Karabisianoi

The Karabisianoi (Greek: Καραβισιάνοι), sometimes anglicized as the Carabisians, were the mainstay of the Byzantine navy from the mid-7th century until the early 8th century. The name derives from the Greek karabos or karabis (Greek: κάραβος, καραβίς) for "ship", and literally means "people of the ships, sea-men". The Karabisianoi were the first permanent naval establishment of the Byzantine Empire, formed to confront the Muslim expansion at sea. They were disbanded and replaced with a series of maritime themes some time in 718–730.

History and role

The Karabisianoi were established sometime in the second half of the 7th century in response to the Muslim conquests. Various scholars have suggested that it evolved from the remainders of the old quaestura exercitus or the late Roman field army of the Illyricum, but these suggestions remain hypothetical. The date of the fleet's establishment is unclear: some scholars propose that it was established in the 650s or 660s by Emperor Constans II (r. 641–668), following the major naval defeat at the Battle of the Masts in 655, while others think that it was created after the First Arab Siege of Constantinople in 672–678, where the Arab advance by sea seems to have been almost unopposed. The first certain reference to the Karabisianoi is during the siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in circa 680, and then in a letter of Emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695) to Pope Conon in 687.