The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from
Monte Gargano to the
Gulf of Salerno. North of that line,
Amalfi and
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
also maintained allegiance to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
through the catepan. The Italian region of ''
Capitanata
The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy.
This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, and ...
'' derives its name from ''
katepanikion''.
History
Following the fall of the
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...
in 751, Byzantium had been absent from the affairs of southern Italy for almost a century, but the accession of
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...
(reigned 867–886) to the throne of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
changed this: from 868 on, the
imperial fleet and Byzantine diplomats were employed in an effort to secure the
Adriatic Sea from
Saracen raids, re-establish Byzantine dominance over
Dalmatia, and extend Byzantine control once more over parts of Italy. As a result of these efforts,
Otranto
Otranto (, , ; scn, label=Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label= Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a ferti ...
was taken from the Saracens in 873, and
Bari, captured from Arabs by the Holy Roman Emperor
Louis II in 871, passed under Byzantine control in 876. The expeditions of the capable general
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder in the mid-880s further extended Byzantine control over most of
Apulia and
Calabria. These victories were followed up by his successors and laid the foundation of a resurgence of Byzantine power in southern Italy, culminating in the establishment of the
theme of
Longobardia
Longobardia ( el, Λογγοβαρδία, also variously Λογγιβαρδία, ''Longibardia'' and Λαγουβαρδία, ''Lagoubardia'') was a Byzantine term for the territories controlled by the Lombards in the Italian Peninsula. In the ni ...
in c. 892. The regions of Apulia, Calabria and
Basilicata would remain firmly under Byzantine control until the 11th century. In c. 965, a new theme, that of
Lucania
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto.
It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...
, was established, and the ''
stratēgos'' (military governor) of Bari was raised to the title of ''
katepanō'' of Italy, usually with the rank of ''
patrikios''. The title of ''katepanō'' meant "the uppermost" in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. This elevation was deemed militarily necessary after the final loss of nearby
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, a previously Byzantine possession, to the Arabs.
Some
Norman adventurers, on pilgrimage to
Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano, lent their swords in 1017 to the
Lombard cities of
Apulia against the Byzantines. From 1016 to 1030 the Normans were pure mercenaries, serving either Byzantine or Lombard, and then Duke
Sergius IV of Naples, by installing their leader
Ranulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; died June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family.
Early life and arrival in Italy
When ...
in the fortress of
Aversa in 1030. This gave the Normans their first foothold in southern Italy from which they began an organized conquest of the land. In 1030, William and Drogo, the two eldest sons of
Tancred of Hauteville, a noble of
Coutances
Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.
History
Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chloru ...
in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
arrived in southern Italy. The two joined in the organized attempt to wrest Apulia from the Byzantines, who had lost most of that province by 1040. Bari
was captured by the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
in April 1071, and Byzantine authority was
finally terminated in Italy, five centuries after the
conquests of
Justinian I. In 1154-1156, through a plan hatched by Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos, the Byzantines returned briefly to besiege Bari and were moderately successful in inciting a mass revolt which nearly toppled Norman control (potentially handing much of the former Katepanate back to the Byzantine Empire), but the gains were "reversed by misfortune".
The title ''Catapan of Apulia and Campania'' was revived briefly in 1166 for
Gilbert, Count of Gravina, the cousin of the queen regent
Margaret of Navarre
Margaret of Navarre (french: Marguerite, es, Margarita, it, Margherita) (c. 1135 – 12 August 1183) was Queen of Sicily as the wife of William I (1154–1166) and the regent during the minority of her son, William II.
Queen consort
Margaret ...
. In 1167, with his authority as catapan, Gilbert forced German troops out of the
Campania and compelled
Frederick Barbarossa to raise the siege of
Ancona.
