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82-552: Palaeopolis , the ancient capital, was built into a steep hillside, and the breakwater of its harbor can still be seen underwater. At the village of Apoikia, there is the notable spring of Sariza, where the water flows from a sculpted stone lion's head. Andros also offers hiking options with many new paths being added each year. During the Final Neolithic , Andros had a fortified village on its west coast, which archaeologists have named Strofilas  [ de ] , after

164-469: A brief restoration of the empire's fortunes as the force now known as the ' Komnenian army ' was established by Alexios I Komnenos , marking a decisive break with the thematic system. The new army was highly centralized in the person of the emperor and the ruling dynasty, and provided an element of stability which characterized the Komnenian restoration. It was noticeably more reliant on mercenaries such as

246-588: A cash payment of 5,000 pounds. Thus Andros remained in the hands of the Sanudo dukes, who henceforth styled themselves "Lords of the duchy of Naxos and Andros" and occasionally chose the castle of Andros as their residence. In 1292, Andros, along with other of the Cyclades, was raided by the Aragonese fleet under Roger de Lluria . In December 1371, the island was granted as a fief to Maria Sanudo , half-sister of

328-602: A governor of their own for the next seven years. In the event, Sommaripa rule was restored when Venice recognized Alberto Sommaripa as the rightful heir. The island was seized by the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1537, but Crusino III Sommaripa managed to regain it through the intercession of the French ambassador, in exchange for an annual tribute of 35,000 akçes to the Ottoman governor at Negroponte. When

410-794: A possession of the Attalid kingdom until its dissolution in 133 BC, when it was granted to Rome. During the long centuries of Byzantine rule, Andros was relatively obscure. First part of the Roman province of the Islands, it later became part of the theme (Byzantine district) of the Aegean Sea . Like other Aegean islands, it suffered Saracen raids, but during the Komnenian period the island flourished due to its silk production , exporting gossamer and velvet fabrics to Western Europe. Andros

492-463: A radical break with the past, but rather a logical extension of pre-existing, 6th-century trends, and that its direct social impact was minimal. What is clear is that at some point in the mid-7th century, probably in the late 630s and 640s, the Empire's field armies were withdrawn to Anatolia, the last major contiguous territory remaining to the Empire, and assigned to the districts that became known as

574-687: A situation that remained throughout the period of Ottoman rule. In the early 1770s, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74 , the island was occupied by the Russians and used as a base for their operations in the Aegean. On May 10, 1821, Theophilos Kairis , one of the leading Greek intellectuals, declared the island's participation in the Greek War of Independence by raising the Greek flag at

656-526: A small Arvanite community. The name of the island in Arvanitika is Ε̰νdρα, Ëndra . One notable beach in Andros is Pidima tis grias ( Πήδημα της γριάς , Jump of the old woman). It is named after an old woman who, according to legend, betrayed a nearby town to Saracen pirates. She then jumped off a cliff to her death and was transformed into a distinctive vertical rock that is a striking feature of

738-481: A team of Greek archeologists headed by Christina Televantou. The settlement was an important maritime centre and one of the earliest examples of fortification in Greece . Its fortifications feature a gate and bastions. Strofilas is also notable for rock carvings on its walls, which include animals such as jackals , goats , deer , fish and dolphins , as well as a depiction of a flotilla of ships. About 1km to

820-699: The Cibyrrhaeots ( Θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν , Thema Kibyrrhaiotōn ), which encompassed the southern coasts of Asia Minor and the Aegean islands . The part of the region of Thrace under Byzantine control was probably constituted as a theme at about 680, as a response to the Bulgar threat, although for a time the command over Thrace appears to have been exercised by the Count of the Opsikion . Successive campaigns by

902-529: The Delian League , it remained disaffected towards Athens , and in 477 had to be coerced by the establishment of a cleruchy on the island; nevertheless, in 411 Andros proclaimed its freedom, and in 408 withstood an Athenian attack. As a member of the second Delian League, it was again controlled by a garrison and an archon . In the Hellenistic period, Andros was contended for as a frontier-post by

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984-498: The East Roman army , and their names corresponded to the military units that had existed in those areas. The theme system reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries, as older themes were split up and the conquest of territory resulted in the creation of new ones. The original theme system underwent significant changes in the 11th and 12th centuries, but the term remained in use as a provincial and financial circumscription until

