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Georgios Leveniotis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece;
leveniot@hist.auth.gr
Abydos of Hellespont: Organizational Changes in an Important Port
and Customs Station of Byzantium
Abydos was an ancient and medieval city (πόλις) situated on the Asiatic coast of Hellespont, in
the cape Nara area, near modern Çanakkale. It was founded predominantly by Miletus, somewhere
between 680-650 BC, in the middle section and (once) the narrowest point of the Straits. The city’s
location made its port the most vital point for the passage from Europe to Asia and vice versa. This
factor, combined with the existence of a well-protected natural harbor, gave Abydos special geostrategic
and economic importance, that lasted until the 13
th
c. AD (the settlement ceased to be inhabited in the
early 14
th
c.). The additional capabilities provided by the primary and secondary sector of economy,
benefited by the exploitation of rich natural resources and especially the local gold mines, ensured
the sustained prosperity of the city. The ancient mint of Abydos functioned continuously from the 6
th
c. BC to the 3
rd
c. AD. This is another indication of the economic vitality and significance of the city,
later a bishopric and metropolitan seat. Abydos was a walled and well protected settlement. Its harbor
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had major importance, not only for the control of navigation in the Straits and the communication
between the Black Sea and Mediterranean, but also for the supply of ancient Athens and other Greek
areas. Much later, its control was vital for the security and the strategic defense of the capital of the
Byzantine state, Constantinople, and the Empire’s economy and revenues.
The busy port (λιμήν or ἐμπόριον) of Abydos had indeed a continuous and large commercial
activity. The city served as a toll station since the classical period. According to the lex portorii
Asiae (62 AD), Abydos was one of the τελώνια / stationes of the roman province of Asia. From
the later 5
th
c. AD, Abydos served as the headquarters of an ἄρχων or κόμης τῶν Στενῶν. This
official stopped illegal transport of weapons, checked travel documents and, most of all, made
inspections to the cargos of the ships that transferred each year the annona civica and other basic
foodstuffs for the needs of population of the capital and, maybe, for the imperial army (annona
militaris). The so-called Edict of Abydos, probably a decree of emperor Anastasius I, determined the
variant small amounts for the inspections (γνῶσις συνηθειῶν, probably fees for the local officials)
and the fines that would be imposed, if the necessary inspections were not made. Some years later
though Justinian I established there a more organized customs station (δημόσιον τελωνεῖον or
δεκατευτήριον or κομμέρκιον Ἀβύδου) at the beginnings of his reign (ca. 527/28). The toll and
its appointed commander (κόμης Ἀβύδου) levied larger than before duties on the movement of
all products and imposed sales taxes on commercial transactions and import / export taxes on
shipping trade going to and from the capital by sea. From there on, the port of Abydos constituted
one of the two boundaries of the special economic zone of Constantinople (the other was Hieron on
Bosporus). Between those limits applied a different tax regime for Byzantine and foreign merchants.
Consequently, the customs station of Abydos provided an important source of revenues to the
Empire (the tax known as κομμέρκιον or δέκατον or δεκατεία amounted to 10% of commercial
goods value). An imperial ἀποθήκη (i.e. storehouse) based in Abydos covered fiscally the area of
Hellespont between mid. 7
th
- early 8
th
c.
According to the variant testimonies of the sources, the Byzantine officials and other state
employees appointed in Abydos were as follows: An highly rank ἄρχων or κόμης τῶν Στενῶν with
his subordinate κλασσικοί served there between ca. 3
rd
- early 6
th
c. and a κόμης Ἀβύδου between
ca. early 6
th
- 8
th
c. In the later period (ca. 7
th
- 9
th
c.) the sphragistic data mention the κομμερκιάριος
ἀποθήκης Ἀβύδου or Ἑλλησπόντου (ca. mid. 7
th
- early 8
th
c.) and again an ἄρχων (the late 8
th
-
early 9
th
c.). Military παραφύλακες and subordinate to them στράτωρες and κένταρχοι, and many
lower financial or port officials and employees, as luminarhi (= λιμέναρχοι?), φορολόγοι and
simple κομμερκιάριοι, χαρτουλάριοι, ἀβυδικοί, ἀβυδιτικοί and ἀβυδάριοι (the last three served
in Thessaloniki’s port [mentioned indeed in the seals as ἄβυδος] and other imperial harbors,
perhaps in Abydos too), βικάριοι (?), ἐπεῖκται, ὑπολόγιοι and μετρηταί, νοτάριοι παραθαλάσσιοι,
ξυλοκάλαμοι, ταβουλάριοι, γραφεῖς and simple νοτάριοι also served in the customs station, the
port or the fort of Abydos (ca. 7
th
- 11
th
c.). Finally, the later higher officials based in Abydos were as
follows: στρατηγός, possibly with subordinates κένταρχοι and τουρμάρχαι, κατεπάνω (the late 11
th
c.)
and δούξ (the early 13
th
c.).
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