Byzantine border guards
The
Akritai
(
Greek
:
?κρ?ται
, singular:
Akrit?s
,
?κρ?τη?
) is a term used in the
Byzantine Empire
in the 9th?11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the
Middle East
. Their exploits, embellished, inspired the Byzantine "national epic" of
Digenes Akritas
and the cycle of the
Acritic songs
.
The term is derived from the
Greek
word
akron
/
akra
, meaning border; similar border guards, the
limitanei
, were employed in the
late Roman
and early Byzantine armies to guard the frontiers (
limes
). In official Byzantine use, the term is non-technical, and used in a descriptive manner, being generally applied to the defenders as well as the inhabitants of the eastern frontier zone, including their Muslim counterparts. The popular image of the
Akritoi
has been heavily influenced by their portrayal in the Acritic songs, and refers to the military troops stationed along the Empire's border. In reality, the Byzantine troops stationed along the edges of the Empire were a mixture of professional troops and local
thematic
militia, as well as irregular units that constituted the
Akritai
or
Apelatai
proper.
These were light infantry recruited from the native Byzantine population and
Armenians
. By the late 10th century, the reconquest of much territory in the East meant that the latter were often ethnically and religiously mixed, a fact epitomized by the legendary Digenes Akritas: "digenes" means "of two races", i.e. "Roman" (Byzantine/Greek) and "Saracen". The
Apelatai
, whose role and tactics are described in
Nikephoros II Phokas
'
De velitatione bellica
, acted as raiders, scouts and border guards in the perennial border warfare between Byzantium and its eastern neighbors, characterized by skirmishes and raids. Aside from light infantry, the border forces were complemented by the light cavalry called
trapezitai
or
tasinarioi
. In case of a major Arab raid (
razzia
), they were supposed to raise the alarm, assist in the evacuation of the local population to the various strongholds, and shadow and harass the enemy force until reinforcements could arrive.
Many of the Akritai were members of the separated Armenian church and most of them gave protection to heretics.
[1]
Often, they were active as brigands as well ? they were known as
chonsarioi
, from the
Bulgarian
for "thieves", in the Balkans, and in the epic of Digenes, the
apelatai
are brigands. Whether these men were also given military estates like the other
thematic
soldiers to cultivate or lived on rents from
smallholdings
while concentrating on their military duties is still a matter of debate. Their officers however were drawn from the local aristocracy.
The
Akritai
declined in importance by the late 10th century, as the Byzantine conquests pushed the border eastwards, and its defense radically restructured, with smaller
themata
grouped in five large regional commands headed by a
doux
and a heavy presence of professional troops (
tagmata
). During the first half of the 11th century, the Byzantines faced little danger in the East, and allowed their military strength to weaken. As a result, they were unable to halt the quick advance of the
Seljuk Turks
in
Asia Minor
.
The institution, in the form of a force raised by local inhabitants in exchange for land and tax exemptions, was re-established under
Manuel I Komnenos
(r. 1143?1180), when he reorganized the themes in the reconquered western portion of Asia Minor. It is also attested during the
Empire of Nicaea
, guarding the Anatolian frontier, especially around the
Meander
valley, against the incursions of Turkish nomads. Their attachment to the
Laskarid dynasty
however led them to revolt against the usurper emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos
in 1262. After the revolt was suppressed, the
akritai
were then enrolled into the regular army, and their exemptions were annulled. As a result, within a generation, they had effectively ceased to exist, opening the way to the complete loss of the Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor during the first half of the 14th century.
Today, Greeks continue to call the inhabitants of Greece who live
near the borders
as "Akrites", as a remnant of the past.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The Fall of Constantinople 1453, Steven Runciman, page 23
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Preceding
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Early
(330–717)
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Middle
(717–1204)
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Late
(1204–1453)
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By modern region
or territory
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Africa
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Asia
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Europe
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North America
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Oceania
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South America
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International
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Non-recognized
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Defunct
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