| Provincia Epiri Ἐπαρχία Ἠπείρου | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of theRoman Empire | |||||||||||||||
| 100s or 110s AD–7th century | |||||||||||||||
.svg) The province of Epirus within the Roman Empire, c. 125 AD | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Nicopolis | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 100s or 110s AD | ||||||||||||||
| 7th century | |||||||||||||||
• Transformed into theTheme of Nicopolis | 7th century | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Today part of | Greece Albania | ||||||||||||||
The province ofEpirus (Latin:Provincia Epiri,Ancient Greek:Ἐπαρχία Ἠπείρου,romanized: Eparchía Ēpeírou) was aprovince of theRoman Empire, covering the region of AncientEpirus. Rome first annexed the region in 167 BC, in the aftermath of theThird Macedonian War, and initially put the region in the largerRoman province of Macedonia, which at the time covered the whole of the Hellenistic world in mainland Europe. In 27 BC, Epirus andAchaea were separated from Macedonia and grouped into thesenatorial province ofAchaea, with the exception of its northernmost part, which remained part of the province of Macedonia.[1] Under EmperorTrajan, sometime between 103 and 114 AD, Epirus became a separate province, under aprocuratorAugusti. The new province extended from the Gulf of Aulon (Vlorë) and theAcroceraunian Mountains in the north to the lower course of theAcheloos River in the south, and included the northern Ionian Islands ofCorfu,Lefkada,Ithaca,Cephallonia, andZakynthos.[1]
Rome had maintained a military presence in Epirus since theFirst Macedonian War, when it used Epirus as an entry-point for Roman troops in Greece. Rome would continue to use Epirus as a gateway for its troops in theSecond andThird Macedonian Wars. During the third war, the hitherto neutralEpirote League split, with theMolossians siding with theMacedonians and theChaonians andThesprotians supporting the Romans.[2] The war ended disastrously for Epirus: 150,000 Molossians were enslaved and the region fell to Rome.
The status of the region between 167 and 146 BC is unclear, but in 146 BC, it was grouped in the largerRoman province of Macedonia. DuringCaesar's Civil War,Julius Caesar usedBouthroton as a naval base, and later drew up plans for acolonia there for his civil war veterans shortly before his death.Augustus later took up these plans and made the city a colony for his own veterans, after his victory overMark Antony at theWar of Actium.[3] New residents expanded the city and the construction included anaqueduct,thermae, houses, aforum complex and anymphaeum. During this period, the size of the town was doubled.[4] A number of new structures were built next to the existing ones, especially around the theatre and the temple ofAsklepios.[5]
Augustus also separated Epirus and Achaea from Macedonia in 27 BC, but it remained part of the province ofAchaia until sometime between 104 and 117 AD, whenTrajan made it a province in its own right.[1]
Sometime during the provincial reorganization byDiocletian (r. 284–305), the western portion of the province of Macedonia along the Adriatic coast was split off into a new province, called "New Epirus" (Latin:Epirus Nova) which roughly corresponded to southernIllyria proper, historically inhabited byIllyrian tribes. Epirus proper thereafter became known as "Old Epirus" (Latin:Epirus Vetus,Ancient Greek:Παλαιὰ Ἤπειρος).
