Nikiforov M. The Byzantine possessions in the Mountainous Crimeа in the first half of the 9th - the beginning of the 13th centuries

The reconstruction of the history of Byzantine possessions in the Mountainous Crimea in the first half of the 9th - the beginning of the 13th centuries basing on the wide range of sources is presented in this thesis. In the 9th century the Byzantine Empire restores its power over the Mountainous Crimea. The first thema was established in the period between 835 and 837. It got the name of "Klimata"; Byzantine authors used this name to call the Mountainous Crimea. In the history of Byzantine possessions in the Mountainous Crimea two chronological periods are allocated. The first one (the first half of the 9th - the second half of the 10th centuries) is characterized by rather limited power of a Byzantine strategos in the region. The dependence of Klimata from the Empire in that period is expressed in the form of paying annual tribute - pakton. During the second period (the end of the 10th - the beginning of the 13th centuries) Byzantine administration is introduced on the territory of the whole Mountainous Crimea. Since the mid-11th century centralization of Byzantine administrative power takes place on the peninsula. As a result, in the period between 1059 and 1066, all the possessions of Byzantium in the Crimea are passed to the jurisdiction of katepano. Despite strong Polovtsian influence in the mid 12th - the beginning of the 13th centuries the Byzantine Empire maintained the power over the Mountainous Crimea till its cleavage in 1204.