Cherson (theme)

Coordinates: 44°40′34″N 34°03′47″E / 44.676°N 34.063°E / 44.676; 34.063
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Theme of Cherson (Klimata)
Χερσῶν, θέμα Χερσῶνος (τὰ Κλίματα)
Theme of the Byzantine Empire
ca. 833/840–1204

Map of the Theme of Cherson within the Byzantine Empire in 1000 AD.
CapitalCherson
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
ca. 833 or 840
• Destruction of Cherson
988/989
• Controlled by the Empire of Trebizond
after 1204
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Khazars
Perateia
Today part ofTerritory of Ukraine, occupied by Russia[1]

The Theme of Cherson (Greek: θέμα Χερσῶνος, thema Chersōnos), originally and formally called the Klimata (Greek: τὰ Κλίματα), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in the southern Crimea, headquartered at Cherson.

The theme was officially established in the early 830s and was an important centre of Black Sea commerce. Despite the destruction of the city of Cherson in the 980s, the theme recovered and prospered, enduring until it became a part of the Empire of Trebizond after the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire in 1204.

History

The region had been under

Khazar control thereafter. Byzantine authority was re-established by Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–842), who displayed interest in the northern littoral of the Black Sea and especially his relations with the Khazars. Traditional scholarship dates the establishment of Cherson as the seat of a theme in ca. 833/4,[2][3][4] but more recent researchers have linked it with the Byzantine mission to construct the new Khazar capital at Sarkel in 839, and identify Petronas Kamateros, the architect of Sarkel, as the theme's first governor (strategos) in 840/1.[5] The new province was at first called ta Klimata, "the regions/districts", but due to the prominence of the capital Cherson, by ca. 860 it was known even in official documents as the "Theme of Cherson".[2][5][6]

The province played an important role in Byzantine relations with the Khazars and later, after the Khazar Khaganate's collapse, with the

Volga Bulgars.[7]

Cherson prospered greatly during the 9th–11th centuries as a centre of Black Sea commerce, despite the city's destruction by

Sougdaia" in 1059. The region however was lost again in the late 11th century to the Cumans.[8] Almost nothing is known of Cherson in the 12th century, pointing to a rather tranquil period. Cherson and its province remained under Byzantine control until the dissolution of the Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when they passed under the sovereignty of the breakaway Empire of Trebizond (see Perateia).[3][8]

Administration

Seal of Nikephoros Kassiteras, protospatharios and strategos of Cherson

The Theme of Cherson appears to have been organized in typical fashion, with the full array of thematic officials, of whom a

Constantine Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959) in his De Administrando Imperio to the local strategos concerning the possibility of a revolt in the city: he was to cease payment of the subsidies and relocate to some other city in the theme.[9] In the late 11th century, the theme was governed by a katepano.[8]

References

  1. ^ This place is located on the Crimean peninsula, which is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, but since 2014 under Russian occupation. According to the administrative-territorial division of Ukraine, there are the Ukrainian divisions (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city with special status of Sevastopol) located on the peninsula. Russia claims these as federal subjects of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol).
  2. ^ a b c d e Nesbitt & Oikonomides 1991, pp. 182–183.
  3. ^ a b c d ODB, "Cherson" (O. Pritsak, A. Cutler), pp. 418–419.
  4. ^ Pertusi 1952, pp. 182–183.
  5. ^ a b c Papageorgiou 2008, Chapter 1 Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ ODB, "Klima" (A. Kazhdan), p. 1133.
  7. ^ Papageorgiou 2008, Chapter 3 Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b c Papageorgiou 2008, Chapter 4 Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b c Papageorgiou 2008, Chapter 2 Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

Sources

  • ISBN 0-19-504652-8
    .
  • Nesbitt, John;
    ISBN 0-88402-194-7
    .
  • Nystazopoulou-Pélékidou, Marie (1998). "L'administration locale de Cherson à l'époque byzantine (IVe-XIIe s.)". ΕΥΨΥΧΙΑ. Mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler. Paris: Éditions de la Sorbonne. pp. 567–579.
    ISBN 9782859448301
    .
  • Papageorgiou, Angeliki (2008). "Theme of Cherson (Klimata)". Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Black Sea. Foundation of the Hellenic World. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  • Pertusi, A. (1952). Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus (in Italian). Rome: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.

44°40′34″N 34°03′47″E / 44.676°N 34.063°E / 44.676; 34.063

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