The two Epirote provinces became part of theDiocese of Moesia, until it was divided in ca. 369 into the dioceses ofMacedonia andDacia, when they became part of the former.[6] In the 4th century, Epirus was still a stronghold ofpaganism, and was aided by EmperorJulian (r. 361–363 AD) and hispraetorian prefectClaudius Mamertinus through reduction in taxes and the rebuilding of the provincial capital,Nicopolis.[7] According toJordanes, theVisigoths raided the area in 380.[7] With the division of the Empire on the death ofTheodosius I in 395, Epirus became part of the Eastern Roman orByzantine Empire.[7] In 395–397, the Visigoths underAlaric plundered Greece. They remained in Epirus for a few years, until 401, and again in 406–407, during Alaric's alliance with theWestern Roman generalissimoStilicho in order to wrestEastern Illyricum from the Eastern Empire.[7]
From 467 on, the Ionian Islands and the coasts of Epirus became subject to raids by theVandals, who had taken over theNorth African provinces and established their own kingdom, theKingdom of the Vandals, centred onCarthage. The Vandals seized Nicopolis in 474 as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with EmperorZeno, and plundered Zakynthos, killing many of its inhabitants and capturing many others and taking them into slavery.[8] Epirus Nova became a battleground during the power struggles of theOstrogoths after 479, in which the Byzantines were involved.[8] A Gothic attempt to take Durrës was repulsed by Roman forces during this period.[9]
In 517, a raid of theGetae orAntae reached Greece, including Epirus Vetus.[8]Procopius of Caesarea claims in hisSecret History that underJustinian I (r. 527–565 AD), the entirety of the Balkan provinces was raided by barbarians every year. However, this is considered rhetorical hyperbole by modern scholars, as only a single Slavic raid to the environs of Dyrrhachium, in 548–9, has been documented.[8] Procopius further reports that in 551, the Ostrogothic kingTotila sent his fleet to raid the shores of Epirus, in an attempt to interdict the Byzantines' lines of communication with Italy during theGothic War, in which the Byzantines were trying to annex his kingdom.[10] In response to these raids, and to repair the damage done by two destructive earthquakes in 522, Justinian initiated a wide-ranging programme of reconstruction and re-fortification: Hadrianopolis was rebuilt, albeit in reduced extent, and renamed Justinianopolis, whileEuroea was moved further inland - this has been traditionally identified with the founding ofIoannina. Procopius also claims that no less than 36 smaller fortresses in Epirus Vetus—most of them not identifiable today—were either rebuilt or built anew.[10]
In the late 6th century, much of Greece, including Epirus, fell under the control of theAvars and their Slavic allies. This is placed by theChronicle of Monemvasia in the year 587, and is further corroborated by evidence that several sees were abandoned by their bishops by 591. Thus, inc. 590 the bishop, clergy and people of Euroea fled their city, carrying with them the relics of their patron saint,St. Donatus, to Cassiope in Corfu.[11]
The restoration of Byzantine rule seems to have proceeded from the islands, chiefly Cephallonia, which was certainly under firm Imperial control inc. 702, whenPhilippicus Bardanes was banished there. The gradual restoration of Imperial rule is evidenced further from the participation of local bishops in councils inConstantinople: whereas only the bishop of Dyrrhachium participated in the Ecumenical Councils of680–1 and692, a century later the bishops of Dyrrhachium, Nicopolis, Corfu, Cephallonia, and Zakynthos are attested in theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787.[12]
In about the middle of the 8th century, theTheme of Cephallenia was established; this, along with theTheme of Nicopolis, which was established in the 9th century, covered the former region of Epirus Vetus. TheTheme of Dyrrhachium, established in the 9th century, covered what was once Epirus Nova, and Byzantine rule in Epirus in the early Middle Ages would continue through these new provinces.[13][14][15][16]
The province, especially the northern towns, benefitted greatly from the construction of theVia Egnatia to the north.[17] Due to both its traditionally reputed livestock and its proximity to the Italian peninsula, Epirus became a major exporter ofcattle and luxury goods like racehorses to Italy, where the latter were in great demand for the popularchariot races in Rome.[18]
Epirus also had significant populations of Italian settlers with large estates, attracted by the potential for pastoral agriculture. It is possible that these settlers had significant impact on the demographics and commerce of the province.[19]
TheSynecdemus ofHierocles, composed in ca. 527–8 AD but probably reflecting the situation in the first half of the 5th century, reports eleven cities for Old Epirus:
New Epirus, with its capital atDyrrhachium, comprised nine cities.[20]
"At Bouthrotos, it is enough to compare the theatre, built of grey poros, with all the Roman structures surrounding it: the skene and the neighbouring buildings, the new sanctuary of Asklepios and the areas next to it
