The Theme of Lucania () was 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 ...

province (

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

) in

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, that was established probably c. 968, under emperor

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of t ...

, and existed until the

Norman conquest of southern Italy The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1194, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern thi ...

at the middle of the 11th century.

History

It was situated between the two older Byzantine provinces of

Longobardia Longobardia (, also variously Λογγιβαρδία, ''Longibardia'' and Λαγουβαρδία, ''Lagoubardia'') was a Byzantine term for the territories controlled by the Lombards in the Italian Peninsula. In the ninth and tenth centuries, i ...

in the east and

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

in the west, and was formed to encompass Lombard-populated areas of the theme of Longobardia where

Byzantine Greeks The Byzantine Greeks were the Medieval Greek, Greek-speaking Eastern Romans throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), of Constantinople and Asia ...

from Calabria had settled in the early 10th century (the regions of Latinianon, Lagonegro and Mercurion).

Tursi Tursi (''Turse'' in Tursitano dialect; ; ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 4,712 inhabitants in the province of Matera in Basilicata, elevated to a city by decree of the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on May 4, 2006.D.P.R. May 4, 2006 ...

was chosen as the theme's capital and also as the seat of a new metropolitan bishopric to encompass the province. The theme of Lucania was probably under the overall authority of the

Catepan of Italy The Catepanate of Italy (, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province ('' theme'') of the Byzantine Empire, that existed from c. 965 until 1071. It was headed by a governor (''katepano'') with both civil and military powers. At its greatest exten ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

. The Lucania Theme lasted nearly one hundred years: from 968 to 1050 AD. It was fully conquered by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, with the help of the Longobards of the Principate of Salerno. The province corresponds roughly to the modern Italian region of

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Catapanato d'Italia (in Italian)
Byzantine Italy Themes of the Byzantine Empire History of Basilicata Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Italian states States and territories established in the 960s States and territories disestablished in the 1050s {{Italy-hist-stub

History

See also

References

Sources

External links