| Theme of Sicily Σικελία, θέμα Σικελίας | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme of theByzantine Empire | |||||||||||
| 687/695–902 | |||||||||||
 The Byzantine Empire and itsthemesc. 717 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Syracuse, thenRhegion | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | 687/695 | ||||||||||
| 902 | |||||||||||
• Remnant renamed as theTheme of Calabria | Mid-10th century | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Italy Malta[1] | ||||||||||
Sicily (Greek:θέμα Σικελίας,Thema Sikelias) was aByzantine province (theme) existing from the late 7th to the 10th century, encompassing the islands ofSicily andMalta, and the region ofCalabria in theItalian mainland. Following theMuslim conquest of Sicily, from 902 the theme was limited to Calabria, but retained its original name until the middle of the 10th century.
Ever since its reconquest from theOstrogoths byBelisarius in 535–536, Sicily had formed a distinctprovince under apraetor, while the army was placed under adux.[2][3] Astrategos (military governor) is attested on the island inArab sources between 687 and 695, and it is at that time that the island was probably made into a theme.[4]
The theme was based inSyracuse, traditionally the chief city of Sicily. It comprised not only the island, which was divided into districts calledtourmai, but also the mainland duchy ofCalabria (Greek:δουκᾶτον Καλαυρίας,doukaton Kalavrias), which extended roughly up to the riverCrati.[4][5][6] Thestrategos of Sicily exercised some authority—varying according to the prevailing local political faction—over the autonomous duchies ofNaples,Gaeta andAmalfi.[7]
TheMuslim conquest of the island began in 826. Following thefall of Syracuse in 878 and the conquest ofTaormina in 902, thestrategos moved toRhegion, the capital of Calabria. During the first half of the 10th century, the Byzantines launched a number of failed expeditions to regain the island and maintained a few isolated strongholds nearMessina until 965, whenRometta, the last Byzantine outpost,fell. The post of "strategos of Sicily" was thus retained as the official title until the mid-10th century, when the "strategos of Calabria" begins to appear in the lists.[2][8][9]
Holders of the office known only from seals who can not be precisely dated are not included. Uncertain or conjectural entries are denoted in italics.
| Name | Tenure | Appointed by | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salventius | c. 687–695 | Justinian II (?) | Only known through two seals dating to the late 7th century, which give his titles aspatrikios andstrategos, without geographic qualification. His Latin name points to a Western origin, possibly from the senatorial aristocracy ofRome; as the only Western theme at the time was Sicily, he is held to have beenstrategos there, probably appointed by Justinian II during his first reign. | [10] |
| Theophylact | c. 700 | Tiberios III | Four seals attest to the existence of akoubikoularios,parakoimomenos, andstrategos of Sicily with that name. The dating, as well as the attribution of the seals to the same person, are uncertain, but some scholars (e.g.,Vitalien Laurent andNicolas Oikonomides) identify him with thenamesakeExarch of Ravenna, who was appointed in October 701 and came from Sicily. This attribution would also make him the first knownparakoimomenos. | [11][12] |
| Theodore | c. 710–713 | Justinian II | First attested in October 710, whenPope Constantine healed him from an illness. Following the murder of ExarchJohn III Rizocopus in 711, he was sent to Italy to restore order. He killed or captured the rebels, many of whom were exiled toConstantinople, including ArchbishopFelix of Ravenna. He probably remained in charge of the Exarchate until the arrival of a new exarch,Scholasticus, in 713. | [13][14] |
| Sergios | 717–718 | Leo III the Isaurian | Thepatrikios Sergios wasstrategos of Sicily in 717, when false news reached the island that Constantinoplehad fallen to theUmayyads. He then proclaimed one of his aides,Basil Onomagoulos, as emperor. Emperor Leo III quickly sent a newstrategos to the island to suppress the inadvertent revolt. Sergius managed to flee to theLombards, but later secured a pardon and returned to Byzantine territory. Some scholars have proposed an identification with the namesakestrategos of 731. | [15][16] |
