Theme (Byzantine District)

Theme (Byzantine District)

The themes or themata (Greek: θέματα; singular θέμα, thema) were the main administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the 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 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 the very end of the Empire.

Read more about Theme (Byzantine District):  History, Organization, List of The Themes Between Ca. 660 and 960, List of New Themes After 960, List of Other Vassal Themes and Autonomous Principalities

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Theme (Byzantine District) - List of Other Vassal Themes and Autonomous Principalities
... ThemeNotes Duchy of Amalfi DoukÃton AmÃlfes,ÎÎÏÎÎÏÎÎ ·ÎÎÎÎÏÎÏ)was originally part of the larger Duchy of Naples,governed by a ... Ani thema AnÄs,ÎÎÎÎ ½· established around 1040 as an autonomous Armenian vassal ... Duchy of Antiocheia DoukÃton Antiocheias,ÎÎÏÎÎÏÎÎ ·ÎÎÏÎÎÏÎÎÎÏ)in 969,Antiocheia was recovered for the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas by Michael Bourtzes ...

Famous quotes containing the word theme:

    And God-appointed Berkeley that proved all things a dream,
    That this pragmatical, preposterous pig of a world, its farrow that so solid seem,
    Must vanish on the instant if the mind but change its theme ...
    William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)