| Theme of the Peloponnese Πελοπόννησος, θέμα Πελοποννήσου | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme of theByzantine Empire | |||||||||
| ca. 800 – 1205 | |||||||||
 Map ofByzantine Greece ca. 900 AD, with the themes and major settlements. | |||||||||
| Capital | Corinth | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | ca. 800 | ||||||||
• Conquered byCrusaders | 1205 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Greece | ||||||||
TheTheme of the Peloponnese (Greek:θέμα Πελοποννήσου) was aByzantine military-civilian province (thema,theme) encompassing thePeloponnese peninsula in southernGreece. It was established in c. 800, and its capital wasCorinth.[1]
From 27 BC until the end of the 6th century, thePeloponnese formed part of theprovince ofAchaea, which duringLate Antiquity comprised also the eastern parts ofCentral Greece. Its capital wasCorinth.[2][3]
From the 580s on, as attested in theChronicle of Monemvasia, theSlavic invasions which affected the wider Balkans reached the peninsula, and led to the abandonment of the urban centres of Antiquity in favour of either remote or offshore locations likeMonemvasia, while the inhabitants of several cities such asPatras are claimed by theChronicle to have emigrated to Italy altogether. Along with statements by medieval chroniclers likeIsidore of Seville andConstantine Porphyrogennetos that southern Greece had completely submitted to the Slavs, this led to assumptions by earlier scholars that collapse of Byzantine control was total, and that the Peloponnese remained outside imperial control for two centuries afterwards.[4][5] The literary evidence is partially confirmed by several buried coin hoards from the 570s/580s and early 7th century, which attest to large-scale upheaval in two waves, one that peaked ca. 587, the date provided by theChronicle, and one that peaked in the far larger crisis of the reign ofHeraclius (r. 610–641).[6] Literary,toponymic and archaeological evidence on the other hand shows that the Slavic invaders settled mostly in the western half of the peninsula, i.e. the fertile plains ofElis andMessenia,Achaea and the plateau ofArcadia, while Byzantine authority survived in the more mountainous eastern parts of the peninsula as well as in various outposts around the coast, including Patras.[5][7] Nevertheless, as the rapid-re-Hellenization of the peninsula in the 9th century shows, a large Greek-speaking population must have remained in the areas overrun by the Slavs.[8]
Sometime between 687 and 695, all remaining imperial territory in southern Greece came under the new theme ofHellas, which had a strongly maritime character, being composed of coastal territories and mostly oriented towards the sea.[9][10] In about 800, however, Hellas was split up, and while the name was retained for the territory comprising easternCentral Greece andThessaly, the Peloponnese became a separate theme, with Corinth as the capital.[1][11] The formation of the new province is directly linked to the re-imposition of the Byzantine government's control over the Slavic tribes at this time. This was achieved by the victories of thestrategos (military governor)Skleros in 805, as reported by theChronicle of Monemvasia, and the failure of aSlavic siege of Patras at about the same time. EmperorNikephoros I (r. 802–811) followed up these successes with an extensive colonization andChristianization programme, which included the region's resettlement with Greeks from Italy andAsia Minor.[1][12][13]
The first knownstrategos of the Peloponnese isLeo Skleros, attested for 811 (possibly the same as, or a close relative of, the Skleros of 805), who may even be the first holder of the office.[1][11][14] Thestrategos of the Peloponnese ranked first in the hierarchy of the "western" (i.e. European) thematic governors.[15] The role of his administration was mostly controlling the Slavic tribes of the interior—rebellions by the autonomous and tribute-payingMelingoi andEzeritai tribes occurred in 840/42 and 921/22, the latter followed also by a rebellion ofSlavic troops from Asia Minor[16][17]—and defence against theArab raids, which were frequent in the 9th and 10th centuries: among other subordinate officials, atourmarches was charged with the defence of the coast and even had a naval squadron of fourchelandia under his orders.[1][11]
After the Byzantine reconquest ofCrete in 961 put an end to thepiratical emirate there, the Peloponnese prospered greatly.[11] From the late 10th century on, the thematic administration was often combined with that of Hellas, and in the late 11th century, this union became permanent, with both provinces coming under the control of themegas doux, the commander-in-chief of theByzantine navy. Due to the latter's absence from the province, however, the local administration remained under the localpraetor, a position often held by senior and distinguished officials like the legal scholarsAlexios Aristenos andNicholas Hagiotheodorites.[1][18] The joint theme of Hellas-Peloponnese was subdivided further during the 12th century into a series of smaller fiscal districts variously termedoria,chartoularata andepiskepseis.[a] The Peloponnese remained under Byzantine control until the early 13th century (1205), when, in the aftermath of theFourth Crusade, theLatinPrincipality of Achaea was established there.[11]
^ a: Theepiskepseis were large domains allocated for the support of individuals, noble houses or churches and monasteries.[19] Theoria were districts tasked with the maintenance of warships and crews for the navy. Thechartoularata were districts placed under achartoularios, and tasked with provisioning the imperial army with horses and pack animals. They also seem to have functioned as military assembly points, similar to the oldmetata andaplekta.[20]
