Τακτικόν (Taktikon)

This volume presents the first results of the TAKTIKON Research Project on the administration and prosopography of the Byzantine themata, which is being realised at the Academy of Athens by Olga Karagiorgou (Principal Investigator), Christos Malatras and Pantelis Charalampakis, as well as the communications delivered during a One-day International Workshop organised in the framework of the same project. Part I, entitled TAKTIKON: a new manual for the “atriklines of Byzantine History” describes the aims and the methodological principles of the TAKTIKON Research Project, addresses some key questions concerning the institution of the Byzantine themata in relation to the results presented in the volume, and offers a description of the TAKTIKON online database (Olga Karagiorgou). Part II, entitled The thematic
administration on the evidence of sigillographic and other sources: some case studies in the TAKTIKON, includes a paper on the use of the terms “Eoa”, “Anatole” and “Anatolikoi” in the Byzantine literary tradition (Anastasia Kontogiannopoulou), as well as detailed studies on the strategoi of Hellas (Olga Karagiorgou), and the prosopography and administrative structure of Opsikion (Christos Malatras), the Anatolikoi (Christos Malatras), and the Kibyrraiotai (Pantelis Charalampakis), based on the evidence provided by sigillographic and non-sigillographic sources. The studies on Hellas and the three Asia Minor themata are accompanied by appendices presenting for the first time detailed chronological lists of thematic officials, as well as complete records of a total of 1110 relevant thematic molybdoboulla. These were put together by the research team during the personal inspection of sigillographic collections and/or the meticulous study of relevant publications. More than 80 (published and unpublished) state and private sigillographic collections in 17 countries, as well as the (printed and online) sale catalogues of more than 40 auction houses have been studied, so far, for the purposes of the TAKTIKON Research Project. Parts III and IV of the volume present papers by the participants of the One-day International Workshop at the Academy of Athens. Part III, entitled Unpublished molybdoboulla relevant to the administration of Byzantine Asia Minor, includes the papers by Nikolaj Alekseienko (Correspondents of Byzantine Cherson), Oleksandr Alf’orov (Seals of Eustratios Chrysoberges from the territory of the Rus’), Vera Bulgurlu (Seals from the Museum of Miletos), Jean-Claude Cheynet (Sceaux parisiens inedits), Jean-Claude Cheynet (Sceaux dans la collection Savvas Kofopoulos, Lesbos), Nilgun Elam (Seals from eleven museums in Turkey), Esra Guzel Erdogan and Vivien Prigent (Sceaux au musee d’Adana), and Elena Stepanova (Seals of the Kibyrraiotai from the Hermitage). Part IV, entitled Interpretations of the sigillographic material, includes the papers by Ivan Jordanov (Byzantine Eastern armies in the Balkans), Theodoros Kourempanas (Σφραγίδες με απεικονίσεις αετών), Valerij Stepanenko (The family of Artzruni) and Zhenya Zhekova (Thematic seals from Bulgaria). The authors in Parts III and IV of the volume discuss more than 230 Byzantine lead seals (in their overwhelming majority previously unpublished), kept in private and state collections in Bulgaria, France, Greece, Russia, and the Ukraine, which are relevant to the administration and the prosopography of Byzantine Asia Minor.

The publication of the TAKTIKON volume was kindly supported by the Foundation Janet Zakos for the Study of Byzantium (Geneva), the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, the Capuano Insurance Brokers S.A., Eurolife FFH and Generali Hellas.