V. Nerantzi-Varmazi

WesternMacedonia in the twelfthand thirteenth centuries

By the term 'Western Macedonia' I suggest the mountainous area to the west of the river Axios and, more precisely, from Mt. Vermion and the Pieria across to the Pindos range. The southern borders of this area are the mountains Olympus and Chasia, while as the northern limit we can consider a hypothetical line beginning at the Prespa lakes and Achrida and reaching the river Axios. 1 Western Macedonia was for many centuries a remote province of the Byzantine state and we have little information about the area during the early centuries. Nevertheless it is certain that Western Macedonia underwent the same vicissitudes as the other Balkan provinces of the Byzantine Empire. It suffered from the incursions of the Goths in the fourth and fifth centuries and the invasions of the A vars and Slavs in the sixth and seventh centuries. Slavs later settled in the district, while Bulgarians occupied Western Macedonia twice during the fighting between Byzantium and Bulgaria in the reigns of Czar Symeon (893-927) and Czar Samuel (976-1014). When in 1018 the last war between Byzantium and Bulgaria came to an end, the Byzantine emperor Basil II (976-1025) founded the archbishopric of Achrida in the homonymous city. His purpose was to replace the Bulgarian patriarchate, which had had its seat there during the reign of Czar Samuel. The archbishopric of Achrida later coincided with lustiniana Prima, which had been founded by Justinian I during the sixth century in approximately the same district and, being the birthplace of that emperor, had many privileges. In the following centuries it is known as the archbishopric of Achrida, lustiniana Prima and All Bulgaria. 2 In the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Orthodox Church the archbishop of Achrida was ranked immediately after the patriarchs. This high position brought to the archiepiscopal throne some very important prelates. The best known of them are Theophylaktos of Achrida (1089-1108 or 1126) and Demetrios Chomatenos (1217-35). Each produced prolific writings during his stay in Achrida, thus providing much information about the district under their jurisdiction. 3 Western Macedonia belonged ecclesiastically to the archbishopric of Achrida during this period. At the same time other events increased the interest of the Byzantine government in the Balkan provinces of the Empire. Turks conquered most of Asia

I. This clarification is necessary because V. Kravari, Vil/es et villages de Macedoine occidentale (Paris 1989) includes in her book many names of locations which belong in Northern Macedonia. 2 Greg. 1.27; G. Prinzing, "Entstehung und Rezeption der lustiniana Prima Theorie im Mittelalter" BS 5 ( 1978) 269-87. 3. Theoph.Achrid. and Chom. (see Abbreviations); Gautier's edition has replaced the older one in PG 126 cols. 307-558. See also Gautier, "L'episcopat".

ByzantineMacedonia. Identity Image and History. Edited by John Burke & Roger Scott (Byzallfina Australiensia 13, Melbourne 2000). Western Macedonia in the 12th and 13th centuries 193

Minor before the end of the eleventh century, and from that time on Byzantine historians and scholars refer more often to events taking place in the Balkan peninsula. In addition, the passage of various groups of crusaders crossing the Balkans in different directions aroused the interest of western chroniclers in these far-flung parts of the Empire. For all these reasons references to Western Macedonia during the eleventh and twelfth centuries became more numerous. The political history of the province during this period is more or less known. Before the end of the eleventh century Western Macedonia was threatened by Normans from southern Italy and Sicily. The emperor Alexios I Komnenos obtained a decisive victory over them near Kastoria in 1083 and forced them to abandon their conquests and withdraw to Italy. About fifteen years later in 1097/8 an army of Norman crusaders under the leadership of Bohemond re-entered the same area and caused major destruction on its way to Constantinople and the Holy Land. Members of the First Crusade later followed the same route. Finally in 1107/8 Bohemond and his Normans managed to create fresh temporary disturbances in the far western parts of the Macedonian district. Theophylaktos, who was archbishop of Achrida during this period, characterizes the passage of the western crusaders as an invasion rather than a crossing, adding that as time went by the local population became used to Frankish damages and could bear them more easily than at first. 1 A quiet period of some years then ensued, although the sources indicate the presence of the emperor Manuel I Komnenos in Veroia and Pelagonia, from where he organized the war against the Serbs in 1149. Serious turbulence arose again towards the end of the twelfth century. In 1185 the Normans, in a new attack against the Byzantine Empire, marched from Durazo (Dyrrachion) along the Via Egnatia to Thessaloniki, thus crossing Western Macedonia, while a little later the Serbs and the rebel protostrator Manuel Kamytzis 2 caused ephemeral problems in the northern parts of the area. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, before the arrival of the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade (April 1204), the Bulgarian czar Kalojan occupied part of Western Macedonia. According to the Partitio Romaniae, signed by the crusaders after the capture of Constantinople in 1204, Western Macedonia, like all other Byzantine provinces, had to be divided among the crusaders, the Venetians and the Latin emperor of Constantinople. Putting this decision into effect, Boniface of Montferrat arrived in Thessaloniki and occupied the district between Veroia and Servia, but did not succeed in penetrating any further. For a brief period there was fighting between the Bulgarians, the crusaders' army and local authorities. These skirmishes favored the leader of the state of Epirus, Theodore Doukas, who then took possession of the whole district of Western Macedonia between 1215 and 1219. Western Macedonia remained a part of the state of Epirus until 1252/3, when the emperor of Nicaea, John III Vatatzes, incorporated most of it into his empire. Throughout this period Bulgarians were present in the northern parts of the area,

I. Theoph.Achrid.II Ep. 52 lines4-I7. 2. Nik.Chon.533-4.