Macedonia (theme)

The Byzantine theme of Macedonia was a military administrative district, which was formed around 800 in the geographic region of Thrace. Main place was Adrian Opel (now Edirne, Eastern Thrace ). The name of the military- administrative district carried over as elsewhere later also to the geographical area, so that throughout the Middle Ages, this region was known as Macedonia. Its geographic location in the Middle Ages agreed neither with the Macedonia of antiquity, even with today's Macedonia region match.

Compared to the other Grenzthemata this was protected from raids, as it was the imperial capital of Constantinople Opel was close.

After 813, the state changed on the subject several times between the Bulgarian and Byzantine empires. After successful submission of the First Bulgarian Empire, the region was again incorporated into the Byzantine administrative system. Here, Macedonia bordered on the themes established in 1018 Bulgaria in the west and in the north Paris Trion. In the east it bordered on the topic Thrace and south to the Strymon. 1204 Opel Adrian was conquered by the Crusaders, but fell shortly thereafter again in Bulgarian hands. After the restoration of the Bulgarian Empire in 1187 until the occurrence of the Ottoman Turks, the state changed over the area frequently between Bulgarians and Byzantines.

From this region, the family of the Byzantine emperors of the Macedonian dynasty, whose family name, however, was a geographic and not ethnic name came from. 1371 beat the advancing Ottomans at Tschernomen in Macedonia, at the Marica (see Battle of the Maritsa ) is a Bulgarian- Serbian army. After the conquest of Bulgaria by the Ottomans in 1393, the Bulgarian Patriarch Euthymius of Turnovo was, perhaps relegated to the region of Macedonia to the monastery Bachkovo.