Melantias ( gr, Μελαντιάς), often also ''Melantiada'', ''Melentiana'', ''Melitias'', or ''Melitiada'', was a settlement in

Eastern Thrace Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

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 ...

times, near the city of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(modern

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Location

The village lay on the road between Athyras (modern

Büyükçekmece Büyükçekmece is a district and municipality in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west of the city. It is largely an industrial area with a population of 380,000. The mayor is Hasan Akgün ( CHP) ...

) and

Rhegion Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popula ...

(modern

Küçükçekmece Küçükçekmece (; meaning “small-drawer”, from much earlier ''Rhagion'' and ''Küçükçökmece as “little breakdown''" or “''little depression''”, in more ancient times just as Bathonea), is a suburb and district of Istanbul, Turke ...

), near the modern suburb of Hoşköy. In the 18th century, it was erroneously localized at Kınıklı, west of

Silivri Silivri, formerly Selymbria (Greek: Σηλυμβρία), is a city and a district in Istanbul Province along the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, outside the urban core of Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. Th ...

; Konrad Miller located it not at Hoşköy, but at Yarımburgaz further east.

History

The origin of the settlement is unknown. It has been suggested that the name derives from the ancient

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

tribe of the

Melanditae Melanditae or Melanditai ( gr, Μελανδίται) is the name of a Thracian tribeAnabasis by H. G. Dakyns, 2006, , page 321: "... his sway extended over the Melanditae, the Thynians, and the Tranipsae. Then the affairs of the Odrysians took ..." ...

, but it is more likely that the name (from the root ''melas'', "black") was given due to the area's black soil. Due to its location on one of the main roads leading to

Byzantion Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

, the village is mentioned in the late Roman itineraries such as the ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

'' or the ''

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Textu ...

''. An imperial villa is attested in Melantias during Emperor

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

' ill-fated campaign against the Goths in 378. As a suburb of Constantinople, Melantias is often mentioned in conjunction with enemy raids or invasions targeting the imperial capital. Thus according to Michael the Syrian the town was raided by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

under

Theoderic the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...

in 486/87, while

Agathias Agathias or Agathias Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθίας σχολαστικός; Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 23–25582/594), of Myrina (Mysia), an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor (Turkey), was a Greek poet and the principal histo ...

records that the

Kutrigurs Kutrigurs were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byzantine Empire an ...

under

Zabergan Zabergan ( grc-x-medieval, Ζαβεργάν) was the chieftain of the Kutrigur Bulgar Huns, a nomadic people of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, after Sinnion. His name is Iranian, meaning full moon. Either under pressure from incoming Avars,; or in ...

camped there in 558/89, shortly before they were defeated and driven back by

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

in the

Battle of Melantias The Battle of Melantias or Battle of Melanthius (Greek: Μάχη τής Μελαντιάς), which took place in 559, was a battle between the armies of the Kutrigurs, commanded by Zabergan, and the Byzantine Empire, under the able and skilled com ...

. During the Avar–Slavic siege of Constantinople in 626, the Avar vanguard made camp at Melantias before reaching the capital. In 886, Emperor

Basil I the Macedonian Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...

was killed in a hunting accident somewhere between Melantias and Apameia. By , according to the '' Suda'' encyclopedia, Melantias was commonly known as ''Melitias'' (Μελιτιὰς). In the early 14th century, the village belonged to the landowner Eudokia of Constantinople. Melantias is last mentioned in late June 1385, when another battle was fought there, between Emperor

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...

and his usurping son,

Andronikos IV Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Παλαιολόγος; 11 April 1348 – 25/28 June 1385) was the eldest son of Emperor John V Palaiologos. Appointed co-emperor since 1352, he had a troubled rel ...

. Andronikos was defeated, and fled to Selymbria (Silivri), where he died after a few days.

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Geography of medieval Thrace Populated places of the Byzantine Empire History of Istanbul Province Former populated places in Turkey Populated places in ancient Thrace