SHORT NOTES ON THE PROSOPOGRAPHY OF THE BYZANTINE THEME OF KOLONEIA (PART II) Cover Image

SHORT NOTES ON THE PROSOPOGRAPHY OF THE BYZANTINE THEME OF KOLONEIA (PART II)
SHORT NOTES ON THE PROSOPOGRAPHY OF THE BYZANTINE THEME OF KOLONEIA (PART II)

Author(s): Pantelis Charalampakis
Subject(s): Military history, 6th to 12th Centuries
Published by: Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi - Karadeniz Araştırmaları Enstitüsü
Keywords: Pontos; Koloneia; Byzantine Theme; Prosopography; 42 Martyrs of Amorion; Kallistos Melissenos;

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents the case study of Kallistos (reportedly a member of the Melissenos family), one of the Forty-two Byzantine officials captured by the Arabs in the aftermath of the siege of Amorion in 838. The person in question has been recorded in scholarly literature as a military officer active in Koloneia (or, according to other views, in the themes of the Anatolikoi or the Armeniakoi). A closer examination of extant evidence, however, may suggest that he never existed – or at least not as a military commander in Koloneia – and his mention in the sources was the result of a misunderstanding and/or fictional writing related to hagiography, politics, or family prestige.

  • Issue Year: 5/2019
  • Issue No: 8
  • Page Range: 115-128
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: English
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