Asia Minor Slavs
Encyclopedia
Asia Minor Slavs refers to the historical South Slav communities relocated to Anatolia by the Byzantine Empire
, from the Balkans
.
After Maurice's Balkan campaigns
(582-602), and subsequent subduing of Slavs in Balkans, large communities were forcefully relocated to Asia Minor as military, fighting the Umayyad Caliphate.
In records from Bithynia
in the year 680
, the city of Gordoservon
was a Byzantine city inhabited by Serbs
. The name is derived from the Serbs
resettled in Asia Minor
(in ca 649 or 667) by Byzantine Emperor Constans II
(641–668), who came from the areas "around river Vardar
". Isidor, the Episcop of Gordoservon is mentioned in 680/681, and the fact that this town was an episcopal seat gives ground to the thesis that it had a large Serbian population. An Byzantine army
with 30,000 Slavs (predominantly Serbs) was defeated by the Umayyads in 692
at the Battle of Sebastopolis due to Serbian defection, persuaded by Muhammad ibn Marwan
, because of the forced relocation of Slavs, bad treatment from the Emperor.
Around year 1200 this city is mentioned as 'Servochoria' (Serbian Habitation).
In 658 and 688/9 the Byzantines relocated Slavs to Bithynia
.
Justinian II
(685-695) also settled many Slavs captured in Thrace
, in an attempt to boost military strength. Most of them however deserted to the Arabs on the first battle.
Military campaigns in northern Greece in 758 during Constantine V (r. 741–775) prompted a relocation of Slavs under Bulgar aggression, again in 783.
Thomas the Slav was a Byzantine military commander of Slav descent, born in Amorion. In his account of the revolt of Thomas the Slav
(820–829), the historian Genesius
lists a variety of peoples (in addition to the Asia Minor
Slavs who were main supporters of the rebellion) from whom the armies of the rebel were drawn: Persians, Iberians
, Saracens, Abasgians
, Getae
, Alans
, Chaldoi
, Armenians
, Vandals
and adherents of heretical sects of the Paulicians and Athingani.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, from the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
After Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Illyricum campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by emperor of Constantinopolis Maurice in an attempt to defend the Illyrian provinces of the East Roman Empire from Avars and Slavs...
(582-602), and subsequent subduing of Slavs in Balkans, large communities were forcefully relocated to Asia Minor as military, fighting the Umayyad Caliphate.
In records from Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
in the year 680
680
Year 680 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 680 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* The Bulgars subjugate the country of...
, the city of Gordoservon
Gordoservon
In records from Bithynia in the year 680, the city of Gordoservon or Gordoserbon was a Byzantine city inhabited by Serbs. The name is derived from the Serbs that resettled in Asia Minor by Byzantine Emperor Constans II , who came from the areas "around the river Vardar"...
was a Byzantine city inhabited by Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. The name is derived from the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
resettled in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
(in ca 649 or 667) by Byzantine Emperor Constans II
Constans II
Constans II , also called Constantine the Bearded , was Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. He also was the last emperor to become consul in 642, becoming the last Roman consul in history....
(641–668), who came from the areas "around river Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
". Isidor, the Episcop of Gordoservon is mentioned in 680/681, and the fact that this town was an episcopal seat gives ground to the thesis that it had a large Serbian population. An Byzantine army
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
with 30,000 Slavs (predominantly Serbs) was defeated by the Umayyads in 692
692
Year 692 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 692 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Leontios leading a substantial Byzantine army,...
at the Battle of Sebastopolis due to Serbian defection, persuaded by Muhammad ibn Marwan
Muhammad ibn Marwan
Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam was an Umayyad prince and one of the most important generals of the Caliphate in the period 690–710, completing the Arab conquest of Armenia...
, because of the forced relocation of Slavs, bad treatment from the Emperor.
Around year 1200 this city is mentioned as 'Servochoria' (Serbian Habitation).
In 658 and 688/9 the Byzantines relocated Slavs to Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
.
Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
(685-695) also settled many Slavs captured in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
, in an attempt to boost military strength. Most of them however deserted to the Arabs on the first battle.
Military campaigns in northern Greece in 758 during Constantine V (r. 741–775) prompted a relocation of Slavs under Bulgar aggression, again in 783.
Thomas the Slav was a Byzantine military commander of Slav descent, born in Amorion. In his account of the revolt of Thomas the Slav
Thomas the Slav
Thomas the Slav was a 9th-century Byzantine military commander, most notable for leading a wide-scale revolt against Emperor Michael II the Amorian in 820–823....
(820–829), the historian Genesius
Genesius
Genesius may refer to:*Any of several Saints Genesius*Joseph Genesius, tenth-century Byzantine historian*Genesius Theatre in Reading, Pennsylvania...
lists a variety of peoples (in addition to the Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
Slavs who were main supporters of the rebellion) from whom the armies of the rebel were drawn: Persians, Iberians
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
, Saracens, Abasgians
Abkhazian Kingdom
The Kingdom of Abkhazia, also known as the Kingdom of the Abkhazes refers to an early medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which lasted from the 780s until being united, through dynastic succession, with the Kingdom of the Georgians in 1008.- Historiographical conundrum :Writing the kingdom’s...
, Getae
Getae
The Getae was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria, and north of the Lower Danube, in Romania...
, Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
, Chaldoi
Chalybes
The Chalybes or Chaldoi were a tribe of proto-Georgians. Classical Antiquity credited with the invention of ferrous metallurgy....
, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
and adherents of heretical sects of the Paulicians and Athingani.
Sources
- Constantine Porphyrogenitus, "De administrando imperioDe Administrando ImperioDe Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
" - The entry of the Slavs into Christendom: an introduction to the medieval... by A. P. Vlasto. (ref name: SC)
- Erdeljanovich.J. "O naseljavanju Slovena u Maloj Aziji i Siriji od VII do X veka" Glasnik geografskog drushtva vol. VI 1921 pp.189
- Lequien, M., "Oriens Christianus" I, 1740, pp.659-660
- Micotky, J., "Otiorum Chroate", Vol. I ,Budapest, 1806, pp.89-112
- Lubor NiederleLubor NiederleLubor Niederle was a Czech archeologist, anthropologist and ethnographer. He is seen as one of the founders of modern archeology in Czech lands....
, "Slovanske starozhitnosti" Dilu II,Svazek pp.389-399; pp. 444-446 - Ostrogorski,G. "Bizantisko-Juzhnoslovenski odnosi", Enciklopedija Jugoslavije 1,Zagreb 1955,pp. 591-599
- Ramsay, W. M. "The Historical Geography Of Asia Minor", London, 1890, pp.183, pp.210