Catepans
*970–975
Michael Abidelas
*before 982 Romanos
*982–985
Kalokyros Delphinas
*985–988 Romanos
*988–998
John Ammiropoulos
*999–1006
Gregory Tarchaneiotes
*1006–1008
Alexios Xiphias
*1008–1010
John Kourkouas
*1010–1016
Basil Mesardonites
Basil Mesardonites was the Catapan of Italy, representing the Byzantine Emperor there, from 1010 to 1016 or 1017. He succeeded the catapan John Kourkouas, who died fighting the Lombards, then in rebellion under Melus, early in 1010. In March, Basi ...
*May 1017 – December 1017
Leo Tornikios Kontoleon
*December 1017 – 1027
Basil Boioannes
Basil Boioannes ( grc-gre, Βασίλειος Βοϊωάννης, Basíleios Boïōánnēs, ; la, Basilius Bugianus, ), in Italian called it, Bugiano, label=none, i=no (), was the Byzantine catapan of Italy (1017 – 1027 Chalandon, Ferdinand. '' ...
*c. 1027–1029
Christophoros Burgaris
*July 1029 – June 1032
Pothos Argyros
*1032 – May 1033
Michael Protospatharios
*May 1033 – 1038
Constantine Opos
*1038–1039
Michael Spondyles
*February 1039 – January 1040
Nikephoros Dokeianos Nikephoros Dokeianos ( el, Νικηφόρος Δοκειανός, it, Nikeforo Dulchiano; died 1040) was the catepan of Italy from 1039 until 1040. He saw the early rebellion of Arduin the Lombard
Arduin the Lombard (or Arduin of Melfi; it, Ar ...
*November 1040 – Summer of 1041
Michael Dokeianos
*Summer 1041 – 1042
Exaugustus Boioannes
*February 1042 – April 1042
Synodianos Synodianos was very briefly the catepan of Italy in 1042 (February – April). He was appointed by Michael V after the death of the Emperor Michael IV. He immediately demanded the surrender of all the formerly Greek cities of Apulia and began ...
*April 1042 – September 1042
George Maniakes
George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire of Byzantine Greek origin
during the 11 ...
*Autumn 1042
Pardos
*February 1043 – April 1043
Basil Theodorokanos Basil III Theodorokanos or Theodorocanus ( el, Βασίλειος Θεοδωροκάνος, it, Teodoro Cano) was the Byzantine Catepan of Italy from February to the Spring of 1043. He was a patrician and a former companion in arms of George Mani ...
*Autumn 1045 – September 1046
Eustathios Palatinos
*September 1046 – December 1046
John Raphael John Raphael may refer to:
*John Raphael (catepan), the Catepan of Italy from 1046 to 1049
*John Raphael (sportsman) (18821917), Belgian-born English cricketer and rugby union footballer
*John Raphael Smith
John Raphael Smith (1751 – 2 Marc ...
*1050–1058
Argyrus
*1060/1061
Marules
*1062
Sirianus
*1064–1068
Abulchares
*1068
Perenos
*1071
Stephen Pateranos
References
Sources
*
Charanis, Peter. "On the Question of the Hellenization of Sicily and Southern Italy During the Middle Ages." ''
The American Historical Review.'' Vol. 52, No. 1 (Oct., 1946), pp. 74–86.
*
*
*
* White, Lynn, Jr.. "The Byzantinization of Sicily." ''The American Historical Review.'' Vol. 42, No. 1 (Oct., 1936), pp. 1–21.
See also
*
Magna Graecia
*
Grecìa Salentina
Grecìa Salentina (Griko for " Salentine Greece") is an area in the peninsula of Salento in southern Italy, near the town of Lecce which is inhabited by the Griko people, an ethnic Greek minority in southern Italy who speak Griko, a variant of ...
*
Katepanikion
*
Catepanate of Ras
The Catepanate of Ras (Byzantine Greek: ) was a province ( catepanate) of the Byzantine Empire, established around 971 in central regions of early medieval Serbia, during the rule of Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes (969–976). The catepanate ...
{{Byzantine Empire topics, state=collapsed
Provinces of the Byzantine Empire
11th century in Italy
10th century in Italy
Italian states
Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy