An ''episkepsis'' ( el, , pl. ''episkepseis'', ) was a fiscal district in the middle

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

(10th–13th centuries). In its strict technical sense, it refers to a domain or other property, in some cases including entire villages or towns, allocated for the support of individuals of the imperial family, noble houses or churches and monasteries. As the historian

Paul Magdalino Paul Magdalino FBA (born 10 May 1948) is Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Byzantine History in the University of St Andrews, professor of Byzantine history at Koç University, Istanbul; and a Fellow of the British Academy. His research interests incl ...

shows, these ''episkepseis'' were overwhelmingly situated in the coastlands around the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, which comprised the Empire's best arable land, or in fertile inland areas such as

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

and

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

. In the 12th century, the term refers also to the fiscal divisions of the themes. As an institution, the ''episkepsis'' existed as early as the ninth century, with regards citing ''episketites'' - the position overseeing such territory - as a function of the ''oikeiakon'', a sekreton created by Basil II. It is noted that an ''episkepsis'' is designated as an imperial holding throughout its existence in the Byzantine history. These holdings or estates were classified into three: imperial, personal, and ecclesiastical. Some of the examples of these territories include Macedonia,

Miletos Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

, and Alopekai. An episkepsis may be transformed into a ''kouratoria'' in the event of stability and expanded revenue. For instance, Seleukia was an ''episkepsis'' during the tenth century but later constituted the grand ''kouratoria'' of Tarsos.

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References

Types of administrative division Subdivisions of the Byzantine Empire {{Byzantine-stub