| Paul | 718–723 (?) | Leo III the Isaurian | Originally the personalchartoularios of the emperor, he was sent to suppress the revolt of Sergios andBasil Onomagoulos. He is commonly identified as the Paul who became Exarch of Ravenna in 723, and may have remained in office in Sicily until then, but neither is certain. The Exarch Paul was killed during a rebellion in Ravenna in 726/27. | [17][18] |
| Sergios | c. 730–735 | Leo III the Isaurian | Sometimes identified with thestrategos of 717. He was involved in promoting Leo'siconoclast policies with the Pope, as well as implementing his administrative and fiscal reforms, in Sicily and Calabria. He was possibly the Byzantine commander in a naval defeat at the hands of the Umayyads underUbayd Allah ibn al-Habhab al-Mawsili in 734/35, and may have been the author of a truce concluded in 728. | [19][20] |
| Antiochos | c. 760–763 (?) | Constantine V | He wasstrategos of Sicily, and the chief imperial commander (monostrategos) in Italy, probably inc. 760–763, perhaps as late as 766. He also occupied the post oflogothetes tou dromou, unusually in tandem with the post ofstrategos. He was implicated in a conspiracy of nineteen of the highest state officials, headed by the brothersStrategios andConstantine Podopagouros, against Constantine V. After the plot's discovery, the conspirators were publicly paraded and humiliated at theHippodrome of Constantinople on 25 August 766, following which Antiochos and most of the other conspirators wereblinded and exiled. | [21][22] |
| Elpidios | c. 778–780 (?) 781–782 | Leo IV the Khazar Irene of Athens | Appointed asstrategos of Sicily in February 781 by Empress-regent Irene of Athens. He is noted to have held the office previously, most likely in the late 770s, so that Irene's appointment may simply have been a reconfirmation. He was soon accused of participating in the abortive conspiracy of the previous October to depose Irene and raise Leo IV's brotherNikephoros to the throne. Irene sent an emissary to Sicily, but the locals refused to hand him over, so that the Empress had to dispatch an expedition against him in 782. Elpidios fled to theAghlabids, who crowned him Byzantine emperor (basileus). | [23][24] |
| Theodore | 782–788 | Irene of Athens | Aeunuch, he was sent by Empress Irene to depose Elpidios. He remained in Sicily as the localstrategos and was active in the affairs of Italy. He participated, under the command of theprotospatharios andsakellarios John, in the expedition in support of the formerKing of the LombardsAdelchis, who intended to recover his realm fromCharlemagne. The expedition was defeated by the Franks, and Theodore was executed "in cruel fashion". | [25][26] |
| Niketas Monomachos | c. 797 | Irene of Athens | Born inPaphlagonia, he was castrated as a child. He is attested asstrategos of Sicily in 797, when he accompaniedTheoktistos in an embassy to Charlemagne. He remained in office until 798/9, when his successor is named. After 811 he became a monk and abbot, and a defender of the veneration oficons during the second period of iconoclasm. He died in 836 and is venerated as a saint. | [27][28] |
| Michael Ganglianos | c. 798/9 | Irene of Athens | Mentioned in Frankish sources as a former governor ofPhrygia (likelystrategos of theAnatolic Theme), who led an embassy to the court of Charlemagne along with the presbyter Theophilos in 798. He is equated by some scholars, notablyPaul Speck, with the "Michahel Siciliae praefectus" mentioned in theAnnales regni Francorum as an envoy to Charlemagne in 799, as well as with the owner of a seal mentioning "Michael,patrikios,praipositos, andstrategos of Sicily". If so, the title ofpraipositos indicates that he was a eunuch. | [29][30] |
| Constantine | c. 804/5 | Nikephoros I | Constantine is only known from a letter byPope Leo III from 813, as having concluded a ten-year truce with the Arabs (probably theAghlabids) in spring 804, which was broken by the latter. He was probably sent to the island soon after the overthrow of Irene in October 802, to replace the governor appointed by her, hence in 803. A number of seals mentioning Constantine,patrikios andstrategos of Sicily, are attributed to him, including one found onCyprus, perhaps linked with the short-lived recovery of the island under Nikephoros I in 805–806. | [31][32] |