1066-565: The Ottoman raids, Andros managed to escape relatively unscathed, but in return Zeno was forced to pay tribute and provide harbour and shelter for the Turkish ships. Nevertheless, in 1416, the island was raided and almost the entire population carried off by the Ottomans. At about the same time Albanians crossed from Euboea over into the island, settling in its northern part. In 1431, when

1148-470: The Varangian guard than the previous army, reducing the importance of the themes. The strategoi increasingly lost power as the empire centralized. The emperors often appointed relatives to the governorships, reducing their autonomous character and solidifying centralized imperial administration. The Komnenian restoration required a new system to manage the severely weakened themes of Anatolia due to

1230-673: The plateau on which it was built. Final Neolithic in the Cycladic area is now dated around 4500–4000 BC. Strofilas was related to the "Attica-Kephala" culture, coinciding with the beginning of the Cycladic culture of the Bronze Age . Strofilas is the largest organized settlement of the Neolithic Age of the Aegean in Cyclades islands. It was rather densely built, and stretches over 30 acres. The excavations were started in 1997 by

1312-504: The 'despotates' grew in power as central authority collapsed, rendering the themes moribund by the onset of the Palaiologos dynasty's rule. The now irrelevant micro provinces under imperial control were organized directly into katepanakias or kephalatikion each also ruled by a Katepan or Kephale with military and civic powers centered around forts and major passes, relegating all minor tasks to deputies. The term thema

1394-494: The 10th century, especially under the warrior-emperors Nikephoros II (r. 963–969), John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976) and Basil II (r. 976–1025), newly gained territories were also incorporated into themes, although these were generally smaller than the original themes established in the 7th and 8th centuries. At this time, a new class of themes, the so-called "minor" ( μικρὰ θέματα ) or "Armenian" themes ( ἀρμενικὰ θέματα ) appear, which Byzantine sources clearly differentiate from

1476-532: The 1500s, however, the two Sommaripa branches of Andros and Paros were at war with each other, as a result of which many Andrians were carried off to Paros. In addition, the Andrians suffered from the cruelty of their own "duke", Francesco, to the point that they sent an embassy to Venice threatening to call in the Turks if nothing was done. The Venetians responded by removing Francesco to Venice in 1507, and installing

1558-645: The 640s, when the eastern part of the Empire faced the onslaught of the Muslim Caliphate . The rapid Muslim conquest of Syria and Egypt and consequent Byzantine losses in manpower and territory meant that the Empire found itself struggling for survival. In order to respond to this unprecedented crisis, the Empire was drastically reorganized. As established by Hellenistic political practice , philosophies and Orthodox doctrines , power had been concentrated in military leaders strategoi who acted as viceroys in their respective " théma ", being appointed by

1640-456: The 6th century BC, show that the city was prosperous during the Archaic period. Construction in the area, according to the most recent findings, began during the beginning of the 5th century BC and continued through the old Christian times. The area of the city is evident from the fortifications that are still visible along its length. The center of Paleopolis (or Agora) was to the east, near

1722-468: The Byzantine authorities. One of their peculiarities was the extremely large number of officers (the theme of Charpezikion alone counted 22 senior and 47 junior tourmarchai ). While well suited for defence, the "Armenian" themes were incapable of responding to major invasions or undertake sustained offensive campaigns on their own. Thus, from the 960s, more and more professional regiments, both from

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1804-473: The Church of St George. At this time, a famous heartfelt speech, or "ritoras" (ρήτορας), inspired shipowners and merchants to contribute funds to build a Greek Navy to combat the Ottomans. At the end of the war, the island became part of the independent Kingdom of Greece . Following Independence, Andros became a major centre of Greek shipping . In this it was helped by the arrival of refugees from Psara , and

1886-544: The Ghisi brothers to give up Andros, this did not happen. The case dragged on until after Geremia's death, when Duke Angelo Sanudo took over the island. He eventually gave half of it, according to the feudal law current in Latin Greece , to Felisa. The case took on new life after Felisa died and no claimant made appearance. Duke Marco II Sanudo then reverted the entire island to the ducal domain, but just two days before

