The Diocese of the East , also called the Diocese of Oriens , ( Latin : Dioecesis Orientis ; Greek : Διοίκησις Ἑῴα ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire , incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East , between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia . During late Antiquity , it was one of the major commercial, agricultural, religious and intellectual areas of the empire, and its strategic location facing the Sassanid Empire and the nomadic tribes gave it exceptional military importance.
13-720: The term Roman Orient may refer to: Diocese of the Orient , an administrative diocese in eastern regions of the Roman Empire Prefecture of the Orient , a praetorian prefecture in eastern regions of the Roman Empire in general, eastern regions of the Roman Empire See also [ edit ] Orient (disambiguation) Roman Africa (disambiguation) Roman Europe (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
26-539: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Diocese of the Orient The capital of the diocese was at Antioch , and its governor had the special title of comes Orientis ("Count of the East", of the rank vir spectabilis and later vir gloriosus ) instead of the ordinary " vicarius ". The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian (r. 284–305), and
39-586: The Karabisianoi , which appears in the 680s, was first formed by the remainders of the quaestura . This argument has been adopted by some scholars since but challenged by others, notably Helene Ahrweiler in her study of the Byzantine navy. This question is bound up with the discussion on the respective formations' nature as military-naval or civil-administrative entities. Lead seals from Moesia Inferior and Scythia Minor provide archaeological evidence supporting
52-507: The quaestura exercitus contained the Roman provinces of Moesia Inferior and Scythia Minor , located in the lower Danube region, as well as the provinces of Cyprus , Caria , and the Aegean Islands . All of these provinces were detached from the praetorian prefecture of the East and placed under the authority of a new army official known as the quaestor exercitus (' quaestor of
65-470: The army'). The authority of the quaestor was the equivalent to that of a magister militum . Since the strategically vital Danubian provinces were economically impoverished, the purpose of the quaestura exercitus was to help support the troops that were stationed there. By connecting the exposed provinces of the Lower Danube with wealthier provinces in the interior of the empire, Justinian
78-586: The former diocese came under Sassanid Persian occupation in the 610s and 620s, during the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 . Shortly after the Byzantine victory in the war and the recovery of the region, it was again lost, this time permanently except Cilicia and most of the Levantine coasts later reconquered, to the Muslim conquests : by the 640s, Cilicia formed the border ( Al-Awasim ) between Byzantium and
91-695: The new Arab Rashidun Caliphate and its successors, while Cyprus became a disputed territory . From the old provinces of the Diocese of the East, only Isauria and parts of the two Cilicias remained under Byzantine rule, grouped under the new Anatolic Theme . Quaestura exercitus The quaestura exercitus was an administrative district of the Eastern Roman Empire with a seat in Odessus (present-day Varna ) established by Emperor Justinian I ( r. 527–565 ) on May 18, 536. Territorially,
104-620: The overall territorial unit achieved a modicum of success. Ultimately, the Danubian provinces associated with the quaestura exercitus did not survive the Avar invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries. However, isolated fortresses on the Danube Delta and along the coast of the Black Sea were maintained via supplies by sea. Charles Diehl first raised the suggestion that the great naval corps of
117-480: The reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), when Theodorias , the region around Laodicea , was split off from Syria I. At about the same time, Cyprus was split off and became part of a new super-province, the quaestura exercitus . In 535, as part of his administrative reforms, Justinian I abolished the diocese, and the comes Orientis became the provincial governor of Syria I, while retaining his previous rank of vir spectabilis and his salary. The entire area of
130-429: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Orient&oldid=853843019 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
143-409: The separate Diocese of Egypt under Valens (r. 364–378). During the course of the 4th century, several provinces were split, resulting in the new provinces of Cilicia I and Cilicia II, Syria I and Syria II Salutaris, Phoenice I and Phoenice II Libanensis (east of Mt. Lebanon), Palaestina I , Palaestina II and Palaestina Salutaris (or Palaestina III). The last creation of a new province dated in
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#1732852659304156-472: Was able to transport supplies via the Black Sea . This territorial restructuring relieved both the destitute populations and the devastated countryside of the Danubian provinces from the burden of sustaining any stationed troops. There is a lack of subsequent evidence on the history of the quaestura exercitus . However, since the position of quaestor was still extant during the mid-570s, this indicates that
169-534: Was subordinate to the praetorian prefecture of the East . The diocese included originally all Middle Eastern provinces of the Empire: Isauria , Cilicia , Cyprus , Euphratensis , Mesopotamia , Osroene , Syria Coele , Phoenice , Palaestina Prima , Palaestina Secunda , Arabia , and the Egyptian provinces Aegyptus , Augustamnica , Thebais , Libya Superior and Libya Inferior , which were grouped into
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