Byzantine coins from Hadrianoupolis in Paphlagonia

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae and/or non-US-ASCII text omitted; see image)

Articles

Paphlagonia, Honorias, and Hadrianoupolis in Byzantine times

In the Byzantine period Paphlagonia and Honorias were provinces on the north-central Black Sea coast of Asia Minor, situated between Bithynia and Pontus. Paphlagonia appeared as a separate province in the fourth century A.D. (Hierocles, Synecdemus c. 33) (map 1). In the seventh century it became part of the theme of Opsikion and, later, of the Boukellarion theme, before it was detached again to form a separate unit. The theme of Paphlagonia was a military-civilian province of the Byzantine empire in the namesake region; it was definitely created after c. A.D. 815-819¹and so the theme seems to have been established during the reign of Michael II, simultaneously with the theme of Chaldea in c. A.D. 820.²The territory of the theme corresponds roughly to the Late Antique province of Paphlagonia, which had been subsumed in the themes of Opsikion and Boukellarion.³After the battle of Manzikert in A.D. 1071, most of the region was lost to the Seljuk Turks; Alexios I Komnenos recovered the coast. However, the campaigns of John II Komnenos in the 1130s which were destined to reconquer the interior were in vain. After the Fourth Crusade, the Paphlagonian coast came under the control of David Komnenos, but in 1214 the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Laskaris seized the western parts up to Kromna east of Amastris. These remained in Byzantine hands until the late fourteenth century, when they were taken over by the Turks or the Genoese.⁴

Map 1:

Map of Paphlagonia and Honorias in Late Antiquity with the places mentioned in the text. Underlined places indicate cities with local museums.

[Figure Omitted; See PDF]

The southern neighbour of Paphlagonia was Honorias and as a Late Roman province Honorias encompassed parts of Bithynia and Paphlagonia. Its capital was Klaudioupolis (modern Bolu), and its governor held the rank of praeses. The province was established under Theodosius II and named after his uncle Honorius. It formed part of the diocese of Pontus, bordering with Bithynia in the west, Galatia Prima in the south, and Paphlagonia in the east. In the administrative reforms of Justinian I, the province was united with that...