3

The rise of Paphlagonia in importance may be connected with the active Pontic policy of Theophilus. It is not without significance that Paphlagoniun ships played a part in the expedition which he sent to Cherson, and we may

' conjecture with probability that the creation of the Theme of the Klimata on the north of the Euxine and that of Paphlagonia on the south were not isolated acts, but were part of the same general plan. The institution of the Theme of Chaldia, which was cut off from the Armeniac Theme (probably A.D. 837)," may also be considered as part of the general policy of strengthening Imperial control over the Black Sea and its coastlands, here threatened by the inminence of the Moslem power in Armenia. To the south of Chaldia was the duchy of Koloncia, also part of the Armeniac circumscription. In the following reign (before A.1). 863) both' Kolonein and Cappadocia were elevated to the rank of Themes."

The Themes of Europe, which formed a class apart from those of Asin, seem at the end of the eighth century to have been four in number—Thrace, Macedonia, Hellas, and Sicily. There were also a number of provinces of inferior rankCalabria, under its Dux; Dalmatia and Crete, under governors who hail the title of archon;" while Thessalonicut with the auljacent region was still subject to the ancient Praetorian is that Paphlagonia was a katesanato A.N. 845.847 (Acta 27, 29). The before it acquired the rank of a straté. Emperor beforo lois death directed gia. Michael, l'ita Theod. Slul, 309, that killistos Melissenos should be referring to the reign of Michael II., sont to Kolonoia και την του δoικός 8eaks of το θέμα των Παφλαγόνων, but diételu åpxúv. Kallistos is called a the use of Oéna in such a passage care turmarch in Simeoni, lilil. Geory. 805 ; not be urgeil as evidence for the date. Koloncin was doubtless a turmarchy I Seu below, p. 410.

in the Armonine Themo, kuloncia is

not mentioned by the Arabii writers • The circumstances are discussed

who doproud ou Al.linrmi or in the below, R. 201. Chaldia may have Takt. L'apI conclude thit till after also existeld already as u separate the death of Theophilus it had not command of less diguityunder u been soparated from the Armenino Duke. For Takt. Usp., which mentions Theme,or, in other words, that kallistus the stratégos, names also in another

was the first Dux. Another interence place (119) ó dovş Xandlas. I explain

may be that the Taktikon represents this as a survival from an older official

the official world immediately after list, which the compiler neglected to the accession of Michael III. eliminate. In the same document + Cont. Th. 181. Cp. Brooks, op. cit. åpxovtes of Chaldia are also mentioned.

70, for Masudi's evidence. These were probably local authorities

* Calabria : (ny, llulie mer. in some of tho towns, like tho archons

Takt. Usp. 124. Dalmatin : • &pxww of Cherson.

A., ib. Creto : il. 119 ó apxww K. 3 Thoovidence for a Dirx of Koloncin

(which I interpret us at case, like that under Theophilus is in un account of of Chaldia, where an older utlice is the Amorian martyrs duting from retained in the list).

5

7 ;

3

5

Prefect of Illyricum, an anomalous survival from the old system of Constantine.' It was doubtless the Slavonic revolt in the reign of Nicephorus I. that led to the reorganization of the Helladic province, and the constitution of the Peloponnesus as a distinct Theme," so that Hellas henceforward meant Northern Greece. The Mohammadan descent upon Crete doubtless led to the appointment of a stratégos instead of an archon of Crete, and the Bulgarian wars to the suppression of the Praetorian prefect by a stratégos of Thessalonica. The Theme of Kephalonia (with the Ionian Islands) seems to have existed at the beginning of the ninth century; but the Saracen menace to the Hadriatic and the western coasts of Greece may account for the foundation of the Theme of Dyrrhachium, a city which probably enjoyed, like the communities of the Dalmatian coast, a certain degree of local independence. If so, we may compare the policy of Theophilus in instituting the stratégos of the Klimata with control over the magistrates of Cherson.”

It is to be noted that the Theme of Thrace did not include the region in the immediate neighbourhood of Constantinople, cut off by the Long Wall of Anastasius, who had made special provisions for the government of this region. In the ninth century it was still a separate circumscription, probably under the military command of the Count of the Walls, and Arabic writers designate it by the curious name Talaya or Tafla."

A table will exhibit the general result of all these changes :.

ASIATIC THEMES

1. Anatolic. 2. Arineniac. 3. Thrakesian. Stratégia:

4. Opuikian. 6. Bukellarian.
6. ('appaulocia. 7. Paphlagonia. 8. Chaldia.

9. Koloneia.
Kleisurarchiai -- 10. Charsianon.
-

11. Seleucia.

38 s94

· Theodore Stud. Epp. i. 3, p. 917 (Toll úrápxov). This evidence is over. looked by Gelzer, Themenverfussung,

2 First mentioned in Scr. Incert. 336 (A.D. 813).

NAVAL THEMES

1. Kibyrrhaiot. 2. Aigaion Pelagos,

(3

Stratégiai

EUROPEAN (AND OTHER) THEMES

1. Macedonia. 2. Thrace.

3. Hellas. 4. Peloponnesus, 5. Thessalonica.
:7 6. Dyrrhachium.

7. Kephalonia. 8. Sicily. 9. Klimata.
10. Calabria.
· 11. Dalmatia.

12. Cyprus

.

