Topic (Byzantine empire)
See also: Topic
The topics (or in Greek themata , singular: thema , “army corps” , then by extension “military region” ) was administrative divisions of the Byzantine Empire.
Context
During the end of the 6th century and the beginning of 7th, the Byzantine empire underwent the attacks of all shares. The Persian in the south and the east tackled the Byzantine possessions in Syria, Egypt and Anatolia. The Slavic and the Avars attacked the Illyrie, the Thrace, the Macedonia and even sometimes the Peloponnese while the Lombards moved and plundered freely the north of the Italy without meeting resistance. The population of the cities fell, number of inhabitants turning over in the campaigns to cultivate the ground by need. With the wars led simultaneously to the east and the west, the cases of the imperial treasure were empty and the generals in open revolt. Moreover, the Empire counted enormously on the mercenaries to carry out its wars, which was not made to reduce public finances. It is in these circumstances that Héraclius went up on the throne and instituted certain reforms which allowed the creation of the topics.
Administrative organization
The objective of Héraclius was to re-establish the republican system of an army of Citoyen S paid with Plots of land and which had made the force of the Roman République. Héraclius thus started by distributing ground to the soldiers in exchange of a hereditary warhead, and all that at cost reduced for the Empire.
At the end of the 8th century, old administrative divisions (Province S and Diocese S) of the Byzantine Empire are replaced gradually by the topics, districts at the same time administrative and military, which combine the Roman tradition soldier-peasants (stratiotes) and the experiment made as of the 6th century with the creation of the Exarchat S (of Ravenne and Carthage) and the reforms of Héraclius. The Stratège, which directs the topic, obtains the totality of the civil, military and tax capacities. The topics did not cost practically anything the Empire: he conceded a ground with the soldiers who in return promised to defend it unconditionally. The soldiers were technically not owner of the ground and thus the pay of the soldier was reduced to the Usufruit. By accepting this proposal, balanced it also engaged so that its descendants are useful in the army. That thus reduced the need for Conscription S inevitably unpopular and the size of the army was increased cheaply.
The strategist is assisted of his lieutenant, the Domestique of the topic, of his military intendant, the chartulaire of the topic, of a financial administrator, the Protonotaire of the topic and the intendant, the count of the tent. A crowd of senior officials are to them subordinates: military civils servant like the counts, the Topotérète S, the Drongaire S, the Clisurarque S, the Centarque S and of the civil civils servant like the counts of the aqueducts, the directors of imperial manufactures, the curators of the palates and the fields of the emperor. The topic itself is divided into two or three Tourmes (of the Greek tourma ) directed by Tourmarque S. the tourmes subdivide themselves in vexia , numeroi or bandaged (a bandon is made of 300 to 400 men).
The topics were placed under the direction of two large offices of the central administration ( άνατολή in the East and δύσις to Occident) under the command of a servant of the topics.
In the course of time, certain families of soldiers became aristocrats who reigned on very vast territories, which provided them resources and capacity. These families, the such Doukas, Comnène, Angel, Laskaris or Paleologist, played a considerable part in the history of the Byzantine Empire.
The quotas (first direction of the word topic) which are fixed on the first topics give them their name: Opsikion (imperial guard), Arméniaques (contingent repatriate of Arménie), Anatoliques (armed with the East), etc
First topics:
At the end of the 9th century, Opsikion was divided into two: Opsikion in the North-West and Bucellaires in north. In the same way, the topic of Anatoliques was amputee of that of Thracèsiens in the south-west of Anatolia. These divisions intervirent primarily to counter the usurpers who could have tried to be based on a topic to proclaim emperor, as Leon III did it in 717.
From 927, the Byzantines, not fearing the Bulgarian more, leave in crusade against the Moslems and make them move back thanks to the large generals of the time, like Jean Kourkouas, Nicéphore Phocas or Jean Kourkouas says “Tzimiskès”. This expansionist push throughout the 10th century and the extension of the Eastern borders will lead to the creation of new topics: those of Cyprus, Rosefish, Mésopotamie, Séleucie and Lykandos. The Cypriot topic is created in 965 after the reconquest of the island by Nicéphore II.
List topics
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