1968-544: The Ottomans annexed Naxos in 1566, at the behest of the local Greeks, the Andrians too decided to rise up against their ruler, Gianfrancesco Sommaripa . Although the latter managed to escape with his life, Andros too now came under Ottoman control. For the next thirteen years, the entirety of the former Duchy of the Archipelago was granted to the Sultan's favourite, Joseph Nasi , who ruled the islands via representatives and

2050-487: The Ottomans raided the island again, carrying off so many of its population that the island was left with 2,000 inhabitants. Despite these disasters, the two Sommaripa possessions of Andros and Paros remained the most prosperous islands in the Cyclades in the period, and the Sommaripa rulers of Andros acted independently of their theoretical suzerain at Naxos, even to the point of claiming the title of duke for themselves. By

2132-511: The Venetians ravaged the Genoese colony of Chios , the Genoese seized Andros and Naxos, both under Venetian protection, in retaliation, and only adroit diplomacy by the dukes of the Archipelago managed to prevent the islands' outright annexation by Genoa. In 1427, Pietro Zeno died, and was succeeded by his son Andrea, who was of poor health and only had a daughter. In 1437, Andrea too died, and

2214-616: The area. The site was surveyed briefly by the British antiquary Theodore Bent in early 1884. In 2003, the Archaeological Museum of Palaiopolis opened in a building that was donated by the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation. The museum houses the archaeological finds from excavations in the area, and it is organized into three thematic units: sculpture, inscriptions, and miscellaneous finds. The most important objects in

2296-519: The armies in their area. The following table illustrates the thematic structure as found in the Thracesian Theme, c. 902-936: This list includes the large "traditional" themes established in the period from the inception of the theme system in c. 660 to the beginning of the great conquests in c. 930 and the creation of the new, smaller themes. Notes: naval theme (in Greek thema nautikon , θέμα ναυτικόν) Originally established as

2378-526: The beach. Attribution: Palaiopoli, Andros Palaiopoli ( Greek : Παλαιόπολη 'old city') is an ancient city on the west coast of Andros in the Cyclades Islands , Greece , and was the capital of Andros , during the Classical period. From the archaic to the first Byzantine period, the center of the island's activities is traced to the area of Paleopolis, which is found on

2460-436: The capital, had about 2,000 inhabitants, and the island as a whole had a population of about 18,000. The 1991 census showed that number had dropped to 8,781. According to the 2011 Greek census, the town of Andros still numbered 1,665 inhabitants, and the island's total was 9,221. The island is composed of the municipal units of Andros (town) (pop. 3,901), Korthio (pop. 1,948), and Ydrousa (pop. 3,372). The north of Andros has

2542-463: The catastrophe of Manzikert . The themes followed the Kommenian era trend of greater imperial centralization with the governors being members of the imperial family, owing their allegiance solely to the emperor. This eroded the old independent character of the once large Anatolian themes. The new military governors (called Doux or Katepanos indiscriminately) assumed strongly centralized roles on

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2624-553: The decline of other traditional shipping centres such as Galaxeidi and Hydra Island . Andrian merchants were particularly active in the grain trade from central and eastern Europe conducted from the Danube estuary. Initially locally constructed, Andrian ships were later built at Syros , especially as shipping began the transit to steam. By 1914, Andrian-registered shipping was second in Greece in terms of capacity. After World War I ,

2706-459: The early 11th century, these were complemented or replaced by the commands of Iberia , Vaspurakan , Edessa and Ani . In the same vein, the "Armenian" themes seem to have been placed under a single strategos in the mid-11th century. The series of soldier-emperors culminating in Basil II led to a situation where by 1025 Byzantium was more powerful than any of its enemies. At the same time,

2788-484: The emperor alone. Their main function around each was the collection of taxes from the different communities " chora ", " komai " and from the different states " proasteion " as well as the management of fast and flexible provincial armies. The remaining imperial territory in Asia Minor was divided into four large themes, and although some elements of the earlier civil administration survived, they were subordinated to

2870-436: The emperor's behalf so that the influx of landed pronoia foreigners in military service could be regulated and counteracted in cases of uprising. The governorships were specifically reserved for relatives of the Komnenian family alone and though efficient emergency measures, it successfully turned the empire into a dependency on foreign mercenaries, yielding the mass of native Greeks and making it unprecedentedly subordinate to

