Lykandos

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Theme of Lykandos
Λυκανδός, θέμα Λυκανδοῦ
Seljuks
after 1071

Lykandos or Lycandus (Greek: Λυκανδός), known as Djahan in Armenian,[1] was the name of a Byzantine fortress and military-civilian province (or "theme"), known as the Theme of Lykandos (θέμα Λυκανδοῦ), in the 10th–11th centuries.

History

Origin and early history

The fortress of Lykandos was located in the area of modern

border emirates of Syria and Upper Mesopotamia, and commanding one of the principal routes through the mountains into Byzantine Anatolia.[2]

In 905, however, Melias was expelled from the Byzantine Empire (along with other Armenian nobles) in the aftermath of the failed rebellion of

Tzamandos, whose castle he built, and of Symposion (modern Kaleköy), whose original commander, the Armenian Ismael, had been killed by the Arabs.[3][5]

Melitene. A fierce Arab assault was launched against Lykandos in 909 but it failed, achieving only to reclaim some outlying positions, while in 915, Melias's troops ravaged Arab territory as far as Germanikeia (modern Kahramanmaraş).[4][6] The importance of Lykandos and the successes of its commander were duly recognized, and by 916, it had been elevated in status to a full theme.[2][7] Modern historians consider the promotion of Melias and his jurisdiction also as a political expedient to counterbalance the power of Constantine Doukas in the nearmy theme of Charsianon, but whatever the short-term political calculations, the theme of Lykandos proved to have a long existence.[8]

History of Lykandos as a theme

Based on the rich

sigillographic evidence, Lykandos was organized like the other themes, and possessed the full array of thematic officials.[8] Administratively, it was often run together with the neighbouring themes of Melitene and Tzamandos.[2] It does not appear to have constituted a bishopric.[2]

In 917, the troops of Lykandos participated in the disastrous campaign against

Battle of Acheloos.[9] The theme's forces would play a major role in the Arab–Byzantine wars of the early and middle 10th century, especially in the campaigns of John Kourkouas, which expanded the imperial frontier eastwards to the Euphrates and into Armenia and Syria, as well as in the civil wars of the later 10th century.[2][10]

In the 960s, the magnate Eustathios Maleinos, who dominated Charsianon, also extended his influence over Lykandos. In c. 969, Maleinos was even for a time joint strategos (military governor) of Lykandos and the newly captured city of Antioch.[11] This dual arrangement is also in evidence over the following years, while in the mid-11th century the governorship of Lykandos appears to have been held in tandem with the post of katepano (regional military commander) of Melitene.[12]

The area was lost by the Byzantines after the

Seljuk Turks, but it nevertheless appears in the formal grant of territory by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) to Bohemond I of Antioch in 1108.[2]

References

  1. ^ Adontz, N. (1935). "Notes arméno-byzantines". Byzantion (in French). 10 (1): 161–203.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Foss 1991, p. 1258.
  3. ^ a b Leveniotis 2007, p. 399.
  4. ^ a b c Whittow 1996, p. 316.
  5. ^ Constantine Porphyrogennetos 1840, pp. 33, 228.
  6. ^ Kazhdan & Cutler 1991, p. 1334.
  7. ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 474.
  8. ^ a b Leveniotis 2007, p. 400.
  9. ^ Whittow 1996, pp. 316–317.
  10. ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 479–481.
  11. ^ Leveniotis 2007, pp. 400–401.
  12. ^ Leveniotis 2007, p. 401.

Sources

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