Kommata ( gr, τὰ Κόμματα) was a historical region and administrative unit of the

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 ...

in southern

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

(central

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

), in modern

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

History

The origin of the name is unknown, but may refer to a locality, or fortress, somewhere south of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. it is first mentioned in 872, as being the target of a raid by the

Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...

under

Chrysocheir Chrysocheir ( el, Χρυσόχειρ), also known as Chrysocheres, Chrysocheris, or Chrysocheiros (Χρυσόχερης/Χρυσόχερις/Χρυσόχειρος), all meaning "goldhand", was the second and last leader of the Paulician principali ...

, shortly before they were defeated by the Byzantine army at the

Battle of Bathys Ryax The Battle of Bathys Ryax was fought in 872 or 878 between the Byzantine Empire and the Paulicians. The Paulicians were a Christian sect which—persecuted by the Byzantine state—had established a separate principality at Tephrike on Byzantium' ...

. 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 ...

() created the ''

tourma 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 ...

'' of Kommata out of four ''

banda Banda may refer to: People *Banda (surname) *Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician *Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor *Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician *Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh warr ...

'' of the

Bucellarian Theme The Bucellarian Theme ( el, Βουκελλάριον θέμα, ''Boukellarion thema''), more properly known as the Theme of the Bucellarians ( el, θέμα Βουκελλαρίων, ''thema Boukellariōn'') was a Byzantine theme (a military-civili ...

(

Aspona Aspona ( gr, Ἄσπονα, Ἄσπωνα) was an ancient city and bishopric in Galatia, in central Asia Minor. It corresponds to the modern settlement of Sarıhüyük (earlier Şedithüyük). History The settlement lies some 80 km southeas ...

, Akarkous, Bareta,Exact location unknown. . Balbadona) and three ''banda'' of the Anatolic Theme (

Eudokias Eudocias ( grc, Εὐδοκιάς) or Eudocia ( grc, Εὐδοκία) was an ancient town in the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, in the neighbourhood of Termessus. According to William Smith's ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' (1854 ...

Hagios Agapetos ''Agios'' ( el, Άγιος), plural ''Agioi'' (), transcribes masculine gender Greek words meaning 'sacred' or 'saint' (for example Agios Dimitrios, Agioi Anargyroi). It is frequently shortened in colloquial language to ''Ai'' (for example Ai Str ...

, Aphrazeia), and assigned it to the

Theme of Cappadocia The Theme of Cappadocia ( el, θέμα Καππαδοκίας) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) encompassing the southern portion of the namesake region from the early 9th to the late 11th centuries. Location The theme comp ...

. The ''tourma'' and region of Kommata thus encompassed the area between the

Halys River Halys may refer to: * Health-adjusted life years (HALYs), a type of disability-adjusted life year which are used in attempts to quantify the burden of disease or disability in populations * Halys River, a western name for the Kızılırmak River (T ...

in the east,

Lake Tatta Lake Tuz ( tr, Tuz Gölü meaning 'Salt Lake'; anciently Tatta — grc, ἡ Τάττα, la, Tatta Lacus) was the second largest lake in Turkey with its surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Ce ...

in the south, and the

Sangarios River The Sakarya (Sakara River, tr, Sakarya Irmağı; gr, Σαγγάριος, translit=Sangarios; Latin: ''Sangarius'') is the third longest river in Turkey. It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia. It was considered one of th ...

in the west.

References

Sources

* Byzantine Anatolia History of Ankara Province Subdivisions of the Byzantine Empire Historical regions in Turkey {{coord, 39, 00, N, 33, 00, E, display=title