2952-470: The emperors of the Heraclian dynasty in Greece also led to the recovery of control of Central Greece from Slavic invaders, and to the establishment of the theme of Hellas there between 687 and 695. Sicily too was formed as a theme by the end of the 7th century, but the imperial possessions in mainland Italy remained under the exarch of Ravenna or the local doukes , as did Byzantine Africa until

3034-490: The empire's dioceses , Diocletian's main administrative structure, but more importantly, he had also created the exceptional combined military-civilian circumscription of the quaestura exercitus and following the norm, abolished the Diocese of Egypt putting a dux (Greek: stratelates ) with combined authority at the head of each of its old provinces instead. The empire maintained this precedent structure until

3116-467: The establishment of the themes also meant the creation of a new type of army. In his view, instead of the old force, heavily reliant on foreign mercenaries, the new Byzantine army was based on native farmer-soldiers living on state-leased military estates (compare the organization of the Sasanian aswārān ). More recent scholars however have posited that the formation of the themes did not constitute

3198-459: The fall of Carthage in 698. At the same time, Crete and the imperial exclave of Cherson in the Crimea formed independent archontiai . Thus, by the turning of the century, the themes had become the dominant feature of imperial administration. Their large size and power however made their generals prone to revolt, as had been evidenced in the turbulent period 695–715, and would again during

3280-521: The forces of allied and vassal states, as well as the revolts and civil wars resulting from the widening rift between the civilian bureaucracy in Constantinople and the land-holding military elites (the dynatoi ), by the time of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Byzantine army was already undergoing a severe crisis and collapsed completely in the battle's aftermath. The Komnenian era saw

3362-408: The governing general or stratēgos . The origin and early nature of the themes has been heavily disputed amongst scholars. The very name théma is of uncertain etymology, but most scholars follow Constantine Porphyrogennetos , who records that it originates from Greek thesis ("placement"). The date of their creation is also uncertain. For most of the 20th century, the establishment of

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3444-587: The great revolt of Artabasdos in 741–742. The suppression of Artabasdos' revolt heralded the first significant changes in the Anatolian themes: the over-mighty Opsikion was broken up with the creation of two new themes, the Bucellarian Theme and the Optimates , while the role of imperial guard was assumed by a new type of professional force, the imperial tagmata . Despite the prominence of

3526-437: The island was seized by Andrea's uncles, who aimed to wed Andrea's daughter to their son when she came of age, and thus legalize their control of Andros. Venice quickly reacted and took over the island, installing a governor there while her courts heard the cases of all the claimants. One of them was Maria Sanudo's son Crusino I Sommaripa , Lord of Paros and Triarch of Negroponte . Like his mother, he never abandoned his claims on

3608-578: The island, and eventually was vindicated by the Venetian courts. After compensating the Zeno family, he took possession of the island in 1440. Andros suffered once again heavily from Turkish attacks during the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479 . In 1468 four ships attacked the island, killing baron Giovanni Sommaripa and carrying off numerous prisoners and booty worth 15,000 ducats . Two years later

3690-474: The last Sanudo duke, Nicholas III dalle Carceri . In 1383, Nicholas III was murdered and Francesco I Crispo became the new duke, giving Andros with Syros to his daughter and her husband, Pietro Zeno , the son of the Venetian bailo of Negroponte. Zeno was a very able diplomat, but even he found it difficult to manoeuvre among the various competing powers of the era. Unlike Syros, Paros , and other islands, which had been left destitute and almost depopulated by

3772-539: The legal deadline of two years and two days had passed, Marino's grandson Nicholas Querini appeared in Naxos to claim his inheritance. The case was again brought before the courts of Venice, but Sanudo disputed the Republic's authority over his domain. The case was eventually settled through the mediation of Nicolò Giustinian, the Venetian bailo of Negroponte in 1291–93, whereby Querini renounced his claims in exchange for

3854-497: The local registered ships rose from 25 (1921) to 80 before World War II . The losses suffered during the latter, as well as the internationalization of shipping and emigration of the ship-owning families to Piraeus and London, signalled the end of Andrian shipping. Andros is a separate regional unit of the South Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. As part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform,

3936-503: The manpower of the themes in their heyday, and the new system proved more expensive to maintain in the long run. It also relied on a succession of strong soldier-emperors to be effective. With the death of Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, a new period of decline set in. The neglect under the Angeloi dynasty and the weakening of central authority made the themes increasingly irrelevant in the late 12th century. Regional civil authorities such as

