The Theme of Sicily ( el, θέμα Σικελίας, ''Thema Sikelias'') 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 ...
province (
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
) existing from the late 7th to the 10th century, encompassing the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and the region of
Calabria in the
Italian mainland. Following the
Muslim conquest of Sicily
The Muslim conquest of Sicily began in June 827 and lasted until 902, when the last major Byzantine stronghold on the island, Taormina, fell. Isolated fortresses remained in Byzantine hands until 965, but the island was henceforth under Musli ...
, from 902 the theme was limited to Calabria, but retained its original name until the middle of the 10th century.
History
Ever since its reconquest from 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 ...
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 535–536, Sicily had formed a distinct Roman province, province under a ''praetor'', while the army was placed under a ''dux''. A ''strategos'' (military governor) is attested on the island in Arabs, Arab sources between 687 and 695, and it is at that time that the island was probably made into a theme.
The theme was based in Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, traditionally the chief city of Sicily. It comprised not only the island, which was divided into districts called ''tourmai'', but also the mainland duchy of
Calabria (Greek: , ''doukaton Kalavrias''), which extended roughly up to the river Crati. In addition, the ''strategos'' of Sicily exercised some authority—varying according to the prevailing local political faction—over the autonomous duchies of Duchy of Naples, Naples, Duchy of Gaeta, Gaeta and Duchy of Amalfi, Amalfi.
The Muslim conquest of Sicily, Muslim conquest of the island began in 826. Following the Siege of Syracuse (877–878), fall of Syracuse in 878 and the conquest of Taormina in 902, the ''strategos'' moved to Reggio di Calabria, Rhegion, the capital of Calabria. During the first half of the 10th century, the Byzantines launched a number of failed expeditions to regain the island and maintained a few isolated strongholds near Messina until 965, when Rometta, the last Byzantine outpost, Siege of Rometta, fell. The post of "''strategos'' of Sicily" was thus retained as the official title until the mid-10th century, when the "''strategos'' of Calabria" begins to appear in the lists.
List of known ''strategoi'' of Sicily
''Note: Holders of the office known only from seals who can not be precisely dated are not included. Uncertain or conjectural entries are denoted in italics.''
See also
*Exarchate of Ravenna
*History of Islam in southern Italy
References
Sources
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{{Former monarchies Italian peninsula
Byzantine Italy
Byzantine Sicily
States and territories established in the 7th century
Themes of the Byzantine Empire