Islands (Roman province) - Misplaced Pages

The Province of the Islands (Latin: Provincia Insularum; Greek: ἐπαρχία νήσων, romanized: eparchia nēsōn) was a Late Roman province consisting of most of the islands in the Aegean, now part of Greece. It was almost succeeded by later Byzantine theme of Aegean Sea. Meanwhile, It should not be confused with the Roman province of Hispania Balearica, which consists of the (now Spanish) Balearic Islands.

History

In Late Antiquity, the province was part of the Diocese of Asia of the Praetorian prefecture of the East, until subordinated to the quaestura exercitus by Emperor Justinian I.

Rhodes was the capital of the province, whose governor had the modest rank of praeses (hegemon in Greek). It encompassed many Aegean islands. According to the Synecdemus of Hierocles, the province included twenty cities: Rhodes, Amorgos, Andros, Astypalaia, Chios, Ios, Kos, Melos, Methymna, Mytilene, Naxos, Paros, Petelos, Proselene, Samos, Siphnos, Tenedos, Tenos and Thera.

Rhodes' homonymous capital was also the see of the metropolitan archbishopric of the ecclesiastical province covering the Cyclades, with eleven suffragan sees including Astypalaia, Ios and in the Dodekanesos Nisyrus (Nisyros island).

References

^ Gregory, Timothy E. (1991). "Rhodes". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 1791–1792. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.

Late Roman and early Byzantine provinces (4th–7th centuries AD)

History

As found in the Notitia Dignitatum. Provincial administration reformed and dioceses established by Diocletian, c. 293. Permanent praetorian prefectures established after the death of Constantine I. Empire permanently partitioned after 395. Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa established after 584. After massive territorial losses in the 7th century, the remaining provinces were superseded by the theme system in c. 640–660, although in Asia Minor and parts of Greece they survived under the themes until the early 9th century.

Western Roman Empire (395–476)

Praetorian prefecture
of Gaul

Diocese of Gaul	Alpes Poeninae et Graiae Belgica I Belgica II Germania I Germania II Lugdunensis I Lugdunensis II Lugdunensis III Lugdunensis IV Maxima Sequanorum
Diocese of Vienne	Alpes Maritimae Aquitanica I Aquitanica II Narbonensis I Narbonensis II Novempopulania Viennensis
Diocese of Spain	Baetica Balearica Carthaginensis Gallaecia Lusitania Mauretania Tingitana Tarraconensis
Diocese of the Britains	Britannia I Britannia II Flavia Caesariensis Maxima Caesariensis Valentia (?)

Praetorian prefecture
of Italy

Diocese of Suburbicarian Italy	Apulia et Calabria Campania Corsica Lucania et Bruttium Picenum Suburbicarium Samnium Sardinia Sicilia Tuscia et Umbria Valeria
Diocese of Annonarian Italy	Alpes Cottiae Flaminia et Picenum Annonarium Liguria et Aemilia Raetia I Raetia II Venetia et Histria
Diocese of Africa	Africa proconsularis (Zeugitana) Byzacena Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Sitifensis Numidia (divided as Cirtensis and Militiana during the Tetrarchy) Tripolitania (Roman province)

Eastern Roman Empire (395–c. 640)

Praetorian prefecture
of Illyricum

Diocese of Pannonia	Dalmatia Noricum mediterraneum Noricum ripense Pannonia I Pannonia II Savia Valeria ripensis
Diocese of Dacia	Dacia Mediterranea Dacia Ripensis Dardania Moesia I Praevalitana
Diocese of Macedonia	Achaea Creta Epirus Nova Epirus Vetus Macedonia Prima Macedonia II Salutaris Thessalia

Praetorian prefecture
of the East

Diocese of Thrace	Europa Haemimontus Moesia Secunda Rhodope Scythia Thracia
Diocese of Asia	Asia Caria Hellespontus Islands Lycaonia (370) Lycia Lydia Pamphylia Pisidia Phrygia Pacatiana Phrygia Salutaris
Diocese of Pontus	Armenia Prima Armenia Secunda Armenia Maior Armenian Satrapies Armenia III (536) Armenia IV (536) Bithynia Cappadocia I Cappadocia II Galatia I Galatia II Salutaris Helenopontus Honorias Paphlagonia Pontus Polemoniacus
Diocese of the East	Arabia Cilicia I Cilicia II Cyprus Euphratensis Isauria Mesopotamia Osroene Palaestina I Palaestina II Palaestina III Salutaris Phoenice I Phoenice II Libanensis Syria I Syria II Salutaris Theodorias (528)
Diocese of Egypt	Aegyptus I Aegyptus II Arcadia Augustamnica I Augustamnica II Libya Superior Libya Inferior Thebais Superior Thebais Inferior

Other territories
Taurica Quaestura exercitus (536) Spania (552)

Later the Septem Provinciae
Re-established after reconquest by the Eastern Empire in 534 as the separate Prefecture of Africa
Later the Diocese of Illyricum
Placed under the Quaestura exercitus in 536
Affected (i.e. boundaries modified, abolished or renamed) by Justinian I's administrative reorganization in 534–536

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