Nicopolis (theme)
Encyclopedia
The Theme of Nicopolis or Nikopolis was the name of a Byzantine
theme (a military-civilian province) located in western Greece
, encompassing Aetolia-Acarnania
and southern Epirus
. It was established in the second half of the 9th century, probably after 886, and survived until the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade
in 1204.
of Aetolia-Acarnania
and most of the Epirus region
up to Buthrotum. In Late Antiquity
, this corresponded to the province
of Epirus vetus, but also included Aetolia
, which was part of the province of Achaea
. To the east, it bounded the theme of Hellas
, probably along the river Mornos
and the western slopes of the Pindus
mountains, and to the north, with the theme of Dyrrhachium
and the sclavinia of Vagenetia.
, the Epirus region had been overrun and settled by Slavic tribes in the 7th century. Very little is known about the region during the 7th–9th centuries, but from the prevalence of Slavic toponyms it is clear that they settled in large numbers throughout the region. On the other hand, the Byzantines retained their control of the Ionian Islands
, which, organized in the theme of Cephallenia
, were used as a base for the reassertion of imperial control, so that the region was relatively soon re-Hellenized
.
It is in this context that the theme of Nicopolis was established, although the exact date is unclear. It was founded sometime in the latter half of the 9th century, between 843 and 899, when it is attested in the Kletorologion
of Philotheos. The most probable date is some time after 886, in the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise
(r. 886–912). Sigillographic evidence suggests that the theme may have resulted from a previously-existing subordinate tourma (division) of the theme of the Peloponnese
, although Warren Treadgold has suggested that it formed part of the theme of Cephallenia.
Despite its name, the capital of the theme was not Nicopolis
, which at the time lay in ruins either due to the Slavic invasions or due to Arab raids, but Naupaktos. The theme was regularly divided into tourmai, each under its own tourmarches. In addition, as the theme was a major base for Byzantine operations across the Adriatic
into southern Italy, it hosted a contingent of Mardaites
marines, probably under their own katepano
. Warren Treadgold estimates its military strength at some 1,000 infantry and marines in the 9th–10th centuries.
In circa 930, the province was raided and temporarily occupied by the Bulgarians
. The Bulgarians returned under Tsar Samuel in 980 and seized much of the region, up to the Ambracian Gulf
. Even though the territory was recovered by the Byzantine emperor Basil II
(r. 976–1025) in a series of hard-fought wars, the local bishoprics remained subject to the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the former Bulgarian Patriarchate, after the final subjugation of Bulgaria in 1018. Basil II also founded a few smaller themes in what is today the Greco-Albania
n border region, those of Koloneia and Dryinoupolis. In 1040, following the murder of a corrupt and oppressive taxation official – according to John Skylitzes
, the locals were notorious for being ready to revolt for fiscal reasons – most of the theme joined the uprising of Petar Delyan.
The region suffered in the Byzantine–Norman Wars of the late 11th century: Arta
was unsuccessfully besieged and Ioannina
was captured by Robert Guiscard
. Nicopolis survived as a theme until the Fourth Crusade
in 1204. A chrysobull of 1198 mentions it along with the themes of Dyrrhachium and Ioannina, and records that it was further subdivided into smaller fiscal districts (episkepseis) belonging to churches, monasteries and individuals. At the time, Arta seems to have been the provincial capital.
In the partitio Romaniae of 1204, Nicopolis and most of Epirus were promised to Venice
, but the Venetians were largely unable to effectively establish their authority except over Dyrrhachium. The Greek noble Michael Komnenos Doukas
, who had married the daughter of the governor of Nicopolis, took advantage of this, and within a few years consolidated his control, first as a Venetian vassal
and eventually as an independent ruler. By the time of his death in 1214/1215, Michael had established a strong state, the Despotate of Epirus
, with the former theme of Nicopolis at its core.
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...
theme (a military-civilian province) located in western Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, encompassing Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the regional unit is a combination of the geographic regions Aetolia and Acarnania. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest...
and southern Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
. It was established in the second half of the 9th century, probably after 886, and survived until the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
in 1204.
Location
The theme of Nicopolis, by the late 9th century, comprised the modern Greek prefecturePrefectures of Greece
During the first administrative division of independent Greece in 1833–1836 and then again from 1845 until their abolition with the Kallikratis reform in 2010, the prefectures were the country's main administrative unit...
of Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the regional unit is a combination of the geographic regions Aetolia and Acarnania. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest...
and most of the Epirus region
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
up to Buthrotum. In Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
, this corresponded to the province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Epirus vetus, but also included Aetolia
Aetolia
Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania.-Geography:...
, which was part of the province of Achaea
Achaea (Roman province)
Achaea, or Achaia, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece and parts of Thessaly. It bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus vetus and Macedonia...
. To the east, it bounded the theme of Hellas
Hellas (theme)
The Theme of Hellas was a Byzantine military-civilian province located in southern Greece. The theme encompassed parts of Central Greece, Thessaly and, until circa 800, the Peloponnese...
