § 8.2.
- ^ "Leon". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leontios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Sisinnios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon III". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Michael Melissenos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Artabasdos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Marianos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Petros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Demetrios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Artabasdos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Maurikios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Bardanes". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Marinos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Bardanes". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Aëtios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Bardanes Turkos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Romanos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon V." De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Manuel". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Krateros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Photeinos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Aëtios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Theodotos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Krateros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Ioannes". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Phokas". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Theodoros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Eustathios Argyros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Basileios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Balantios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Andreas". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Bardas Phokas (der Ältere)". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Nikephoros II. Phokas". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Phokas". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Ioannes I. Tzimiskes". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Adralestos Diogenes". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Melissenos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Alexios". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Nikephoros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Andronikos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Gregoras". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Nikephoros". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Nikephoros Xiphias". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Theophylaktos Dalassenos". De Gruyter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
Sources
- OCLC 1046639111.
- Gyftopoulou, Sofia (11 May 2003). Ανατολικών Θέμα. Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor (in Greek). Athens: Foundation of the Hellenic World. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
- Haldon, John F. (1997). Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-31917-1.
- ISBN 1-85728-495-X.
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- OCLC 797598069.
- Nesbitt, John; ISBN 0-88402-250-1.
- Pertusi, A. (1952). Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus (in Italian). Rome: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
- Treadgold, Warren T. (1995). Byzantium and Its Army, 284–1081. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3163-2.
Further reading
- Leveniotis, Georgios A. (2005–2006). "Το θέμα/δουκάτο των Ανατολικών κατά το δεύτερο ήμισυ του 11ου αι" [The Theme/Duchy of the Anatolics in the Second Half of the 11th c.]. Vyzantiaka (in Greek). 25. Hellenic Historical Society: 33–101. ISSN 1012-0513.