At the peak of its power under the Macedonian dynasty, Byzantine administration revolved around the θέματα, headed by a strategos with combined military and civil authority. The compilation of a treatise (De thematibus) ascribed to no less than an emperor duly underlines the importance of this institution. After longstanding scholarly debate, themes are no longer regarded as the outcome of administrative and financial “reforms” under Heraclius, but of the gradual transformation of Late Roman administrative structures during the 7th and 8th centuries. Irrefutable sigillographic evidence on the appearance of the technical term θέμα already in the first third of the 8th century has recently given new impetus to this debate, leading to alternative hypotheses, and new challenges. Thus, several issues concerning the etymology and exact meaning of the term θέμα, and the first appearance, character and evolution of the themes remain still open. A research framework that enables the “trans-thematic” comparison of the administrative structure of individual themes in specific periods could significantly contribute to this debate. The TAKTIKON Research Project (Academy of Athens) has initiated such a framework through the compilation of catalogues of Byzantine officials in strict chronological order, active in three (to start with) Asia Minor themes. With the prospect of expanding this work over the whole of Asia Minor, this Thematic Session discusses the state of art in the field of thematic institutions and offers new insights into the θέμα-tisation of Asia Minor, as evident in primary sources from Byzantium and beyond.
Recent discussion of the sigillographic as well as the better-known written evidence for the use and probable meaning(s) of the term ‘thema’ has underlined the challenges faced by historians of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 7th–9th centuries in trying to ascertain exactly what it meant, when, and how it evolved. There are also difficulties…
Most scholars now agree that the theme system proper was not established in the 7th c., but that certain elements of it began to develop following the withdrawal of the field armies into Anatolia. These reforms to the accommodation, provisioning, and deployment of the armies took place in response to a period of often endemic…
The power of the Umayyad and ‘Abbāsid Caliphates is often presented as if it were exerted equally and justly over the conquered territories and populations, but the reality of “control” over the borderlands between empires was far more unique. This paper will examine several of these frontiers in the 7th–9th centuries CE, where power and…
Lors du dernier tiers du XIe siècle, l’Empire perd quasiment toute l’Asie Mineure avant d’en récupérer une petite partie, tout à la fin de ce siècle. La chronologie et les modalités de ce recul byzantin restent mal établies. Notre principale source narrative est rédigée par Anne, fille de l’empereur Alexis Comnène. Cette dernière ne s’intéresse…