Theme of Iberia
Encyclopedia
The theme of Iberia was an administrative and military unit – theme
– within the Byzantine Empire
carved by the Byzantine Emperors out of several Armenia
n and Georgian
lands in the 11th century. It was formed as a result of Emperor Basil II
’s annexation of a portion of the Georgian Bagratid
domains (1000-1021) and later aggrandized at the expense of several Armenian kingdoms acquired by the Byzantines in a piecemeal fashion in the course of the 11th century. The population of the theme—at its largest extent—was multiethnic with the Armenian
majority, including a sizable Armenian community of Chalcedonic
rite to which Byzantines sometimes expanded, as a denominational name, the ethnonym
"Iberian
", a Graeco-Roman designation of Georgians
. The theme ceased to exist in 1074 as a result of the Seljuk invasions.
The theme was created by the emperor Basil II (976-1025) from the lands inherited from the Georgian prince David III of Tao
. These areas – parts of the Armeno-Georgian marchlands centered on Thither Tao
/ Tayk
as well as several northern districts of western Armenia
including Theodosioupolis (Karin; now Erzurum
, Turkey
), Basean, Hark’, Apahunik’, Mardali (Mardaghi), Khaldoyarich, and Ch’ormayari – had been granted to David for his crucial assistance to Basil against the rebel commander Bardas Sclerus in 979. However, David’s rebuff of Basil in Bardas Phocas’ revolt of 987 evoked Constantinople
’s distrust of the Caucasian rulers. After the failure of the revolt, David was forced to make Basil II the legatee of his extensive possessions.
Basil gathered his inheritance upon David’s death in 1000, forcing the successor Georgian Bagratid ruler Bagrat III
to recognize the new rearrangement. Bagrat’s son, George I
, however, inherited a longstanding claim to David’s succession. While Basil was preoccupied with his Bulgaria
n campaigns, George gained momentum to invade Tao/Tayk and Basean in 1014. Defeated in the ensuing Byzantine-Georgian wars
, George had to relinquish further lands – Kola, Artaan
and Javakheti
– to the Byzantine crown in 1022. These provinces were organized by Basil II into the theme of Iberia with the capital at Theodosiopolis. As a result, the political center of the Georgian state moved north, as did a significant part of the Georgian nobility, while the empire gained a critical foothold for further expansion into the territories of Armenia
and Georgia
.
Basil next claimed the principal Armenian Bagratid
kingdom of Ani
, currently straddling the division between Gagik I
’s sons, John-Smbat and Ashot I. In 1022, John-Smbat, as penalty for having supported Georgia, yielded his appanage to the Byzantine Empire. By the mid-1040s, Emperor Constantine IX (1042-55) had broken the resistance of the survived Bagratids of Ani
and forced the catholicos
Peter into surrendering Ani
in 1045. The kingdom was merged with the theme of Iberia and the capital was transferred from Theodosioupolis to Ani
. Henceforth, the theme of Iberia was administered jointly with Greater Armenia and the enlarged theme was frequently referred to as the "theme of Iberia and Armenia".
In 1064 the last independent Armenian kingdom, that of Kars
, was absorbed into imperial territory when Gagik II
of Kars was bullied into abdication in favor of Emperor Constantine X
(1059-67) to prevent his state from being conquered by the Seljuk Turks. The royal family moved to Cappadocia
, probably accompanied by their nobility who were inveigled by the Byzantine administration into ceding their estates in return for lands further west. The event was preceded by the Seljuk capture of Ani
and the theme’s center was shifted back to Theodosioupolis.
The exact chronology of the theme of Iberia and of its governors is not completely clear. Unfortunately, the few Greek seals from the theme or from the ambiguous "Interior Iberia" can seldom be dated precisely. Although many scholars maintain that the theme was probably created immediately after the annexation of David of Tao’s princedom, it is difficult to ascertain whether Byzantine rule extended into Tao and Tayk permanently in 1000 or only after Georgia’s defeat in 1022. It is also impossible to identify any commander in Iberia before the appointment, in 1025/6, of the eunuch
Niketas of Pisidia
as the doux
or katepano
of Iberia. Some scholars believe, however, that the first doux of Iberia was either Romanos Dalassenos or his brother Theophylactos appointed between 1022 and 1027 in the aftermath of Basil’s Georgian campaigns. Since 1071 Gregory Pakourianos
was a governor of the Theme of Iberia.
