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У тексту су представљени резултати проучавања порекла и карактера тематске организације, са посебним нагласком на питање у којој мери су елементи позноримског наслеђа учествовали у обликовању нове милитаризоване управе у Византијском царству. Историографска анализа је у највећој мери заснована на изворним подацима похрањеним у спису Notitia dignitatum, затим у појединим новелама Јустинијана I Великог, писму цара Јустинијана II римском папи из 687. године, као и у листама византијских достојанстевника (тактиконима), сачињеним током IX и X столећа. У раду се закључује да је тематски систем у значајној мери почивао на начелима обликованим у столећима која су претходила појави првих тема. Стога се може говорити о постепеном преобликовању позноримске управе, која је, прилагођавајући се спољашњим и унутрашњим потребама Царства, еволутивним путем трансформисана у нови милитаризовани тематски систем. The paper presents the results of research of the origin and character of thematic organization, focusing on the extent to which the elements of the Late Roman legacy, both military and administrative, played a role in the shaping of the new, militarized thematic administration in the Byzantine Empire. Much of the historiographic analysis is based on the information provided in the document Notitia dignitatum, some novels issued by Justinian the Great, Justinian II’s letter to the Pope of 687, and the lists of Byzantine dignitaries (taktika) compiled in the ninth and tenth centuries. Established in the time of Diocletian and Constantine the Great and consolidated under their successors, the provincial system of the late Roman Empire began to incorporate novelties already during the reign of Justinian the Great – through the introduction of elements that eventually became the main features of the well-developed theme system. The Late Roman administration was adapted to the external and internal needs of the Empire, gradually evolving into the militarized theme system. To a large extent, thematic administration was built on the principles formulated in the centuries leading up to the emergence of the earliest themes. This is attested by the following historical facts: The transition of administrative powers in the provinces and their merging with military command was launched already by Justinian the Great with the introduction of the offices of Praetor Iustinianus, Comes Iustinianus, Moderator Iustinianus and Proconsul Iustinianus, who governed some provinces in the East of the Empire, wielding both civilian and military power. After having proved effective, this practice was adopted in the exarchates of Italy and Africa and, in the following centuries, became the main feature of the new thematic administration. Concurrently with the transition of administrative powers, Justinian the Great introduced the office of strategos as a technical term in provincial administration – more specifically, for the administrator of Paphlagonia. The same rank would later be held by the governors of Byzantine themes, and as such it would become one of the main hallmarks of the thematic nomenclature. In parallel with merging competences, Justinian the Great launched a territorial reform, reshaping the borders of some provinces. However, this territorial reorganization was not followed by a reform of the organs of ecclesiastical governance, leading to a discrepant distribution of civilian and ecclesiastical structures. This practice would continue in the following centuries with the formation of new thematic units territorially inconsistent with the borders of ecclesiastical provinces. The first Byzantine themes seem to have emerged due to the settlement of recruits of Late Roman armies constituted from the fourth to the sixth century. The earliest Byzantine themes were named after those army units. Throughout its existence, the thematic system rested, to an extent, on the elements or, more precisely, remnants of the Late Roman territorial organization, as evidenced by the surviving lists of Byzantine dignitaries (taktika). Their contents reveal that the strategoi were grouped on these lists according to the spatial arrangement of the themes, which in turn rested on the territorial foundations of the prefectures of Late Antiquity. Replicating the method of listing functionaries in Notitia dignitatum, taktika first listed the strategoi of the Eastern themes, i.e., those established on the remnants of the former prefecture of the East (Oriens), and then the strategoi of the Western, i.e., the themes in the territory of Illyricum and Italy. In this context, illustrative examples are those of Thrace and Macedonia, which were, although geographically part of the Byzantine West, listed among the Eastern themes. |
