Katepanikion
Encyclopedia
A katepanikion was a Byzantine
term for an area under the control of a katepano
. It was used to describe two different types of administrative divisions:
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
term for an area under the control of a katepano
Katepano
The katepánō was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as capetanus/catepan, and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus"...
. It was used to describe two different types of administrative divisions:
- from ca. 971 until the late 11th century, it referred to large circumscriptions comprising several themes and commanded by a douxDuxDux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
("duke") or katepanoKatepanoThe katepánō was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as capetanus/catepan, and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus"...
("catepan"). In English, these divisions are usually termed "duchy" (in Greek doukaton) or "catepanate" (katepanikion).
- in the Palaiologan period, the katepanikion became a much smaller province comprising a fortified town and its surroundings or an island, under a kephaleKephale (Byzantine Empire)In the late Byzantine Empire, the term kephalē was used to denote local and provincial governors.It entered use in the second half of the 13th century, and was derived from the colloquial language. Consequently, it never became an established title or rank of the Byzantine imperial hierarchy, but...
(and hence also termed a kephalatikion).