The Iberian governor was aided by tax officials, judges, and by co administrators who shared in the exercise of the military and civil duties. Among these officials were the domesticos of the East, the administrators of the districts of which the theme was composed, and the occasional extraordinary legates sent there by the emperor. Apart from the regular Byzantine garrisons, an indigenous army of peasant soldiers guarded the area and received in turn an allotment of tax-free government land. This changed, however, when Constantine IX (1042-1055) dismantled the army of the theme of Iberia, perhaps 5,000 men, converting its obligations from military service to the payment of tax. Constantine dispatched a certain Serblias to conduct an inventory and to exact taxes that had never been demanded previously.
revolt of Leo Tornicius, himself the former catapan of Iberia (1047), and later to halt the Pecheneg advance.
In 1048-9, the Seljuk Turks under Ibrahim Yinal
made their first incursion in this region and clashed with a combined Byzantine-Armenian and Georgian army of 50,000 at the Battle of Kapetrou
on September 10, 1048. During this expedition, tens of thousands of Christians are said to have been massacred and several areas were reduced to piles of ashes. In 1051/52, Eustathius Boilas, a Byzantine magnate who moved from Cappadocia
to the theme of Iberia, found the land "foul and unmanageable... inhabited by snakes, scorpions, and wild beasts."
The theme of Iberia did not long survive the Byzantine disaster at the hands of the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan
at Manzikert
, north of Lake Van, on August 26, 1071. Still, it may have lasted as late as 1074 when Gregory Pakourianos
, a Byzantine governor, formally ceded a portion of the theme including Tao / Tayk
and Kars
to King George II of Georgia
. This did not help, however, to stem the Turkish advance and the area became a battleground of the Georgian-Seljuk wars.
Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)
The themes or themata were the main administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-seventh century in the aftermath of the Muslim conquests of Byzantine territory and replaced the earlier provincial system established by emperors Diocletian and...
– within the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
carved by the Byzantine Emperors out of several Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n and Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
lands in the 11th century. It was formed as a result of Emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
’s annexation of a portion of the Georgian Bagratid
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
domains (1000-1021) and later aggrandized at the expense of several Armenian kingdoms acquired by the Byzantines in a piecemeal fashion in the course of the 11th century. The population of the theme—at its largest extent—was multiethnic with the Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
majority, including a sizable Armenian community of Chalcedonic
Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian describes churches and theologians which accept the definition given at the Council of Chalcedon of how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus Christ...
rite to which Byzantines sometimes expanded, as a denominational name, the ethnonym
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
"Iberian
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
", a Graeco-Roman designation of Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
. The theme ceased to exist in 1074 as a result of the Seljuk invasions.
Foundation and enlargement
David III of Tao
David III Kuropalates or David III the Great , also known as David II, was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao/Tayk, a historic region in the Georgian–Armenian marchlands, from 966 until his murder in 1000...
. These areas – parts of the Armeno-Georgian marchlands centered on Thither Tao
Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars...
/ Tayk
Tayk
Tayk was a historical province of the Greater Armenia, one of its 15 ashkars . Tayk consisted of 8 cantons:* Kogh* Berdats por* Partizats por* Tchakatk* Bokha* Vokaghe* Azordats por* Arsiats por....
as well as several northern districts of western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
including Theodosioupolis (Karin; now Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
), Basean, Hark’, Apahunik’, Mardali (Mardaghi), Khaldoyarich, and Ch’ormayari – had been granted to David for his crucial assistance to Basil against the rebel commander Bardas Sclerus in 979. However, David’s rebuff of Basil in Bardas Phocas’ revolt of 987 evoked Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
’s distrust of the Caucasian rulers. After the failure of the revolt, David was forced to make Basil II the legatee of his extensive possessions.
