Charsianon () was the name of a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

fortress and the corresponding theme (a military-civilian province) in the region of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

in eastern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

(modern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

History

The fortress of Charsianon (Greek: Χαρσιανόν κάστρον, ''Charsianon kastron'';

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ''Qal'e-i Ḥarsanōs'') is first mentioned in 638, during the first wave of the

Muslim conquests The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests ** Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia *** Muslim co ...

, and was allegedly named after a general of

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

named Charsios.. The fortress is now identified with the ruins of Muşalikalesi (Muşali Kale of old) in the Akdağmadeni district in

Yozgat Province Yozgat Province () is a province in central Turkey. Its area is 13,690 km2, and its population is 418,442 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Çorum to the northwest, Kırıkkale to the west, Kırşehir to the southwest, Nevşehir to the s ...

. The

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

first seized it in 730, and it remained a hotly contested stronghold during the next century of Byzantine–Arab warfare. During the 8th century, it belonged to the Armeniac Theme and was the seat of a military and territorial district ('' tourma''). In the early 9th century, the fortress became the centre of a '' kleisoura'', a separately administered fortified frontier district. Sometime between 863 and 873, it was raised to the status of a full theme, augmented by territory from the neighbouring Bucellarian, Armeniac and Cappadocian themes.. It ranked in the middle tier of themes, with its governing ''

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

'' receiving an annual salary of 20 pounds of gold and commanding, according to Arab sources, 4,000 men and four fortresses. In the 10th century, the theme of Charsianon became a major stronghold of the landed military aristocracy, with the great clans of Argyros and

Maleinos The Maleinos (Plural, pl. Maleinoi; , pl. ) was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family, first attested in the 9th century. The family rose to be amongst the most important and powerful members of the Anatolia, Anatolian aristoc ...

having their homes and estates there. After 1045, a large number of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, including the former king Gagik II (r. 1042–1045), were settled there, leading to friction with the local Greeks. The theme was lost to the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

following the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

in 1071 and given to Danishmendids. Gagik II is attested as the last '' doux'' of Charsianon in 1072–1073.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Byzantine themes in De Thematibus Byzantine Cappadocia Themes of the Byzantine Empire States and territories established in the 9th century States and territories disestablished in the 11th century