4018-503: The middle Byzantine Empire . They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe and Muslim conquests of parts of Byzantine territory, and replaced the earlier provincial system established by Diocletian and Constantine the Great . In their origin, the first themes were created from the areas of encampment of the field armies of

4100-419: The military and work in a theme, thus simultaneously reducing the need for unpopular conscription as well as cheaply maintaining the military. It also allowed for the settling of conquered lands, as there was always a substantial addition made to public lands " proasteion" during a conquest. The commander of a theme, however, did not only command his soldiers. He united the civil and military jurisdictions in

4182-506: The mobile, professional forces of the tagmata gained in importance over the old thematic armies (and fleets) of the interior, which soon began to be neglected. Indeed, from the early 11th century military service was increasingly commuted to cash payments. While the frontier ducates were able to meet most local threats, the dissolution of the old theme-based defensive system deprived the Byzantine defensive system of any strategic depth. Coupled with increasing reliance on foreign mercenaries and

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4264-461: The mounting pressure, in the more distant provinces of the West, recently regained by Justinian I (r. 527–565), Emperor Maurice (r. 582–602) combined supreme civil and military authority in the person of an exarch , a viceroy , forming the exarchates of Ravenna and Africa . These developments overturned the strict division of civil and military offices, which had been one of the cornerstones of

4346-400: The museum include a sculpture of Pegasus from 6th–5th century BC, a funerary statue of a lion from the 4th century BC, and a portion of an inscribed marble slab containing a hymn to the goddess Isis . Theme (Byzantine district) The themes or thémata ( Greek : θέματα , thémata , singular: θέμα , théma ) were the main military and administrative divisions of

4428-519: The old tagmata and newly raised formations, were stationed along the border. To command them as well as coordinate the forces of the small frontier themes, a number of large regional commands (" ducates " or " catepanates "), under a doux or katepano , were set up. In the East, the three original such commands, set up by John Tzimiskes, were those of the doukes of Antioch , Chaldia and Mesopotamia . As Byzantium expanded into Greater Armenia in

4510-731: The old areas of the Pontus , Armenia Minor and northern Cappadocia , with its capital at Amasea . The Anatolic Theme ( Θέμα Ἀνατολικῶν , Anatolikōn ), first mentioned in 669, was the successor of the Army of the East ( Aνατολῆ , Anatolē ). It covered southern central Asia Minor, and its capital was Amorium . Together, these two themes formed the first tier of defence of Byzantine Anatolia, bordering Muslim Armenia and Syria respectively. The Thracesian Theme ( Θέμα Θρᾳκησίων , Théma Thrakēsiōn ), first mentioned clearly as late as c. 740,

4592-509: The outset as distinct, well-defined regions where a stratēgos held joint military and civil authority, the term théma originally seems to have referred exclusively to the armies themselves, and only in the later 7th or early 8th centuries did it come to be transferred to the districts where these armies were encamped as well. Tied to the question of chronology is also the issue of a corresponding social and military transformation. The traditional view, championed by Ostrogorsky, holds that

4674-429: The port whose remains are still evident today, submerged in the sea. Cemeteries are located on the outskirts of town, to the east and west. From the remains, the many sculptures and written sources, one can see that the city was well fortified and had a marketplace, theatre, altars and temples. The city continued throughout the 6th century AD, as it is evident from the remains of pre-Byzantine basilica churches found in

4756-413: The process of establishing troops (themes) in specific areas of Asia Minor has already begun at this time." This view has been objected to by other historians however, and more recent scholarship dates their creation later, to the period from the 640s to the 660s, under Constans II (r. 641–668). It has further been shown that, contrary to Ostrogorsky's conception of the thémata being established from

4838-569: The reforms of Diocletian (r. 284–305). Said administrative restructurings also found a precedent in Justinian's broad reorganization in the western conquests, denoting combined powers to the newly established Praetorian prefects of Africa ( Eparchos tes Afrikís ) and Italy ( Eparchos tes Italías ) respectively. Justinian also endowed governors ( eparchs , stratelates ) of the eastern provinces plagued by brigandage and foreign invasions with military and administrative powers, formally abolishing