Basil gathered his inheritance upon David’s death in 1000, forcing the successor Georgian Bagratid ruler Bagrat III
Bagrat III of Georgia
Bagrat III , of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of the Abkhazians from 978 on and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, through conquest and diplomacy, added some more lands to his realm, effectively becoming the first king of what is...
to recognize the new rearrangement. Bagrat’s son, George I
George I of Georgia
Giorgi I , of the House of Bagrationi, was the king of Georgia from 1014 until his death in 1027. He spent most of his seven-year-long reign waging a bloody and fruitless territorial war with the Byzantine Empire.-Early reign:...
, however, inherited a longstanding claim to David’s succession. While Basil was preoccupied with his Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n campaigns, George gained momentum to invade Tao/Tayk and Basean in 1014. Defeated in the ensuing Byzantine-Georgian wars
Byzantine-Georgian wars
The Byzantine–Georgian wars were a series conflicts fought during the 11th century and were mainly focused on several strategic districts in the Byzantine-Georgian-Armenian marchlands. Most of these lands were granted by Emperor Basil II to the Georgian courapalates David III of Tao in reward for...
, George had to relinquish further lands – Kola, Artaan
Ardahan
Ardahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe...
and Javakheti
Javakheti
Javakheti is a historical region of the nation of Georgia, in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Today it comprises the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda municipal territories. It was historically bordered in the west with both sides of the Mtkvari river, in the north,...
– to the Byzantine crown in 1022. These provinces were organized by Basil II into the theme of Iberia with the capital at Theodosiopolis. As a result, the political center of the Georgian state moved north, as did a significant part of the Georgian nobility, while the empire gained a critical foothold for further expansion into the territories of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
Bagratuni Dynasty
The Bagratuni, Bagratid or alternatively Pakradouni royal dynasty of Armenia was a royal family whose branches formerly ruled many regional polities, including the Armenian lands of Sper|presently Ispir in Tayk Province of the Armenian Kingdom, Bagrevand in Ayrarat Province of the Armenian...
kingdom of Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
, currently straddling the division between Gagik I
Gagik I of Armenia
Gagik I was king of the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia. He succeeded his brother Smbat II the Conqueror . Armenia reached its zenith during the reign of Gagik.-Rule:...
’s sons, John-Smbat and Ashot I. In 1022, John-Smbat, as penalty for having supported Georgia, yielded his appanage to the Byzantine Empire. By the mid-1040s, Emperor Constantine IX (1042-55) had broken the resistance of the survived Bagratids of Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
and forced the catholicos
Catholicos of Armenia
The Catholicos of All Armenians is the chief bishop of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that do not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. The first Catholicos of All Armenians was Saint Gregory the Illuminator...
Peter into surrendering Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
in 1045. The kingdom was merged with the theme of Iberia and the capital was transferred from Theodosioupolis to Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
. Henceforth, the theme of Iberia was administered jointly with Greater Armenia and the enlarged theme was frequently referred to as the "theme of Iberia and Armenia".
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
, was absorbed into imperial territory when Gagik II
Gagik II
Gagik II of Ani was the last Bagratuni King of Ani from 1042 to 1045.-Historical background:During the reign of John Smbat III, a feudal lord, David, who owned Taik during his battles against the Muslims, gained a large area which stretched all the way to Manzikert...
of Kars was bullied into abdication in favor of Emperor Constantine X
Constantine X
Constantine X Doukas was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1059 to 1067.-Reign:Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia...
(1059-67) to prevent his state from being conquered by the Seljuk Turks. The royal family moved to Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
, probably accompanied by their nobility who were inveigled by the Byzantine administration into ceding their estates in return for lands further west. The event was preceded by the Seljuk capture of Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
and the theme’s center was shifted back to Theodosioupolis.
Government
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
Niketas of Pisidia
Pisidia
Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey...
as the doux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
or 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"...
of Iberia. Some scholars believe, however, that the first doux of Iberia was either Romanos Dalassenos or his brother Theophylactos appointed between 1022 and 1027 in the aftermath of Basil’s Georgian campaigns. Since 1071 Gregory Pakourianos
Gregory Pakourianos
Gregory Pakourianos was a politician and military commander in the Byzantine service. He was the founder of the Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa in Bachkovo and author of its typikon...
was a governor of the Theme of Iberia.