, probably along the river Mornos
Mornos
The Mornos is a river that flows in the Fokida and Aitoloakarnania prefectures in Greece. Its source is in the Oiti mountains-Geography:The river begins in the Oiti mountains near the Fthiotida prefecture to the north, it flows through the village of Marmarolithi and into several villages in a...
and the western slopes of the Pindus
Pindus
The Pindus mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2637 m . Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epirus, the Pindus range is often called the "spine of Greece"...
mountains, and to the north, with the theme of Dyrrhachium
Dyrrhachium (theme)
The Theme of Dyrrhachium was a Byzantine military-civilian province located in modern Albania, covering the Adriatic coast of the country...
and the sclavinia of Vagenetia.
History
Like most of the BalkansBalkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, the Epirus region had been overrun and settled by Slavic tribes in the 7th century. Very little is known about the region during the 7th–9th centuries, but from the prevalence of Slavic toponyms it is clear that they settled in large numbers throughout the region. On the other hand, the Byzantines retained their control of the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
, which, organized in the theme of Cephallenia
Cephallenia (theme)
The Theme of Cephallenia or Cephalonia was a Byzantine theme located in western Greece, comprising the Ionian Islands, and extant from the 8th century until partially conquered by the Kingdom of Sicily in 1185.-History:...
, were used as a base for the reassertion of imperial control, so that the region was relatively soon re-Hellenized
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...
.
It is in this context that the theme of Nicopolis was established, although the exact date is unclear. It was founded sometime in the latter half of the 9th century, between 843 and 899, when it is attested in the Kletorologion
Kletorologion
The Klētorologion of Philotheos , is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence . It was published in September of 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise by the otherwise unknown prōtospatharios and atriklinēs Philotheos...
of Philotheos. The most probable date is some time after 886, in the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
(r. 886–912). Sigillographic evidence suggests that the theme may have resulted from a previously-existing subordinate tourma (division) of the theme of the Peloponnese
Peloponnese (theme)
The Theme of the Peloponnese was a Byzantine military-civilian province encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. It was established in circa 800, and its capital was Corinth.-History:...
, although Warren Treadgold has suggested that it formed part of the theme of Cephallenia.
Despite its name, the capital of the theme was not Nicopolis
Nicopolis
Nicopolis — or Actia Nicopolis — was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. It was later the capital of Epirus Vetus...
, which at the time lay in ruins either due to the Slavic invasions or due to Arab raids, but Naupaktos. The theme was regularly divided into tourmai, each under its own tourmarches. In addition, as the theme was a major base for Byzantine operations across the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
into southern Italy, it hosted a contingent of Mardaites
Mardaites
The Mardaites inhabited the highland regions of southern Anatolia, Isauria, Syria, and Lebanon. Their origins are little known, but they may have been of Armenian origin...
marines, probably under their own katepano
Katepano
The katepánō was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as capetanus/catepan, and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus"...
. Warren Treadgold estimates its military strength at some 1,000 infantry and marines in the 9th–10th centuries.
In circa 930, the province was raided and temporarily occupied by the Bulgarians
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
. The Bulgarians returned under Tsar Samuel in 980 and seized much of the region, up to the Ambracian Gulf
Ambracian Gulf
The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf , is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. About long and wide, it is one of the largest enclosed gulfs in Greece...
. Even though the territory was recovered by the Byzantine emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
(r. 976–1025) in a series of hard-fought wars, the local bishoprics remained subject to the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the former Bulgarian Patriarchate, after the final subjugation of Bulgaria in 1018. Basil II also founded a few smaller themes in what is today the Greco-Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n border region, those of Koloneia and Dryinoupolis. In 1040, following the murder of a corrupt and oppressive taxation official – according to John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes, latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes was a Greek historian of the late 11th century. He was born in the beginning of 1040's and died after 1101.- Life :Very little is known about his life...
, the locals were notorious for being ready to revolt for fiscal reasons – most of the theme joined the uprising of Petar Delyan.
The region suffered in the Byzantine–Norman Wars of the late 11th century: Arta
Arta, Greece
Arta is a city with a rich history in northwestern Greece, capital of the peripheral unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia . Arta is famous for its old bridge located over the Arachthos River, situated west of downtown...
was unsuccessfully besieged and Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
was captured by Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
. Nicopolis survived as a theme until the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
in 1204. A chrysobull of 1198 mentions it along with the themes of Dyrrhachium and Ioannina, and records that it was further subdivided into smaller fiscal districts (episkepseis) belonging to churches, monasteries and individuals. At the time, Arta seems to have been the provincial capital.
In the partitio Romaniae of 1204, Nicopolis and most of Epirus were promised to Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, but the Venetians were largely unable to effectively establish their authority except over Dyrrhachium. The Greek noble Michael Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often inaccurately called Michael Angelos , was the founder and first ruler of the principality of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215.-Life:...
, who had married the daughter of the governor of Nicopolis, took advantage of this, and within a few years consolidated his control, first as a Venetian vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
and eventually as an independent ruler. By the time of his death in 1214/1215, Michael had established a strong state, the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
, with the former theme of Nicopolis at its core.