Iberia (theme)
The theme of Iberia (Greek: θέμα Ἰβηρίας) was an administrative and military unit (theme) within the Byzantine Empire carved by the Byzantine Emperors out of several Georgian lands in the 11th century. It was formed as a result of Emperor Basil II’s annexation of a portion of the Bagrationi dynasty 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 a possible Georgian 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.
| Theme of Iberia Ἰβηρίας, θέμα Ἰβηρίας | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme of the Byzantine Empire | |||||||||
| 1001–1074 | |||||||||
| Capital | Theodosioupolis | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| • Coordinates | 39°54′31″N 41°16′37″E | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| Doux | |||||||||
• 1025/6 | Niketas of Pisidia | ||||||||
• 1045 | Katakalon Kekaumenos | ||||||||
• 1047 | Leo Tornikios | ||||||||
• 1054–59 | Basil Apokapes | ||||||||
• 1071–74 | Gregory Pakourianos | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 1001 | ||||||||
• Kingdom of Ani was incorporated into Theme. | 1045 | ||||||||
• Constantine IX disbanded "Iberian Army" | 1053 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | ca. 1074 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Turkey | ||||||||
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Georgia |
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