Karabisianoi

The Karabisianoi (Greek: Καραβισιάνοι), sometimes anglicized as the Carabisians, were the mainstay of the Byzantine navy from the mid-7th century until the early 8th century. The name derives from the Greek karabos or karabis (Greek: κάραβος, καραβίς) for "ship", and literally means "people of the ships, sea-men". The Karabisianoi were the first permanent naval establishment of the Byzantine Empire, formed to confront the Muslim expansion at sea. They were disbanded and replaced with a series of maritime themes some time in 718–730.

History and role

The Karabisianoi were established sometime in the second half of the 7th century in response to the Muslim conquests. Various scholars have suggested that it evolved from the remainders of the old quaestura exercitus^[1] or the late Roman field army of the Illyricum,^[2] but these suggestions remain hypothetical.^[3] The date of the fleet's establishment is unclear: some scholars propose that it was established in the 650s or 660s by Emperor Constans II (r. 641–668),^[4] following the major naval defeat at the Battle of the Masts in 655,^[5][6] while others think that it was created after the First Arab Siege of Constantinople in 672–678, where the Arab advance by sea seems to have been almost unopposed.^[7][8] The first certain reference to the Karabisianoi is during the siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in circa 680, and then in a letter of Emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695) to Pope Conon in 687.^[9][8]

The Karabisianoi are widely held to have been the first permanently maintained naval force of the Byzantine Empire.^[9] Before that, as the Mediterranean was a "Roman lake", only a limited number of relatively small warships were maintained in the main harbours and along the fluvial borders of the Empire for patrols and transport tasks. Larger Byzantine fleets were assembled only on an ad hoc basis for specific expeditions.^[10] The Karabisianoi were formed in largely the same way as the land army's themes: they were a distinct military corps named after its soldiers, and headed by a stratēgos (stratēgos tōn karabōn/tōn plōimatōn). Although they are often referred to as the "Carabisian Theme", this designation is erroneous as the Karabisianoi remained a purely military command and do not appear to have constituted a specific territorial division like the land themes.^[8][11] The stratēgos' base is not known, with suggestions ranging from Rhodes^[1] to Keos^[9] and Samos.^[6] The Karabisianoi have also been variously seen as an essentially provincial fleet, tasked with defending the southern coast of Asia Minor from Miletus to Seleucia in Cilicia, the Aegean islands and the imperial holdings in southern Greece, and serving alongside a central imperial fleet in Constantinople,^[6][8][12] or a command encompassing virtually the entire effective force of the Byzantine navy, and active in both defensive and offensive capacities from the Black Sea to the Exarchate of Africa.^[13]

The Karabisianoi were greatly strengthened under Emperor Justinian II, who settled several thousand Mardaites to serve as rowers and marines along the southern coasts of Asia Minor. Justinian also created a separate theme and fleet for southern Greece, named "Hellas".^[14] The Karabisianoi played a major role in the failed expedition to recover Carthage in 697–698, and led the revolt that installed the admiral Apsimar (Tiberios III) on the throne.^[15] The last mention of the stratēgos of the Karabisianoi is in 710/711, and it is not until 732 that his chief successor, the stratēgos of the Cibyrrhaeot Theme, is mentioned.^[9][16] This has led to two different suggestions as to the date and reason of the disbandment of the Karabisianoi. One view holds that this was after the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople (717–718), circa 719, either due to a poor performance during the previous years or because they assisted in a rebellion against Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741),^[17] while the others hold that it happened as late as circa 727, after another unsuccessful revolt against Emperor Leo III.^[18]

The Karabisianoi were replaced chiefly by the new Cibyrrhaeot Theme, the first naval theme (thema nautikon), which was a formerly subordinate command under a droungarios and covered the southern coast of Asia Minor. In other coastal provinces, various smaller fleets and squadrons under droungarioi and other officers were tasked with local defence.^[19]

References

Citations

1. Haldon 1999, p. 74.
2. Treadgold 1997, p. 73.
3. Ahrweiler 1966, p. 12.
4. Treadgold 1997, pp. 315, 382.
5. Cosentino 2008, p. 602.
6. Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 25.
7. Ahrweiler 1966, pp. 22–23.
8. Nesbitt & Oikonomides 1994, p. 150.
9. Kazhdan 1991, pp. 1105–1106.
10. Ahrweiler 1966, pp. 19–20, 22; Cosentino 2008, pp. 578–583.
11. Ahrweiler 1966, pp. 24–25.
12. Treadgold 1997, p. 315.
13. Ahrweiler 1966, pp. 23–25.
14. Treadgold 1997, p. 332.
15. Treadgold 1997, pp. 337–338, 383.
16. Ahrweiler 1966, p. 26.
17. Ahrweiler 1966, pp. 26–31; Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 32.
18. Treadgold 1997, p. 352; Whittow 1996, p. 167.
19. Ahrweiler 1966, pp. 50–51; Nesbitt & Oikonomides 1994, p. 151.

Sources

• Ahrweiler, Hélène (1966). Byzance et la mer: La Marine de Guerre, la politique et les institutions maritimes de Byzance aux VIIe–XVe siècles (in French). Paris, France: Presses universitaires de France.
• Cosentino, Salvatore (April 2008). "Constans II and the Byzantine Navy". Byzantinische Zeitschrift 100 (2): 577–603. doi:10.1515/BYZS.2008.577. ISSN 0007-7704.
• Haldon, John F. (1999). Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204. London, United Kingdom: University College London Press (Taylor & Francis Group). ISBN 1-85728-495-X.
• Kazhdan, Alexander Petrovich, ed. (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York, New York and Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
• Nesbitt, John W.; Oikonomides, Nicolas, eds. (1994). Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor. Washington, District of Columbia: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. ISBN 0-88402-226-9.
• Pryor, John H.; Jeffreys, Elizabeth M. (2006). The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ: The Byzantine Navy ca. 500–1204. Leiden, The Netherlands and Boston, Massachusetts: Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-15197-0.
• Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
• Whittow, Mark (1996). The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20496-4.

Further reading

• Morrison, John; Gardiner, Robert (2004). The Age of the Galley: Mediterranean Oared Vessels since pre-Classical Times. London, United Kingdom: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-955-3.