Mesopotamia ( el, Μεσοποταμία) was the name of 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 ...
theme (a military-civilian province) located in what is today eastern
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 ...
. It should not be confused with the region of
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
or with the older Roman and early Byzantine
province of Mesopotamia. The Byzantine theme was located between the rivers Arsanias (modern
Murat Murat may refer to:
Places Australia
* Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia
* Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area
France
* Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal
Elsewhe ...
) and Çimisgezek.
History
The theme was formed probably between 899 and 911, when Emperor
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well ...
(r. 886–912) appointed the former ''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...
'' of the
Charsianon
Charsianon ( el, Χαρσιανόν) was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the corresponding theme (a military-civilian province) in the region of Cappadocia in central Anatolia (modern Turkey).
History
The fortress of Charsianon (Greek: Χ� ...
, named Orestes, as its governor.
[.] Most of the province was formed out the Armenian principality of
Taron, ruled by the chieftain Manuel Bagratuni. Manuel and his four sons were persuaded to cede their territory to the Byzantine Empire in exchange for titles and estates in other themes. The Armenian-populated districts of
Keltzene (detached from the theme of
Chaldia
Chaldia ( el, Χαλδία, ''Khaldia'') was a historical region located in the mountainous interior of the eastern Black Sea, northeast Anatolia (modern Turkey). Its name was derived from a people called the ''Chaldoi'' (or '' Chalybes'') that ...
) and
Kamacha (part of the theme of
Koloneia) were then joined to it to form the new theme.
Although Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959) mentions that before its elevation to a theme, the region was an "unnamed ''
kleisoura''", there is evidence of much earlier administrative structures than that.
[.] A seal of a "''
spatharios'' and ''strategos'' of Mesopotamia" has been dated to c. 810, perhaps indicating the existence of a first short-lived theme there, and a seal of a ''
tourmarches
A ''turma'' (Latin for "swarm, squadron", plural ''turmae''), (Greek: τούρμα) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative di ...
'' with the Armenian name Mousilikes, is tentatively dated to c. 870.
It is thus possible that Mesopotamia was constituted in the late 9th century out of an Armenian principality as a division (''
tourma'') of some neighbouring theme, with its prince receiving a Byzantine title and continuing to govern it, before it was expanded into a full theme. This may also explain the peculiar custom of its ''strategos'' drawing, until 911, his salary not from the imperial treasury but from the customs proceeds of the of his province.
Commanders of the theme continued to be appointed throughout the 10th century, co-existing with the new post of "''
doux'' of Mesopotamia", established c. 975. Unlike the ''strategos'', the ''doux'' was a regional commander, controlling the central sector of Byzantium's eastern frontier.
[; .] In the 11th century, most of the attested of Mesopotamia were Armenians, including
Gregory Magistros Grigor Magistros ( hy, Գրիգոր Մագիստրոս; "Gregory the ''magistros''"; ca. 990–1058) was an Armenian prince, linguist, scholar and public functionary. A layman of the princely Pahlavuni family that claimed descent from the dynast ...
and his son. In the aftermath of the
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and ...
in 1071, Emperor
Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...
(r. 1071–1078) tried to re-establish Byzantine authority, but the province fell to the
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
{{coord missing, Turkey
Byzantine Anatolia
Themes of the Byzantine Empire
States and territories established in the 9th century