Syria Prima) and Syria II (Syria Secunda) – During the First Years of Theodosius II’S Reign (408–450), Probably Between 413 and 4171

Paweł Filipczak An introduction to the Byzantine administration in Syro-Palestine on the eve of the Arab conquest BYZANTINA LODZIENSIA Series of the Department of Byzantine History of the University of Łódź Series of the Department of Byzantine History of the University of Łódź founded by founded by Professor Waldemar Ceran Professor Waldemar Ceran in in 1997 1997 № XXVI № XXVI BYZANTINA LODZIENSIA XXVI Paweł Filipczak An introduction to the Byzantine administration in Syro-Palestine on the eve of the Arab conquest Translated by Artur Mękarski BYZANTINA LODZIENSIA Series of Department of Byzantine History of University of Łódź founded by prof. Waldemar Ceran in 1997 № XXVI EDITORIAL BOARD Mirosław J. Leszka – editor-in-chief Andrzej Kompa – secretary Sławomir Bralewski Paweł Filipczak Maciej Kokoszko Kirił Marinow Teresa Wolińska REVIEWER dr hab. Jacek Wiewiorowski Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań PROOF READING COVER DESIGN AND LAYOUT Michał Zytka by Sebastian Buzar TYPESETTING ADDRESS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD Oficyna Wydawnicza Edytor.org Katedra Historii Bizancjum UŁ Lidia Ciecierska, ul. A. Kamińskiego 27a AGENT PR 90-219 Łódź, Poland [email protected] www.bizancjum.uni.lodz.pl Publisher’s sheets 8.4; printing sheets 9.5 Photograph on the cover © Paweł Filipczak The book has been financed by the National Science Centre – the agreement DEC-2012/04/M/HS3/00564 © Copyright by Paweł Filipczak, Łódź 2015 © Copyright for this edition by University of Łodź, Łódź 2015 Published by Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego 1st Edition Printed on Stella Press 65 g by Zing Sp. z o.o. Order W.07056.15.0.M Printed in Poland ISBN 978-83-7969-661-1 e-ISBN 978-83-7969-951-3 Łódź University Press / Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego 90-131 Łódź, ul. W. Lindleya 8 www.wydawnictwo.uni.lodz.pl [email protected] phone (48 42) 665 58 63 Contents Preface vii Acknowledgements xi Introduction xviii CHAPTER I Places 1 CHAPTER II People 25 CHAPTER III Ideas 77 Final remarks 99 Abbreviations 103 Bibliography 105 Index of persons 119 Index of ethnic and geographic names 123 Preface The work is an introduction to the topic of the Byzantine administration in Syro-Palestine in the sixth and seventh centuries (between the reign of Justini- an and Heraclius). As such, it offers a general review of what the modern scholar- ship has to say about the issue in question, including some necessary corrections and additions. In writing the book I tried to use a pellucid and jargon-free language. However, the use of plain language, which is usually expected of works that fall into the “introduction” genre, providing a shallow analysis devoid of any significant insights into the problem at hand, does not, I hope, apply here. The work is based on primary sources, although some of the existing sources that might shed some light on the issue dealt with here are probably omitted from my analyses. Predominant are literary texts written in Greek, offering the perspective of the Byzantines. Arab sources, to which I refer relying on scholarly literature, remain in the background. I draw heavily on the findings presented in a great number of articles and monographs, focusing, however, on those that are most relevant to a specific topic with which I am dealing. If one wanted to base each of the three parts of this book on all the available literature and on the greatest possible number of primary sources, striving to resolve every single issue raised in this book and attempting to deal with the most heated polemics that these issues have provoked, one would have to write three separate monographs. Yet I am convinced that the publication of such an introductory guide to viii Preface the subject in question is fully justified. In addition to being particularly useful for students of the history of Byzantium, it should also be of some help to more experienced scholars. I do not offer answers to all important questions that appear in the discussion of particular aspects of the Byzantine administration in the period under consid- eration. The work, for example, provides no explanation of the establishment of the theme system by Emperor Heraclius in Syro-Palestine. On the other hand, however, I give an account of the scholarly discussion concerning the themes, presenting the arguments offered by scholars who have covered this issue. Finally, I also attempt to outline research goals to be pursued with regard to this contro- versial problem in the future. The construction of the work is simple. In the first part, devoted to administrative geography, I reconstruct the administrative divisions in Syro-Palestine, describe the administrative infrastructure of the cities that served as the capitals of particular provinces and offer introductory remarks on the deployment of particular units of the Roman army and on the territorial jurisdiction of military commanders. In