black sea

In 582 the Avarians, a barbaric race coming
from Mongolia and Manchouria that had settled
in the plains of Pannonia three years earlier, occupied
Sirmion that was lying in the European border
of the Byzantine Empire since 437. 16 Since that
time, the Avarians along with their Slav allies literally
ravaged the Byzantine territory lying between
the junction of the rivers Istros and Savus and up
to the west coast of the Euxine. Those barbaric
races carried out several operations in the west
coast. From the winter of 599 until April 600 laid
siege to the city of Tomis (the ancient colony of
Tomi) thus posing a threat even to Constantinople.
At the end, a peace treaty was signed thus reconstituting
the north borders of Byzantium. 17
A little later and in the first years of Heraclius’
Reign (610-641), a mass settlement by Slavic races
took place in various regions of the Balkan peninsula
and the prosperous old colony of Istria, in the
West coast of the Euxine. 18 The Slavs, due to the
primitive civil and military structure and the division
in small groups did not constitute a serious threat
to the Byzantine Empire. Things deteriorated when
the Bulgarians, a barbarian Asian race that came
from the mixing of Huns and Ogours and they were
inhabiting the North of the Euxine, started to press
on the Slavs as they settled hither to the Danube. 19
The many disturbances and the frequent raids
of Bulgarians in Byzantine territory constituted a
severe threat to Byzantium. The Emperor
Constantine V (741-775) confronted the Bulgarian
threat in repeated campaigns, with foremost the
battle in the plain of Anchialos, a prosperous
Greek city on the West coast of the Euxine (June
30, 763). In that battle, the Bulgarians were defeated
and their remnants were forced to disorderly
retreat. 20
The cities of Anchialos, Debeltos and several
other cities in Thrace, near the Euxine coast suffered
new raids by the Bulgarians in the spring of
812, a year after Emperor Nicephorous I (802-811)
was heavily defeated by the numerous forces of
Kroumos. Following that victory, Kroumos spread
the fear and terror in the inhabitants of those cities,
killing several of them and forcing others in exile. 21
During the VIII th and the IX th centuries, the
Empire’s administrative institutions were re-
formed and the Theme system was developed in
an attempt to further reinforce the self-government
of the provinces. The Themes were military
districts that were originally formed in Asia Minor
and subsequently in the European territory of the
Byzantine Empire during the middle period of the
Empire. 22 The oldest Theme was the Armeniacum
Theme, founded in 667. Subsequently, the Anatolic
Theme (of the Eastern provinces) was founded
two years later and the Opsikian Theme in 680.
The first Themes in Europe were the Thracian
Theme (between 680 and 685) and the Theme of
Hellas (695). 23
During the first half of the IX th century, the
need to defend the Greek cities along the Euxine
coast more effectively called on the one hand, for
the reinforcement of the defence in those areas 24
and on the other for the reorganization of the
Theme system.
Thus and in order to achieve the more effective
defence of the south coast of the Euxine, the
coastal section of the Boukelarion Theme, lying
south of the river Alys, was sectioned to form the
Paphlagonian Theme, with Gangra as its capital.
Also, from the sectioning of the North-western
section of the Armeniacum Theme, the Chaldion
Theme was formed having Trapezus, the previously
mentioned old Milesian colony 25 as its capital.
The generals of these new Themes took part
in the victorious battle by the river Lalakaon (September
3, 863) that was fought in the context of
the Empire’s war against the Arabs. 26
The establishment of the above Themes is most
likely attributed to the Emperor Theophilus (829-
842) 27 , that he took care for the military reconstruction
and the further fortification of the
Empire’s territories in the north coast of the Euxine
and more concretely in the ancient Taurica peninsula,
where he founded the Cherson Theme in 833,
or 834. The construction of the Sarkel fort in the
lower route of river Tanais (today Don) is connected
to and it was carried out in the context of the establishment
of the above Theme. The fortification was
constructed by Byzantine engineers after the order
of the Emperor Theophilus and it contributed the
most to the defence of the Kingdom of the Khazars,
old allies of the Byzantium against a possible invasion
by the Patzinaks, or the ’Rus. 28
18 ����� Review of Military History �����