Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 6 (1897).djvu/87

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIEE 67 reduction of Africa, their lieutenants invaded and subdued the Roman province which had been changed into the Gothic monarchy of Spain, The islands of the Mediterranean were not inaccessible to their na'al powers ; and it was from their extreme stations, the harbours of Crete and the fortresses of Cilicia, that the faithful or rebel emirs insulted the majesty of the throne and capital. The remaining provinces, under the obedience of the emperors, were cast into a new mould ; and the jurisdiction of the presidents, the consulars, and the counts was superseded by the institution of the themes,^'-^ or military governments, which prevailed under the successors of Heraclius, and are described by the pen of the royal author. Of the twenty-nine themes, twelve in Europe and seventeen in Asia, the origin is obscure, the etymology doubtful or capricious, the limits were arbitrary and fluctuating ; but some particular names that sound the most strangely to our ear were derived from the character and attri- butes of the troops that were maintained at the expense, and for the guard, of the respective divisions. The vanity of the Greek princes most eagerly grasped the shadow of conquest and the memory of lost dominion. A new Mesopotamia was created on the Western side of the Euphrates ; the appellation and praetor of Sicily were transferred to a narrow slip of Calabria ; and a fragment of the duchy of Beneventum was promoted to the style and title of the theme of Lombardy. In the decline of the Arabian empire, the successors of Constantine might indulge their pride in more solid advantages. The victories of Nicepli- orus, John Zimisces, and Basil the Second, revived the fame and enlarged the boundaries of the Roman name ; the province of Cilicia, the metropolis of Antioch, the islands of Crete and Cyprus, were restored to the allegiance of Christ and Ca.'sar ; one third of Italy was annexed to the throne of Constantinople ; the kingdom of Bulgaria was destroyed ; and the last sovereigns of the Macedonian dynasty extended their sway from the sources of the Tiffris to the neighbourhood of Rome. In the eleventh century, tiie prospect was again clouded by new enemies and new misfortunes; the relics of Italy were swept away ])y the Norman adventurers ; and almost all the Asiatic branches were 12 See Constantine de Thcmatibus, in Banduri, torn. i. p. 1-30, who owns th.at the word is ouk ^aaid. eeVa IS used by Maurice (Stratagem. 1. ii. c. 2) for a legion, from whence the name was easily transferred to its post or province (Ducange, Gloss. Graec. tom. i. p. 487, 488). Some Etymologies are attempted for the Op- sician, Optimatian, Thracesian, themes. [For the history of the Themes, anrl Constantine's treatise, see Appendix 3. J