the first chapter the topic is approached from a topographical angle. A prosopographical perspective is adopted in the second part of the work. It provides biographical information on Byzantine officials who were entrusted with the task of administering Syro-Palestine – governors of particular provinces, governors of the Diocese of the East and military commanders stationed in the region. The third part of the work can be referred to as “conception-related”, for in giving an account of the changes brought to the imperial administration, I attempt to reveal the principles and ideas that underpinned the introduction of these changes. The construction of the book requires one more explanation. The division of the imperial administration into civilian and military branches and, conse- quently, into two distinct hierarchies of public officers as well as into two territorial structures, took hold during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337). Although the view of such a bipolar system, held in older literature and suggest- ing a clear division of authority between different groups of imperial officials, has recently been subject to revision, the existence of the system is not, in general outline, denied. I accept it in this book, dividing the first chapter into two parts, one dealing with a civilian administration (provinces, a diocese and a prefecture) and the other concerned with a military one (military districts governed by du- ces). The same pattern is followed in the second part of the book, separating the governors of particular provinces and of the Diocese of the East (that is, civilian officials) from the commanders of provincial troops. The adoption of such Preface ix a structure is designed to add clarity to the exposition of the topic and should not be treated as an indication of a poor knowledge of the administrative reali- ties of the era. In writing the work, I have encountered some difficulties in trying to main- tain a fully consistent approach to the spelling of foreign-language names. In the first chapter I rely on a simplified, that is, devoid of diacritical marks, spelling of the geographical names of Arab and Turkish origin to be found in Barrington Atlas of Greek and Roman World (ed. R.J.A. Talbert, Princeton 2000; [while pre- paring this book I did not have access to Tabula Imperii Byzantini 15. Syria (Syr- ia Prōtē, Syria Deutera, Syria Euphratēsia), ed. K.-P. Todt, B.A. Vest, vol. I–III, Wien 2014–2015]. For the sake of consistency, I stick to the simplified spelling of geographical names later on in the book (hence, for example, Tartous and not Ṭarṭūs; Tripolis and not Ṭarābulus; Ajnadayn and not Ajnādayn; Yarmuk and not Al-Yarmūk). However, in some cases such an approach was not possible. In terms of geographical nomenclature, I found it necessary to preserve a scholarly transcription used by the authors whose views I present in the third chapter (hence, for example, ajnād of Ḥimṣ or ajnād Filasṭīn). As far as the Arab personal names are concerned, I apply a full scholarly transcription, following the spelling used by Encyclopaedia of Islam or – if a given name is missing from EI – following the general principles adopted in EI (hence, for example, Muḥammad, and not Muhammad or Farva Ibn ʽAmr al-Ğuḏāmī, and not Farva Ibn Amr al-Guda- mi). I use the English versions of the Greek or Latin names of persons, if they are universally used in anglicised form (hence, for example, Theodore, and not Theodoros/Theodorus). The Polish edition of this book, in a slightly abridged form, was published as one of the parts of the monograph Bizancjum i Arabowie. Spotkanie cywilizacji (VI–VIII w.), ed. T. Wolińska and P. Filipczak, Warszawa 2015, p. 90–176. Paweł Filipczak Łódź, October 2015 Acknowledgements Many individuals have contributed to the creation of this book. Teresa Wolińska supervised the scholarly project Byzantium and the Arabs. The encoun- ter of civilization (the sixth to eighth centuries). While participating in this project, which generally involved much team effort, I always enjoyed a significant amount of freedom. Jacek Wiewiorowski wrote a thorough review of the book. Artur Mękarski carefully translated the text from Polish into English and Mi- chał Zytka proofread the translation. Mirosław Jerzy Leszka and Andrzej Kom- pa were of a great assistance in editing the text. Karolina Krzeszewska, Krzysztof Jagusiak and Zofia Brzozowska relieved me of some of the administrative work connected with the realization of the project. Monika, Alicja and Adam showed much patience. My great thanks to all of them. Paweł Filipczak Introduction Syro-Palestine. The region of a long and undisturbed coexistence of the Byzantines and the Arabs, but also – or perhaps above all – of their first and most important military confrontation. It is from this region, forming some- thing of a gate to the western world, that the Arabs launched their offensive against other Byzantine territories, capturing the whole of the North Africa and a number of more important islands on the Mediterranean Sea1.

Load more