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Thrakesion
The Thracesian Theme (, ''Thrakēsion thema''), more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians (, ''thema Thrakēsiōn'', often simply , ''Thrakēsioi''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created either in the mid-7th or the early 8th century as the settlement of the former Army of Thrace, after which it was named, it was one of the larger and more important themes of the Empire throughout its existence based on its proximity to Constantinople. The Thracesian Theme was one of the longest-lived themes, surviving until the region was conquered by the Turks in the early 14th century. History As with the other themes, the exact date of foundation is unclear. The Thracesians are first securely attested in 711, when a "'' tourmarchēs'' of the Thracesians" named Christopher was dispatched against Cherson by Emperor Justinian II, while a governing '' stratēgos'' is only attested as late as 741.... It is hence traditionall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct continuation of the East Roman army, Eastern Roman army, shaping and developing itself on the legacy of the late Hellenistic armies, it maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization. It was among the most effective armies of western Eurasia for much of the Middle Ages. Over time the cavalry arm became more prominent in the Byzantine army as the Roman legion, legion system disappeared in the early 7th century. Later reforms reflected some Germanic peoples, Germanic and Asian people, Asian influences—rival forces frequently became sources of mercenary units, such as the Huns, Cumans, Alans and (following the Battle of Manzikert) Turkic peoples, Turks, meeting the Empire's demand for light cavalry Mercenary, mercenaries. Since much of the Byzantine military focused on the strategy and skill of generals utili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alaşehir
Alaşehir () is a municipality and district of Manisa Province, Turkey. Its area is 971 km2, and its population is 104,717 (2022). It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay ( Cogamus in antiquity), at the foot of the Bozdağ Mountain ( Mount Tmolus in antiquity). The town is connected to İzmir by a railway. Founded in antiquity as Philadelphia (, i.e., "the city of him who loves his brother"), the town was known as such until it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1390. Alaşehir stands on elevated ground commanding the extensive and fertile plain of the Gediz River ( Hermus in antiquity), presenting an imposing appearance when seen from a distance. It has about 45 mosques. There are small industries and a fair trade. From one of the mineral springs comes a heavily charged water popular around Turkey. Within Turkey, the city's name is synonymous with the dried Sultana raisins, although cultivation for the fresh fruit market, less labour-intensive than the dried fruit, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theme Of Thrace
The Theme of Thrace () was a province (''thema'' or theme) of the Byzantine Empire located in the south-eastern Balkans, comprising varying parts of the eponymous geographic region during its history. History Traditionally, it has been held that the theme (at the time primarily a military command) was constituted in c. 680, as a response to the Bulgar threat... This is based on the mention of a certain ''patrikios'' Theodore, Count of the '' Opsikion'' and ''hypostrategos'' of Thrace, in 680/681. However, it is unclear whether this implies the existence of Thrace as a separate command, with Theodore holding a dual post, or whether Thrace was administratively united to the ''Opsikion''. In fact, separate ''strategoi'' of Thrace are not clearly attested in literary sources until 742, while seals of ''strategoi'' are also extant only from the eighth century on. Initially, Adrianople was probably the theme's capital. Under Empress Irene of Athens, in the late eighth century, the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatolic Theme
The Anatolic Theme (, ''Anatolikon hema'), more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics (Greek: , ''thema Anatolikōn''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in central Asia Minor (modern Turkey). From its establishment, it was the largest and senior-most of the themes, and its military governors ('' stratēgoi'') were powerful individuals, several of them rising to the imperial throne or launching failed rebellions to capture it. The theme and its army played an important role in the Arab–Byzantine wars of the 7th–10th centuries, after which it enjoyed a period of relative peace that lasted until its conquest by the Seljuk Turks in the late 1070s. Geography and administration In its "classical" form during the 8th and 9th centuries, the theme stretched over the ancient regions of Lycaonia, Pisidia, Isauria, as well as most of Phrygia and parts of Galatia Salutaris.. Initially, the Anatolic Theme included the western and southern shores of Asia Minor as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine V
Constantine V (; July 718 – 14 September 775) was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of Third Fitna, civil war in the Muslim world to make limited offensives on the Al-'Awasim, Arab frontier. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgars in the Balkans. His military activity, and policy of settling Christian populations from the Arab frontier in Thrace, made Byzantium's hold on its Balkan territories more secure. He was also responsible for important military and administrative innovations and reforms. Religious strife and controversy was a prominent feature of his reign. His fervent support of Byzantine Iconoclasm, iconoclasm and opposition to Christian monasticism, monasticism led to his vilification by some contemporary commentators and the majority of later Byzantine writers, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alyattes Of Lydia
