Charsianon

Charsianon (Greek: Χαρσιανόν) was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the corresponding theme (a military-civilian province) in the region of Cappadocia in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). It center was first in Charsianon (its ruins are found in Muşalikalesi village of Akdağmadeni district in Yozgat Province), later in Caesarea.

History

The fortress of Charsianon (Greek: Χαρσιανόν κάστρον, Charsianon kastron; Arabic: Qal'e-i Ḥarsanōs) is first mentioned in 638, during the first wave of the Muslim conquests, and was allegedly named after a general of Justinian I named Charsios. The Arabs first seized it in 730, and it remained a hotly contested stronghold during the next century of Byzantine–Arab warfare. In the early 9th century, the fortress became the center of a kleisoura, a separately administered fortified frontier district. Sometime between 863 and 873, it was raised to the status of a full theme, augmented by territory from the neighboring Bucellarian, Armeniac and Cappadocian themes. It ranked in the middle tier of themes, with its governing strategos receiving an annual salary of 20 pounds of gold and commanding, according to Arab sources, 4,000 men and four fortresses.