Peloponnes (byzantinisches Thema)

The theme of the Peloponnese (Vorlage:Lang-el) was a Byzantine province (thema, theme) encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. It was established ca. 800, and its capital was Corinth.

The Peloponnese, or at least the areas of it controlled by the Byzantine Empire, formed part of the theme of Hellas from the late 7th century on. In about 800 however, Hellas was split up, and while the name was retained for the territory comprising eastern Central Greece and Thessaly, the Peloponnese became a separate theme. The first strategos (general placed in charge of each theme) of the Peloponnese is Leo Skleros, attested for 811 (or perhaps 805 as well), who may even be the first holder of the office. The formation of the new province is directly linked to the re-imposition of the Byzantine government's control over the Slavic tribes that had settled in much of Greece, as well as to the region's resettlement with Greeks from Italy and Asia Minor.

The strategos of the Peloponnese ranked first in the hierarchy of the "western" (i.e. European) thematic governors. The role of his administration was mostly controlling the Slavic tribes of the interior and defence against the Arab raids, frequent in the 9th and 10th centuries: among other subordinate officials, a tourmarches was charged with the defence of the coast and even had a naval squadron of four chelandia under his orders. After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete in 961 put an end to the piratical emirate there, the Peloponnese prospered greatly. From the late 10th century on, the thematic administration was often combined with that of Hellas, and in the late 11th century, both provinces came under the control of the megas doux, the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy. The Peloponnese remained under Byzantine control until the early 13th century, when, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, the Latin Principality of Achaea was established there.

See also

• Melingoi and Ezeritai

Sources

• Alexander Kazhdan (Hrsg.): [[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]. Oxford University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6. 
• Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1994, ISBN 0-88402-226-9. 
• A. Pertusi: Constantino Porfirogenito: De Thematibus. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome 1952 (italienisch).