The Iberian governor was aided by tax officials, judges, and by co administrators who shared in the exercise of the military and civil duties. Among these officials were the domesticos of the East, the administrators of the districts of which the theme was composed, and the occasional extraordinary legates sent there by the emperor. Apart from the regular Byzantine garrisons, an indigenous army of peasant soldiers guarded the area and received in turn an allotment of tax-free government land. This changed, however, when Constantine IX (1042-1055) dismantled the army of the theme of Iberia, perhaps 5,000 men, converting its obligations from military service to the payment of tax. Constantine dispatched a certain Serblias to conduct an inventory and to exact taxes that had never been demanded previously.
End of the Theme
Constantine’s reforms caused great discontent in the theme and exposed it to hostile attack aided by the removal of regular troops from the region, first to crush the MacedonianMacedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
revolt of Leo Tornicius, himself the former catapan of Iberia (1047), and later to halt the Pecheneg advance.
In 1048-9, the Seljuk Turks under Ibrahim Yinal
Ibrahim Yinal
Ibrahim Inal was a Seljuk warlord, and a uterine brother of the sultan Tughril.İbrahim commanded a successful raid against the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire which culminated in the Battle of Kapetrou in September 1048. The Arab chronicler Ibn al-Athir reports that he brought back...
made their first incursion in this region and clashed with a combined Byzantine-Armenian and Georgian army of 50,000 at the Battle of Kapetrou
Battle of Kapetrou
The Battle of Kapetron or Kapetrou was fought between the Byzantine-Georgian armies and the Seljuq Turks on September 10 or September 18, 1048...
on September 10, 1048. During this expedition, tens of thousands of Christians are said to have been massacred and several areas were reduced to piles of ashes. In 1051/52, Eustathius Boilas, a Byzantine magnate who moved from Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
to the theme of Iberia, found the land "foul and unmanageable... inhabited by snakes, scorpions, and wild beasts."
The theme of Iberia did not long survive the Byzantine disaster at the hands of the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan
Alp Arslan
Alp Arslan was the third sultan of the Seljuq dynasty and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty...
at Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
, north of Lake Van, on August 26, 1071. Still, it may have lasted as late as 1074 when Gregory Pakourianos
Gregory Pakourianos
Gregory Pakourianos was a politician and military commander in the Byzantine service. He was the founder of the Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa in Bachkovo and author of its typikon...
, a Byzantine governor, formally ceded a portion of the theme including Tao / Tayk
Tayk
Tayk was a historical province of the Greater Armenia, one of its 15 ashkars . Tayk consisted of 8 cantons:* Kogh* Berdats por* Partizats por* Tchakatk* Bokha* Vokaghe* Azordats por* Arsiats por....
and Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
to King George II of Georgia
George II of Georgia
George II , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Georgia from 1072 to 1089. He was a son and successor of Bagrat IV and his wife Borena of Alania...
. This did not help, however, to stem the Turkish advance and the area became a battleground of the Georgian-Seljuk wars.
Further reading
- Toumanoff, CyrilCyril ToumanoffCyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff was an United States-based historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, the Byzantine Empire, and Iran...
. Studies in Christian Caucasian History, Georgetown University Press, Washington, 1967. - Arutyunova-Fidanyan, Viada A., Some Aspects of the Military-Administrative Districts and Byzantine Administration in Armenia During the 11th Century, REArm 20, 1986-87: 309-20.
- Kalistrat, Salia (1983), History of the Georgian Nation, Katharine Vivian trans. Paris.
- Garsoian, Nina. The Byzantine Annexation of the Armenian Kingdoms in the Eleventh Century, 192 p. In: The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, vol. 1, edited by Richard G. Hovannisian, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1977.
- Hewsen, Robert. Armenia. A Historical Atlas. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001, Pp 341 (124).