In 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 ...

, a ''kleisoura'' ( el, κλεισούρα, "enclosure, defile") was a term traditionally applied to a fortified

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

and the military district protecting it.; . By the late 7th century, it came to be applied to more extensive frontier districts, distinct from the larger '' themata'', chiefly along the Empire's eastern border with the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

along the line of the Taurus-

Anti-Taurus The Anti-Taurus (Greek: Αντίταυρος, Latin: Anti-Taurus (ANTITAVRVS), its western part is called today by the Turks ''Aladağlar'') is the central chain of the mountain ranges of the Armenian Highlands, which runs from west to east acro ...

mountains (in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, only Strymon was in its early days termed a ''kleisoura''). A ''kleisoura'' or ''kleisourarchia'' was an autonomous command, under a ''kleisourarches'' (Greek: κλεισουράρχης). Eventually, most ''kleisourai'' were raised to full ''themata'', and the term fell out of use after the 10th century (in late Byzantine times, ''

droungos ''Droungos'' ( Greek: , sometimes δρόγγος, ''drongos'') or ''drungus'' is a late Roman and Byzantine term for a battalion-sized military unit, and later for a local command guarding mountain districts. Its commander was a "" or "" (δρουγ ...

'' had a similar meaning). Its

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic counterpart in

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

and

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 ...

was the '' al-thughūr''.

References

Sources

* * Subdivisions of the Byzantine Empire Types of administrative division Military units and formations of the Byzantine Empire Arab–Byzantine wars Marches (country subdivision) Mountain troops {{Byzantine-stub

See also

References

Sources