Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots Κιβυρραιῶται, θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν
Theme of theByzantine Empire
ca. 720/727–after 1150
The Asian themes of the Byzantine Empire circa 842. The Cibyrrhaeots encompassed the southern shore of Asia Minor.
Capital	Attaleia
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	ca. 720/727
• Abolition by Manuel I	after 1150
Today part of	Greece Turkey

TheCibyrrhaeot Theme, more properly theTheme of the Cibyrrhaeots (Greek:θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν,romanized: thema Kibyrrhaiōtōn), was aByzantinetheme encompassing the southern coast ofAsia Minor from the early 8th to the late 12th centuries. As the Byzantine Empire's first and most important naval theme (θέμα ναυτικόν,thema nautikon), it served chiefly to provide ships and troops for theByzantine navy.

The Cibyrrhaeots (Ancient Greek:Κιβυρραιῶται,romanized: Kibyrrhaiōtai,lit. 'men of Cibyrrha') derive their name from the city of Cibyrrha (it is unclear whether this is Cibyrrha the Great inCaria or Cibyrrha the Lesser inPamphylia).^[1] The command first appears in theexpedition against Carthage in 698, when a "droungarios of the Cibyrrhaeots" is attested as commanding the men fromKorykos: Apsimar, who at the head of a fleet revolt became emperor asTiberios III (r. 698–705). At the time, the Cibyrrhaeots were subordinate to the great naval corps of theKarabisianoi.^[1][2][3][4]

After theKarabisianoi were disbanded (the exact date is disputed betweenc. 719/720 andc. 727), the Cibyrrhaeots were constituted as a regulartheme, with its governingstrategos first attested in 731/732.^[1][3][5][6] Until the 9th century, when the themes of theAegean Sea andSamos were elevated fromdroungarios-level commands, the Cibyrrhaeot Theme was the only dedicated naval theme of the Empire.^[7][8]

The theme encompassed the southern coast ofAsia Minor (modernTurkey), from south ofMiletus (which belonged to theThracesian Theme) to the confines of theArab borderlands inCilicia, including the oldRoman provinces ofCaria,Lycia,Pamphylia and parts ofIsauria, as well as the modernDodecanese.^[2][9][10] Its geographical position made it the "front-line" theme facing the attacks of the Muslim fleets of theLevant andEgypt, and consequently the Cibyrrhaeots played a major role in the naval aspect of theByzantine–Arab Wars.^[11] The land, which was known for its fertility,^[1] suffered from the frequent and devastating Arab raids, which largely depopulated the countryside except for the fortified cities and naval bases.^[2]

The seat of thestrategos was most probablyAttaleia.^[10][12] He drew an annual salary of 10 pounds of gold, and his overall rank in the imperial hierarchy was relatively low, but still senior to any other naval commander: twenty-fifth in theTaktikon Uspensky of 842/843, dropping to fifty-fifth in theEscorial Taktikon of 971–975.^[2][13] Like its other counterparts, the Cibyrrhaeot Theme was divided intodroungoi andtourmai, and possessed the full array of typical thematic administrative positions. Among the most important subordinates of thestrategos were the imperialek prosopou atSyllaion, thedroungarioi of Attaleia andKos and thekatepano who commanded the theme'sMardaites.^[2][14] These were the descendants of several thousand people transplanted from the area ofLebanon and settled there by Emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711) in the 680s to provide crews and marines for the fleet.[15] In the early 9th century, the thematic fleet of the Cibyrrhaeots comprised 70 ships;^[16] and in theCretan expedition of 911, the Cibyrrhaeot theme sent 31 warships – 15 largedromons and 16 middle-sizedpamphyloi – with 6,000 oarsmen and 760 marines.^[17]

Around the mid-11th century, as the Muslim naval threat subsided, the Byzantine provincial fleets began a precipitate decline:^[18] the fleet of the Cibyrrhaeots is last mentioned in the repulsion of aRus' raid in 1043, and the theme became a purely civil province, headed by akrites and later by adoux.^[2][19] Most of its territory was lost to theSeljuk Turks after the 1071Battle of Manzikert, but recovered underAlexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). The rump theme was finally abolished byManuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), and the territory in Caria subordinated to the themeMylasa and Melanoudion.^[2][20][21]

• Themes of the Byzantine Empire
• Byzantine navy
• Byzantine Anatolia
• States and territories established in the 8th century
• Arab–Byzantine wars
• States and territories disestablished in the 12th century
• Medieval Aegean Sea

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