Byzantine administration in the territory of Albania and Western Macedonia in the era of the Comnens (1081–1185)

Abstract

The article is devoted to transformations in Byzantine administration in Albania and western Macedonia during the Komnenian era. The research problem concerns the functioning of the thematic system and the process by which strategic Byzantine provinces were transformed into duchies and katepanates. The aim of the study is to present the role of Dyrrhachion as a key Byzantine center and to analyze the administrative changes that took place in the region during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The author employs historical and source-based methods, analyzing Byzantine chronicles, administrative documents, and the achievements of Balkan and Western European historiography. The article demonstrates that Dyrrhachion played a central military and political role on the western frontiers of the empire, particularly in the context of conflicts with the Normans, Slavs, and Serbian states. It was established that during the Komnenian era the traditional thematic system underwent profound transformations, while power increasingly became concentrated in the hands of dukes administering extensive territorial units. The author also emphasizes the significance of the western Balkans as a strategic region for maintaining Byzantine influence over the Adriatic. The results of the analysis indicate that the administrative reforms of the Komnenian period were a response to changing political and military conditions and contributed to the growing importance of local governors within the Byzantine system of power.