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UNIVERSITY of OSLO May 2018 Deus adiuta Romanis, God help the Romans. The evolution from Roman provincial system to the Thémata Tormod Hamnebukt Master’s thesis in history Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History IAKH – Faculty of Humanities UNIVERSITY OF OSLO May 2018 I Silver Hexagram of Heraclius struck between 615-38, the text reads: Deus adiuta Romanis (“God help the Romans”) II Deus adiuta Romanis, God help the Romans. The evolution from Roman provincial system to the Thémata. Master’s thesis in history - Department of Archeology, Conservation and History –Department of Humanities UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Tormod Hamnebukt May 2018 III © Tormod Hamnebukt 2018 Deus adiuta Romanis, God help the Romans Tormod Hamnebukt http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: The University Print Centre, University of Oslo IV V Summary In this thesis I will discuss the changes in the administration of the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century which led to the creation of the theme system, which would become the Empire’s principal governing entity until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. I will discuss: 1) The reasons behind the 7th century crisis which precipitates the need for administrative changes, focusing on warfare and the actions and decisions of individual emperors from Justinian I to the fall of Phocas, 2) The significance of plague and religion leading up to these events, 3) Heraclius actions during first the war against the Sassanid Empire, and then in face of the Arabic Storm in connection to the evolution of Byzantine administration, 4) The problems with the lack of written sources during the 7th century, and how it affects the debate surrounding its introduction today, 5) The significance of the supposed introduction of military lands and the role of the commericiarii after Constans II cut in military wages, 6) The role of new archeologic evidence in the debate, and specifically the excavations of Kastro Apalirou on Naxos I have concluded on the reasons for the decline precipitating the need for administrational changes is that the inability of the emperors following Justinian I to avoid wars and religious dissention, along with the lasting effects of the Justinianic plague and its periodic return, stopped the Empire from recovering both demographically and economically in such a way that it nearly proved to be the death sentence for the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century. Regarding the introduction of the theme system itself it’s impossible to conclude on anything solid. The lack of written sources and nearly complete lack of contemporary ones forces us to turn to largely to circumstantial evidence, which might give us some plausible scenarios, but no definitive answers. My own theory would be the evidence points towards the plausibility of Constans II using the centralized government of Heraclius to alter the system in which the military was supplied and payed, and to a degree establishing a system of military holdings. The plausible solution to why Constans reacts after the Battle of the Masts, is that Constans ended up in a naval arms race against the Arabs where the cost of building a navy and strengthening the defenses around the Aegean Sea required him to use every available resource towards that goal. The system that Constans created would then slowly evolve through changes made by different emperors after him, leading up to the systems height in the 9th and 10th century. VI VII Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to thank my supervisor Knut Ødegård for the invaluable input and inspiration to write on this topic. I also want to thank him for inviting me to Kastro Apalirou to witness a 7th century relic which might help us understand the Byzantine world better and giving me inspiration. I want to thank David Hill for taking the time to not only guide me around the Kastro Apalirou, but also for showing me around the island of Naxos and explaining about the abundancy of archaeologic remains present. I also want to thank him for the historical discussions concerning Apalirou. I want to thank my fiancé and children for showing understanding when I have spent the best parts of 6 months on the University of Oslo. I also want to thank Tellef Thorleifsson for taking the time to reading through my thesis and providing valuable input, but also for being an inspiration throughout my life showing me the value of hard work and good ethics. I also want to thank the friends I have made at the University of Oslo for making the time there an enjoyable one. VIII SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................ VI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................................................... XI 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Thesis and presentation ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Delimitation and structure of the study .............................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Ruling perspectives .......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Sources ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 1.5 Theory and Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 12 2 THE EFFECTS OF WARFARE ON THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE FROM THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN UNTIL THE ARABIC STORM ................................................................................................................................ 13 2.1 Justinian’s wars .............................................................................................................................................. 15 2.1.1 The conquest of North Africa.......................................................................................................................... 19 2.1.1.1 Trouble in Africa ...................................................................................................................................... 22 2.1.2 The Gothic Wars ..................................................................................................................................... 25 2.1.3 The result of Justinian’s wars against the Vandals and Goths ........................................................... 34 2.1.4 Sassanid warfare continued and the Quaestura Exercitus ................................................................ 37 2.1.5 The era of Justinian and its implications for Roman society ..................................................... 40 2.2 The development after Justinian .................................................................................................................... 40 2.2.1 Justin II’s military setbacks ............................................................................................................................. 41 2.3 Tiberios Constantine, military success at the cost of the treasury ................................................................ 47 2.4 Maurice and the introduction of the Exarches of Ravenna and Carthage ................................................ 51 2.5 The disastrous reign of Phocas ............................................................................................................. 57 2.6 Plague and religious division as contributors to the developments of the 7th century in the Byzantine state . 62 2.6.1 Justinianic Plague ............................................................................................................................................ 63 2.6.2 Religious division and turmoil .................................................................................................................... 66 2.6.2.1 Religious challenges ............................................................................................................................ 66 2.7 Conclusion on the reasons leading up to the 7th century crisis ............................................................ 69 3 SÝSTÍMA THÉMATA, THE DEBATE SURROUNDING THE THEME SYSTEM. ...................................... 73 3.1 Heraclius the reformer, or just an organized withdrawal? .............................................................................. 73 3.1.1 The economic situation right after Heraclius became emperor and the military pay cut in 616 ................... 74 3.1.2 Reformation of the imperial administration in connection to the theme system ..................................... 81 3.1.3 Supposed military reorganization during the reign of Heraclius ........................................................... 83 3.1.4 Withdrawal from the frontiers .......................................................................................................... 85 ix 3.4 The theme system, a new construct or a tested strategy? .............................................................................. 90 3.4.1 Is there any hint to the theme system’s introduction date in the written sources?
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