4920-483: The regional unit Andros was created out of part of the former Cyclades Prefecture . At the same reform, the current municipality Andros was created out of the 3 former municipalities: The province of Andros ( Greek : Επαρχία Άνδρου ) was one of the provinces of the Cyclades Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current regional unit Andros. It was abolished in 2006. In 1900, Andros,

5002-445: The southeast along the coastline, also can be found the site of Zagora (Andros)  [ de ] , another ancient settlement of a later Geometric period . The settlement dates back to the 10th-8th centuries BC. An impregnable wall, about 110 meters long, was constructed around it. In ancient times, the island contained an Ionian population, perhaps with an admixture of Thracian ancestry. Though it has been proposed that Andros

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5084-728: The southern coast of Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands, with its stratēgos seat most likely at Samos . It provided the bulk of the Byzantine navy facing the new Arab fleets, which after the Battle of the Masts contested control of the Mediterranean with the Empire. In the event, the Carabisians would prove unsatisfactory in that role, and by 720 they had been disbanded in favour of a fully fledged naval theme, that of

5166-646: The territorial area in question. Thus the division set up by Diocletian between civil governors ( praesides etc.) and military commanders ( duces etc.) was abolished, and the Empire returned to a system much more similar to that of the Republic or the Principate and directly linkeable to the system of Eparchies and Strategiai set up in the Hellenistic Seleucid and Mithridatric Kingdoms respectively, which were military in origin and organization as well, where provincial governors had also commanded

5248-597: The themes was attributed to the Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), during the last of the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars . Most notable amongst the supporters of this thesis was George Ostrogorsky who based this opinion on an extract from the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor mentioning the arrival of Heraclius "in the lands of the themes" for the year 622. According to Ostrogorsky, this "shows that

5330-463: The themes, it was some time before they became the basic unit of the imperial administrative system. Although they had become associated with specific regions by the early 8th century, it took until the end of the 8th century for the civil fiscal administration to begin being organized around them, instead of following the old provincial system. This process, resulting in unified control over both military and civil affairs of each theme by its strategos ,

5412-534: The themes. Territorially, each of the new themes encompassed several of the older provinces, and with a few exceptions, seems to have followed the old provincial boundaries. The first four themes were those of the Armeniacs, Anatolics and Thracesians, and the Opsician theme. The Armeniac Theme ( Θέμα Ἀρμενιακῶν , Théma Armeniakōn ), first mentioned in 667, was the successor of the Army of Armenia. It occupied

5494-411: The totally lawless landed monasteries and the dynatoi , who after Alexios's tax reforms could formalize the various illegally acquired towns and communes as long as they could secure the full taxation of their new domains by the fisc, a process worse fueled by the extensive chrysobulas of different institutions granted by the monarch. The Byzantine army of the Komnenian era never managed to field

5576-400: The traditional "great" or "Roman" themes ( ῥωμαϊκά θέματα ). Most consisted merely of a fortress and its surrounding territory, with a junior stratēgos (called zirwar by the Arabs and zoravar by the Armenians) as a commander and about 1,000 men, chiefly infantry, as their garrison. As their name reveals, they were mostly populated by Armenians , either indigenous or settled there by

5658-457: The two naval powers of the Aegean Sea , Macedon and Ptolemaic Egypt . In 333, it received a Macedonian garrison from Antipater ; in 308 it was freed by Ptolemy I of Egypt . In the Chremonidean War (266–263) it passed again to Macedon after a battle off its shores. The Ptolemaic empire was at its height, with a considerable fleet stationed at Andros. In 200, it was captured by a combined Roman , Pergamene and Rhodian fleet, and remained

5740-410: The very end of the Empire. During the late 6th and early 7th centuries, the Byzantine Empire was under frequent attack from all sides. The Sassanid Empire was pressing from the east on Syria , Egypt , and Anatolia . Slavs and Avars raided Thrace, Macedonia, Illyricum, and southern Greece and settled in the Balkans . The Lombards occupied northern Italy , largely unopposed. In order to face

5822-419: The west side of the island, at a distance of 5 kilometers from Ipsili and 10 kilometers from Zagora. The ceramic findings, which were gathered from the area, are dated back to the Mycenean period , though some areas show signs of inhabitation during the Geometric period . Important findings of the area, the Kore of Copenhagen , a kouros , and a statue group of Pegasus and Bellerophon , which date back to

