The Karabisianoi ( Medieval Greek Καραβισιάνοι ), sometimes anglicized as the Carabisians , were the main forces of the Byzantine navy from the mid-seventh until the early eighth centuries. The name derives from a term for ships ( κάραβος, καραβίς ; cf. caravel ), and means "people of the ships". The Karabisianoi were the first new and permanent naval establishment of the Byzantine Empire , formed to confront the early Muslim conquests at sea. They were disbanded and replaced with a series of maritime themes sometime in 718–730.
15-541: The Karabisianoi were established sometime in the second half of the seventh century in response to the early Muslim conquests. Various scholars have suggested that it evolved from the remainders of the old quaestura exercitus or the Late Roman army of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum , but these suggestions remain hypothetical. The date of the fleet's establishment is unclear: some scholars propose that it
30-535: A lack of subsequent evidence on the history of the quaestura exercitus . However, since the position of quaestor was still extant during the mid-570s, this indicates that the overall territorial unit achieved a modicum of success. Ultimately, the Danubian provinces associated with the quaestura exercitus did not survive the Avar invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries. However, isolated fortresses on
45-602: The Sclaveni or southern Slavic tribes in c. 680 , and then in a letter of Emperor Justinian II ( r. 685–695, 705–711 ) to Pope Conon in 687. The Karabisianoi are widely held to have been the first permanently maintained naval force of the Byzantine Empire. Before that, as the Mediterranean was a "Roman lake", only a limited number of relatively small warships were maintained in
60-455: The praetorian prefecture of the East and placed under the authority of a new army official known as the quaestor exercitus (' quaestor of the army'). The authority of the quaestor was the equivalent to that of a magister militum . Since the strategically vital Danubian provinces were economically impoverished, the purpose of the quaestura exercitus was to help support
75-699: The "Carabisian Theme", this designation is erroneous as the Karabisianoi remained a purely military command and do not appear to have constituted a specific territorial division like the land themes. The stratēgos' base is unknown, with suggestions ranging from Rhodes in the Dodecanese , Keos in the Cyclades , and Samos off the Anatolian coastline. The Karabisianoi have also been variously seen as an essentially provincial fleet, tasked with defending
90-533: The Byzantine navy. This question is bound up with the discussion on the respective formations' nature as military-naval or civil-administrative entities. Lead seals from Moesia Inferior and Scythia Minor provide archaeological evidence supporting the existence of the quaestura exercitus . Specifically, thirteen seals, nine of which are from the reign of Justinian, demonstrate that communications between officials from Scythia Minor and Constantinople occurred on
105-575: The Danube Delta and along the coast of the Black Sea were maintained via supplies by sea. Charles Diehl first raised the suggestion that the great naval corps of the Karabisianoi , which appears in the 680s, was first formed by the remainders of the quaestura . This argument has been adopted by some scholars since but challenged by others, notably Helene Ahrweiler in her study of
120-494: The main harbours and along the fluvial borders of the Empire for patrols and transport tasks. Larger Byzantine fleets were assembled only on an ad hoc basis for specific expeditions. The Karabisianoi were formed in largely the same way as the land army's themes : they were a distinct military corps named after its soldiers, and headed by a stratēgos ( stratēgos tōn karabōn/tōn plōimatōn ). Although they are often referred to as
135-556: The others hold that it happened as late as c. 727 after another unsuccessful revolt in Сyclades against Emperor Leo III. The Karabisianoi were replaced chiefly by the new Cibyrrhaeot Theme, the first naval theme ( thema nautikon ), which was a formerly subordinate command under a droungarios and covered the southern coast of Asia Minor. In other coastal provinces, various smaller fleets and squadrons under droungarioi and other officers were tasked with local defence. Quaestura exercitus The quaestura exercitus
150-834: The southern coast of Anatolia from Miletus to Seleucia in Cilicia , the Aegean islands and the imperial holdings in southern Greece , and serving alongside a central imperial fleet in Constantinople , or a command encompassing virtually the entire effective force of the Byzantine navy and active in both defensive and offensive capacities from the Black Sea to the Exarchate of Africa . The Karabisianoi were greatly strengthened under Emperor Justinian II , who settled several thousand Mardaites to serve as rowers and marines along
165-425: The southern coasts of Asia Minor . Justinian also created a separate theme and fleet for southern Greece named " Hellas ". The Karabisianoi played a major role in the failed expedition to recover Carthage in 697–698, and led the revolt that installed the admiral Apsimar ( Tiberios III ) on the throne. The last mention of the stratēgos of the Karabisianoi is in 710/711, and it is not until 732 that his chief successor,
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#1732782859823180-610: The stratēgos of the Cibyrrhaeot Theme , is mentioned. This has led to two different suggestions as to the date and reason of the disbandment of the Karabisianoi. One view holds that this was after the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople (717–718), either due to poor performance during the previous years or because they assisted in a rebellion against Emperor Leo III the Isaurian ( r. 717–741 ), while
195-461: The troops that were stationed there. By connecting the exposed provinces of the Lower Danube with wealthier provinces in the interior of the empire, Justinian was able to transport supplies via the Black Sea . This territorial restructuring relieved both the destitute populations and the devastated countryside of the Danubian provinces from the burden of sustaining any stationed troops. There is
210-696: Was an administrative district of the Eastern Roman Empire with a seat in Odessus (present-day Varna ) established by Emperor Justinian I ( r. 527–565 ) on May 18, 536. Territorially, the quaestura exercitus contained the Roman provinces of Moesia Inferior and Scythia Minor , located in the lower Danube region, as well as the provinces of Cyprus , Caria , and the Aegean Islands . All of these provinces were detached from
225-668: Was established in the 650s or 660s by Emperor Constans II ( r. 641–668 ), following the major naval defeat at the Battle of the Masts in 655, while others think that it was created after the Siege of Constantinople (674–678) , where the Arab advance by sea seems to have been almost unopposed. The first certain reference to the Karabisianoi is during the siege of Thessalonica by
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