A ''katepanikion'' ( el, κατεπανίκιον) was a

Byzantine 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 ...

term for an area under the control of a ''

katepano The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. "he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the ...

''. It was used to describe two different types of administrative divisions: * From ca. 971 until the late 11th century, it referred to large circumscriptions comprising several

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

s and commanded by a '' doux'' ("duke") or ''

'' ("catepan"). In English, the divisions are usually termed "duchy" (in Greek ''doukaton'') or "catepanate" (''katepanikion''). * In the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founded ...

, the ''katepanikion'' became a much smaller province comprising a fortified town and its surroundings or an island, under a '' kephale'' and also termed a ''kephalatikion''.

See also