5904-463: The will of its European counterparts. Each Theme was overseen by a Katepanos or Doux , whose authorities was both military and civil, subdivided into Katepanakias encompassing the old Tourmas , now each ruled by a Praktor instead of a Tourmarches fulfilling the same civic and military roles now widely in the hands of pronoiars . The pronoiars became the bulk of the imperial tagmata's reserves, slowly taking their place side by side with

5986-410: Was a simplified Hellenistic and fiscal administrative principle adapted for war times. The soldiers were still technically a military unit, under the command of a strategos , they did not own the land they worked as it was still controlled by the state. Therefore, for its use the soldiers' pay was reduced. By accepting this proposition, the participants agreed that their descendants would also serve in

6068-448: Was ambiguous, referring both to a form of military tenure and to an administrative division. A theme was an arrangement of plots of land given for farming to the soldiers " stratiotai" coexisting with different villages and towns, " Komai", " Chora " which were taxed for rapid and continuous revenue for the state with an easy and simple handling for a more direct control of the empire by the emperor alone or his viceroys , which ultimately,

6150-486: Was based at Nicaea . Uniquely, its commander retained his title of kómēs ( κόμης , "count"). In addition, the great naval division of the Carabisians or Karabisianoi ( Kαραβισιάνοι , "people of the κᾱ́ρᾰβοι [ships]"), first mentioned in 680, was probably formed of the remains of the Army of the Illyricum or, more likely, the old quaestura exercitus . It never formed a theme proper, but occupied parts of

6232-642: Was captured by the Fourth Crusade on its way to Constantinople in 1203. After the fall of Constantinople in 1204, the island was slated to come under control of the Republic of Venice according to the Partitio Romaniae ; in 1207 it became part of the Duchy of the Archipelago under Marco I Sanudo , who in turn gave it to Marino Dandolo as a sub-fief. Probably sometime around 1239, Dandolo

6314-617: Was complete by the mid-9th century, and is the "classical" thematic model mentioned in such works as the Klētorologion and the De Administrando Imperio . At the same time, the need to protect the Anatolian heartland of Byzantium from the Arab raids led to the creation, in the later 8th and early 9th centuries, of a series of small frontier districts, the kleisourai or kleisourarchiai ("defiles, enclosures"). The term

6396-529: Was expelled from the island by Geremia Ghisi , ruler of Skiathos , Skopelos , and Skyros . Dandolo died soon after and a case was brought before the Venetian courts against Ghisi by Dandolo's widow Felisa and his sister Maria Doro. Felisa was soon aided by the Venetian Jacopo Querini , who became her second husband. Although the Venetian court found in their favour in August 1243 and ordered

6478-477: Was mostly concerned with using them as a source of wealth. Upon Nasi's death, the Greeks of Andros and Naxos requested from the Sultan that the descendants of their old dynasties be restored as Turkish vassals, but in the end, the islands were directly annexed as a province; in 1580, however, the Cyclades were granted a charter of privileges that granted them considerable local autonomy, low taxes and religious freedom,

6560-432: Was originally dependent on Eretria , by the 7th century BC it had become sufficiently prosperous to send out several colonies, to Chalcidice ( Acanthus , Stageira , Argilus , Sane ). The ruins of Palaeopolis , the ancient capital, are on the west coast; the town possessed a famous temple, dedicated to Dionysus . In 480 BC, it supplied ships to Xerxes and was subsequently harried by the Greek fleet. Though enrolled in

6642-468: Was previously used to signify strategically important, fortified mountain passages, and was now expanded to entire districts which formed separate commands under a kleisourarchēs , tasked with guerrilla warfare and locally countering small to mid-scale incursions and raids. Gradually, most of these were elevated to full themes. With the beginning of the Byzantine offensives in the East and the Balkans in

6724-480: Was the successor of the Army of Thrace , and covered the central western coast of Asia Minor ( Ionia , Lydia and Caria ), with its capital most likely at Chonae . The Opsician Theme ( Θέμα Ὀψικίου , Théma Opsikiou ), first mentioned in 680, was constituted from the imperial retinue (in Latin Obsequium ). It covered northwestern Asia Minor ( Bithynia , Paphlagonia and parts of Galatia ), and

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