Alyattes (Lydian language: ; ; reigned c. 635 – c. 585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. He died after a reign of 57 years and was succeeded by his son Croesus. Alyattes was the first monarch who issued coins, made from electrum (and his successor Croesus was the first to issue gold coins). Alyattes is therefore sometimes mentioned as the originator of coinage, or of currency. Name The most likely etymology for the name derives it, via a form with initial digamma (), itself originally from a Lydian ( Lydian alphabet: ). The name meant "lion-ness" (i.e. the state of being a lion), and was composed of the Lydian term (), meaning "lion", to which was added an abstract suffix (). Chronology Dates for the Mermnad kings are uncertain and are based on a computation by J. B. Bury and Russell Meiggs (1975) who estimated c.687–c.652 BC for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thracians
The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between Thrace, north-eastern Greece, Romania, and north-western Turkey. They shared the same language and culture. There may have been as many as a million Thracians, divided among up to 40 tribes." Thracians resided mainly in Southeast Europe in Present (time), modern-day Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, northern Greece and European Turkey, but also in north-western Anatolia, Anatolia (Asia Minor) in Turkey. The exact origin of the Thracians is uncertain, but it is believed that Thracians like other Indo-European speaking groups in Europe descended from a mixture of Proto-Indo-Europeans and Early European Farmers. Around the 5th millennium BC, the inhabitants of the eastern region of the Balkans became organized in different groups of Indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Alexander. Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the '' Geoponika'' (τά γεοπονικά), an important agronomic treatise compiled during his reign, and three, perhaps four, books; (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν), (Περὶ τῆς Βασιλείου Τάξεως), '' De Thematibus'' (Περὶ θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως), and '' Vita Basilii'' (Βίος Βασιλείου), though his authorship of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auxilia Palatina
''Auxilia palatina'' (: ''auxilium palatinum'') were infantry units of the Late Roman army, first raised by Constantine the Great, Constantine I as part of the new field army he created in about 325 AD. Some of the senior and probably oldest of these units had special names such as ''Cornuti'' or ''Brachiati''; others were named after the tribes from which they were recruited (many of these in eastern Gaul, or among the German barbarians). These units all became palatine units when a distinction was drawn between ''Palatini (Roman military), palatina'' and the remainder of the ''comitatenses'' around 365. There is no direct evidence for the strength of an ''auxilium'', but A. H. M. Jones (''History of the Later Roman Empire'', Blackwell, Oxford, 1964 p 682) estimates that it may have been 600 or 700. Some ''auxilia'' are attested as ''limitanei'', especially on the Danube. It is not clear whether these were regarded as a different category of unit. List of ''auxilia palatina'' Lis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palatini (Roman Military)
The ''palatini'' (Latin for "palace troops") were elite units of the Late Roman army mostly attached to the ''comitatus praesentales'', or imperial escort armies. In the elaborate hierarchy of troop-grades, the ''palatini'' ranked below the ''scholares'' (members of the elite cavalry regiments called the '' scholae''), but above the '' comitatenses'' (regiments of the regional ''comitatus'') and the '' limitanei'' (border troops). The term derives from ''palatium'' ("palace") a reference to the fact that the regiments originally served in the imperial escort armies only. Later they were also found in the regional ''comitatus'' (mobile field armies). There, however, they continued to enjoy higher status and pay than the rest of the ''comitatus'' regiments. At the time the '' Notitia Dignitatum'' was written (ca. 395 for the Eastern Empire), 80% of the regiments in the eastern ''comitatus praesentales'' were graded ''palatini'' and 14% of those in the regional ''comitatus''. The ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vexillatio
A ''vexillatio'' (: ''vexillationes'') was a detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force created by the Roman army of the Principate. It was named from the standard carried by legionary detachments, the ''vexillum'' (: ''vexilla''), which bore the emblem and name of the parent legion. Although commonly associated with legions, it is likely that ''vexillationes'' included auxiliaries. The term is found in the singular, referring to a single detachment, but is usually used in the plural to refer to an army made up of picked detachments. ''Vexillationes'' were assembled ''ad hoc'' to meet a crisis on Rome's extensive frontiers, to fight in a civil war, or to undertake an offensive against Rome's neighbours. They varied in size and composition, but usually consisted of about 1000 infantry and/or 500 cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
