International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Paweł Filipczak
University of Łodź, Łodź, Poland; 
[e-mail]
The Byzantine Administration in Syro-Palestine 
on the Eve of the Arab Invasion. Selected Problems
The purpose of the paper is to recreate the administrative division of Syro-Palestine in the 
latter half of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century. Excluded from my analysis is the 
issue of themes. Having already received a lot of attention from scholars, it is a complex issue and, 
as such, needs to be dealt with in a separate paper. 
The provincial administration system as existing in 610, the year in which Heraclius rose to 
power, was established by Emperor Justinian I, while the administrative division of Syro-Palestine 
inherited by this emperor took shape in the period of the early dominate. The system was three-
tiered, with the provinces forming its lowest level, the dioceses the mid-one and the prefectures the 
highest one. 
On Justinian’s initiative a significant change was introduced to the system. To the nine 
provinces which were in existence the emperor added a new one – Theodorias. The causes of the 
establishment of the new province remain unclear. Except for John Malalas’ chronicle one fragment 
of which seems to point to the causes in question, there is no other source in which the issue is 
explicitly dealt with. However, some information referring indirectly to the topic under discussion 
can be derived from the sources that discuss the Empire’s political history during Justinian’s reign.
Ilhami Tekin Cinemre
Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey; 
[e-mail]
Alliance with Hell: Romans vs. Armenians and Arabs
The conflict between the Romans and the Sasanians continued intermittently until the first 
quarter of the seventh century and finally came to an end at the battle of Nineveh, in 627, nearly 
four centuries after the beginning of the wars. However, the final blow hit the Sasanians in the 
shoulder, not by the Romans but by the Arabs. With tearful eyes and a breaking voice Ferdowsi 

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said that “Where have all the great Sasanians gone?” Immediately after the fall of the Sasanians, 
the Arabs were the new enemy hiding in the shadows in the eastern borders of Romans. The Arabs 
came quickly and quietly, “like a snake”, to Roman territories and attacked Armenia which was 
then under Roman power. The Armenians, suffering from the pressure of Arabs, asked for help 
from the Roman emperor. Constans II (641-668) tried to use the situation to his advantage and 
declared naxarar Teotoros Rshdouni as chief commander and marzpan in 643. At that period, 
Nerses III (641-661) was the catholicos of the Armenians and was standing close to the Romans. 
Thus, Constans II endeavored to convert the Armenian Church to seize the opportunity. But the 
council which was convened by Nerses III and Teotoros Rshdouni defied the Roman emperor’s 
proposal; whereupon Constans II dismissed Teotoros Rshdouni and appointed Smbat I Bagratuni 
as marzpan of Armenia in 653. The humiliated Teotoros Rshdouni now had no choice but to turn to 
the Arabs. Teotoros Rshdouni and Nerses III accepted the alliance proposal of Muawiyah I, the then 
commander, and the Armenians therefore collaborated with the Arabs against the Romans. Sebeos, 
Armenian historian and bishop, who lived in the seventh century, noted that “all the Armenian 
princes made a pact with death and contracted an alliance with hell”.
The main purpose of this study is to emphasize the historical context of this “alliance with hell” 
and to examine the gains and losses of the Armenians after this pact.