| Theognostos | c. 812 | Michael I Rhangabe | Mentioned as one of the envoys sent in 811/2 by Michael I toAachen to negotiate peace and arrange a marriage between his sonTheophylact and a Frankish princess. Given the frequency with which thestrategoi of Sicily were eomployed in such embassies, he may be the owner of an unpublished seal mentioning "Theognostos,patrikios andstrategos of Sicily", which on stylistic grounds is to be dated in the early 9th century. | [33][34] |
| Gregory | 813–821 | Leo V the Armenian | Mentioned in two letters by Pope Leo III in August and November 813. He led a fleet to Sicily to help repel an Arab attack, but soon concluded a truce with the Arabs ofIfriqiya. He restored imperial control over theDuchy of Naples, installing his own nomineesTheoctistus andTheodore as dukes. After the murder of Leo V in December 820, he did not recognize his successor,Michael II the Amorian, and was assassinated by local aristocrats underEuphemius. | [35][36] |
| Constantine Soudas | 826 | Michael II the Amorian | Appointed by Michael II in 826, Constantine appointed Euphemius as his fleet commander, but was overthrown and executed by the latter, when orders came from Constantinople for his arrest. Facing resistance in the island, Euphemius turned to the Aghlabids for aid. The affair marked the beginning of theMuslim conquest of Sicily. | [37] |
| Palata or Balata | 826–827 | Michael II the Amorian | Known only from Arabic sources, his actual name is unknown;Palata may be the corrupted form of a title (perhapskouropalates). Initially a partisan of Euphemios, he turned against him and evicted him from Syracuse; alternatively he may have been a general sent from Constantinople. When Euphemios returned with Aghlabid troops, Palata, who was thede facto governor of Sicily, was defeated and withdrew toCalabria, where he died. | [38] |
| Photeinos | c. 826/7 (?) | Michael II the Amorian | Asstrategos of the Anatolic Theme, he led an expedition to recover Crete from theSaracens but was defeated. He was then appointed to command in Sicily. No details about his activities there are known. | [39] |
| Constantine Kontomytes | 859 | Michael III | Thepatrikios Constantine Kontomytes was a formerstrategos of theThracesian Theme and relative by marriage to the EmpressTheodora andPatriarchPhotios. In 859, Emperor Michael III sent him to Sicily at the head of 300 ships. The Byzantines were defeated by the Arabs under Abbas ibn Fad and forced back onto their ships. | [40] |
| Eupraxios | c. 880 | Basil I the Macedonian | Mentioned only in the chronicle ofSymeon the Logothete as governor of Sicily in 880, in connection with the dispatch of reinforcements underProkopios to southern Italy. | [41] |
| Barsakios | c. 881 | Basil I the Macedonian | Of Armenian origin, the imperialprotospatharios andstrategos Barsakios was defeated by the Aghlabid commanderal-Hasan ibn al-Abbas nearTaormina in spring 881 and recalled to Constantinople. Probably identical with thepatrikios of the same name who in 894/5 becamestrategos ofLongibardia in southern Italy. | [42] |
| Polites | c. 884/5 | Basil I the Macedonian | Name known only from Arabic sources. Either himself the governor, or, according toIbn al-Athir, the envoy of the governor, who negotiated a three-month truce and the ransoming of 300 Muslim prisoners, in exchange for Byzantine captives from Syracuse. | [43] |
| Constantine Karamallos | c. 902 | Leo VI the Wise | Thepatrikios Constantine Karamallos is attested as the commander ofTaormina during itssiege by the Aghlabids in 902. He escaped its fall with the fleet, and went to Constantinople, where he was tried and condemned to death for negligence. He was pardoned and allowed to retire as a monk. Based on an inscription fromCastel Mola, a fort near Taormina, mentioning a "Constantine,patrikios andstrategos of Sicily", which stylistically belongs to the same period, he is identified as astrategos. | [44] |
| Eustathios | c. 914 | Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos | An imperial chamberlain (hence a eunuch), who negotiated a peace treaty withAhmad ibn Qurhub, in exchange for an annual tribute of 22,000 gold coins. His seal carries his titles as "primikerios, imperialprotospatharios, andstrategos of Sicily"; in reality he was probably the firststrategos of Calabria. | [45] |
