The Theme of Samos ( el, θέμα Σάμου, ''thema Samou'') 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 ...
military-civilian province, located in the eastern
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 ...
, established in the late 9th century. As one of the Byzantine Empire's three dedicated naval themes (Greek: , ''themata nautika''), it served chiefly to provide ships and troops for the
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than ...
.
Origins
The dates of establishment and the territorial reach of the various Byzantine naval commands in the 7th–9th centuries are mostly unclear. After the unitary navy of the ''
Karabisianoi The ''Karabisianoi'' ( el, Καραβισιάνοι), sometimes anglicized as the Carabisians, were the main forces of the Byzantine navy from the mid-7th century until the early 8th century. The name derives from the Greek ''karabos'' or ''karabis' ...
'' was split up in the early 8th century, regional naval commands were established, of which the naval theme of the
Cibyrrhaeots
The Cibyrrhaeot Theme, more properly the Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots ( gr, θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν, thema Kibyrrhaiōtōn), was a Byzantine theme encompassing the southern coast of Asia Minor from the early 8th to the late 12th centuries. ...
is the first known and most important. The 10th-century
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
(r. 913–959) records that "at the time the Empire was divided into themes", Samos became the seat of the "theme of the sailors" ( gr, θέμα τῶν πλοϊζομένων, thema tōn ploïzomenōn); the meaning of this passage is unclear. The historian
Warren Treadgold
Warren T. Treadgold (born April 30, 1949, Oxford, England) is an American historian and specialist in Byzantine studies. He is the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Byzantine Studies at Saint Louis University. His interest in the ...
interprets this to mean that Samos was the first seat of the ''Karabisianoi'' fleet, until their disbandment . Alternatively, it could imply a command that formed part of the ''Karabisianoi'' and was abolished with them, or a later, short-lived successor, perhaps even identical with the Cibyrrhaeots. The existence of a "''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
'' of Samos" in the 8th century is attested through a surviving seal of a ''strategos'' named Theodore.
In the late 8th century, the southern Aegean appears to have come under the jurisdiction of the "''
droungarios
A ''droungarios'', also spelled ''drungarios'' ( el, δρουγγάριος, la, drungarius) and sometimes anglicized as Drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine empires, signifying the commander of a formation known as ''drou ...
'' of the ''Dodekanesos''", whom some scholars (following
Hélène Ahrweiler
Helene Glykatzi-Ahrweiler Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (; el, Ελένη Γλύκατζη-Αρβελέρ; born 29 August 1926) is a Greek-French academic Byzantinology, Byzantinologist. She is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Greece. ...
) identify with the post of "''droungarios'' of
Kos
Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...
" and the later "''droungarios'' of the Gulf (''Kolpos'')", listed in the mid-9th century ''
Taktikon Uspensky
The ''Taktikon Uspensky'' or ''Uspenskij'' is the conventional name of a mid-9th century Greek list of the civil, military and ecclesiastical offices of the Byzantine Empire and their precedence at the imperial court. Nicolas Oikonomides has dated ...
''. This command then, or at least the eastern part of it, apparently evolved into the theme of Samos.
History
![Seal of Constantine Argyropoulos, magistros and strategos of Samos (Schlumberger, 1891)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Seal_of_Constantine_Argyropoulos%2C_magistros_and_strategos_of_Samos_%28Schlumberger%2C_1891%29.png)
The theme of Samos, with its governing ''strategos'', is first documented in Philotheos's ''
Kletorologion
The ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos ( el, Κλητορολόγιον), is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence ('' Taktika'').. It was published in September 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI t ...
'' of 899. It included the islands of the eastern Aegean, as well as the western coast of
Asia Minor
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 ...
between
Adramyttion
Adramyttium ( el, Άδραμύττιον ''Adramyttion'', Άδραμύττειον ''Adramytteion'', or Άτραμύττιον ''Atramyttion'') was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the he ...
and
Ephesos
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in ...
(also known as Theologos at the time). The seat of the theme was at
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
, while subordinate ''
tourmarchai
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 ...
'' (vice-admirals) had their seats at Adramyttion and Ephesos.
In 911, the forces of the naval theme of Samos are recorded as being 3,980 oarsmen and 600 marines, with a fleet of 22 warships. The mainland portion of the theme, however, is also explicitly mentioned as belonging to the
Thracesian Theme, which had a special ''tourmarches'' in charge of defending the coast. This, along with a lack of mention of civil officials attached to the naval theme, most probably reflects a division of tasks: the ''strategos'' of Samos and his officials were responsible for furnishing the ships and crews of the thematic fleet as well as defending the islands, while the mainland coast, with its cities and population, came under the control of the Thracesian ''strategos'' and his officials, who were responsible for their taxation and defence. Samos seems to have remained a purely military formation until the late 11th century, when its fleet was disbanded and it was converted into a regular theme with its own civil officials.
Notes
References
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{{Byzantine Greece
Themes of the Byzantine Empire
Medieval Aegean Sea
Byzantine navy
States and territories established in the 9th century
History of Samos