Ducate
Archontales

II. There were considerable differences in the ranks and salaries of the stratégoi. In the first place, it is to be noticed that the governors of the Asiatic provinces, the admirals of the naval Themes, and the stratégoi of Thrace and Macedonia were paid by the treasury, while the governors of the European Themes paid themselves a fixed amount from the custom dues levied in their own provinces.' Hence for administrative purposes Thrace and Macedonia are generally included among the Asiatic Themes. The rank of patrician was bestowed as a rule upon the Anatolic, Armeniac, and Thrakesian stratégoi, and these three received a salary of 40 lbs. of gold (£1728). The pay of the other stratégoi and kleisurarchs ranged from 36 to 12 lbs, but their stipends were somewhat reduced in the course of the ninth century. We can easily calculate that the total cost of paying the governors of the eastern provinces (including Macedonia and Thrace) did not fall short of £15,000. · Constantino, Cer. 697, referring

been lowered (Crr., ib.). If we apply to the reign of Leo VI. There is every the figures given by Ibn Khurdaibah reason to suppose that the system was to the corresponding categories in older.

the table of Themes under Michael ' Ibn Khurdadhbah, 85.

III. (30 lbs. = £1555 : 4s. ; 24 lbs. of the officers is at the maximum = £1036 : 16s. ; 12 lbs. == :518 : 8s. 40 lbs; it desceuds to 36, 24, 12, 8 6 lbs. = £259 : 4s.), wo get for the total and even to 1 lb." The salaries which amount paid to the military comobtained undor Leo VI. (Cer., ib.) manders £16,558 : 16s. But it must enable is to apply this information. be remembered that the reduction of Thero wo live 5 classes :-(1) 40 lbs. : salaries may huvo been made under Anutol., Arm., Thrakes. (2) 30 lbs. : Michael III., or even before the death Opusik., Bukell., Maced. (3) 20 lbs. : . 3

of Theophilus, and may have been Capp., Chars., Paphl., Thrace, Kol. connected with the increase in the (4) 10 lbs. : Kib., Samos, Aig. Pel. number of the Themes. It seems, for (5) 5 lbs. : 4 kleisurarchies. It is instance, probable that when Koloneia clear that in the interval between became a stratégia the salary may Theophilus and Lco VI. the salaries, have been fixed at 20 lbs. But the data with the exception of the highest, had are sufficient for a rough estimate.

Q

=

In these provinces there is reason to suppose that the number of troops, who were chiefly cavalry, was about 80,000.' They were largely settled on inilitary lands, and their pay was small. The recruit, who began service at a very early age, received one nomisma (12h.) in his first year, two in his Hecond, and so on, till the maximum of twelve (£7 : 48.), or in some cases of eighteen (£10 : 16s.), was reached.?

The army of the Theme was divided generally into two, sometimes three, turms or brigades; the turm into drungoi or battalions; and the battalion into banda or companies. The corresponding commanders were entitled turmarchs, drungaries, and counts, The number of men in the company, the sizes of the battalion and the brigade, varied widely in the different Themes. The original norin scems to have been a bundon of 200 men and a drungos of 5 bandı. It is very doubtful whether this uniform scheme still provailed in the reign of Theophilus. It is certain that at a somewhat later period the bandon varied in size up to the maximum of 400, and the drungos oscillated between the limits of 1000 and 3000 men. Originally the turm was composed of 5 drungoi (5000 men), but this rule was also changed. The number of drungoi in the turm was reduced to three, so that the brigade which the turmarch commanded ranged from 3000 upwards.

The pay of the officers, according to one account, ranged from 3 lbs, to 1 lb., and perhaps the subalterns in the company (the kenturchs and pentekontarchs) are included; but the turmarchs in the larger themes probably received a higher salary than 3 lbs. If we assume that the average bandon was composed of 300 men and the average drungos of 1500, and further that the pay of the drungary was 3 lbs., that of the count 2 lbs. and that of the kentarch 1 lb., the total sum expended on these officers would have amounted to about £64,000. But these assumptions are highly uncertain. Our data for the pay of the common soldiers forin a still vaguer basis for calculation; but we mny conjecture, with every reserve, that the salaries of the armies of the Eastern Themes, including generals and officers, amounted to not less than £500,000.

The armies of the Themes formed only one branch of the military establishment. There were four other privileged and differently organized cavalry regiments known as the Tagmata :: (1) the Schools, (2) the Excubitors, (3) the Arithmos or Vigla, and (4) the Hikanatoi. The first three were of ancient foundation ; the fourth was a new institution of Nicephorus I.,

l who created a child, his grandson Nicetas (afterwards the Patriarch Ignatius), its first commander. The commanders of these troops were entitled Domestics, except that of the Arithmos, who was known as the Drungary of the Vigla or Watch. Some companies of these Tagmatic troops may have been stationed at Constantinople, where the Domestics usually resided, but the greater part of them were quartered in Thrace,

Wo cannot, I think, use the that these sums represent extra pay evidence in the documents concerning given for special expeditions oversea, the Cretan expeditions of A.D. 902 and and aro outside the regular military 949 (in Constantine, Cer. ii. chaps. 44 budget. See below. We cannot dra w and 45) for controlling the Arabic conclusions from the sum of 1100 statements as to the pay of soldiers pounds = £475,222 which was sent in and officers. For instance, we find A.D. 809 to pay the army on the the detachment of 3000 Thrakesians Strymon, as we do not know the receiving 2 nomismata cach (p. 655) number of the troops or whether the in A.D. 902 ; and men of the Sebastcani sum included arrears. Themo receiving 4 1. cach (p. 656), while the ollicers of the same Thenie

? See Bury, Imp. Admin. System, 47 are paid--turmarchs 12 n., drunguries

399. 10 n., counts 5 n. It scenis probablo 3 Nicet. Vila Ign. 213.