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Diocese of Thrace

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(Redirected from Thraciae) Diocese of the Roman Empire
Diocese of ThraceDioecesis Thraciae
Διοίκησις Θρᾴκης
Diocese of the Roman Empire
314–535

The Diocese of Thrace c. 400.
CapitalPhilippopolis
Historical eraLate Antiquity
• Established 314
• Diocese abolished by emperor Justinian I 535
Today part of Bulgaria
 Greece
 Turkey
 Romania

The Diocese of Thrace (Latin: Dioecesis Thraciae, Greek: Διοίκησις Θρᾴκης) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the eastern Balkan Peninsula (comprising territories in modern south-eastern Romania, central and eastern Bulgaria, and Greek and Turkish Thrace). Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv, in Bulgaria) was the capital.

The diocese was established as part of the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine the Great, and was headed by a vicarius subordinate to the praetorian prefecture of the East. As outlined in the Notitia Dignitatum of c. 400, the diocese included the provinces of Europa, Thracia, Haemimontus, Rhodope, Moesia II and Scythia Minor.

In May 535, with Novel 26, Justinian I abolished the Diocese of Thrace. Its vicarius retained his rank of vir spectabilis and received the new title of praetor Justinianus, uniting in his hand both civil and military authority over the provinces of the former diocese, in a crucial departure from the strict separation of authority from the Diocletianian system. A year later, in May 536, the two Danubian provinces, Moesia Inferior and Scythia, where detached to form, along with other provinces, the quaestura exercitus.

List of known Vicarii Thraciarum

  • Aelius Claudius Dulcitius (?–361)
  • Capitolinus (361–363)
  • Andronicus (c. 366)
  • Philoxenus (c. 392)
  • Solomon (?–582)

References

  1. Bury (1923) Vol. II, pp. 340–341

Sources

Late Roman and early Byzantine provinces (4th–7th centuries AD)
History
As found in the Notitia Dignitatum. Provincial administration reformed and dioceses established by Diocletian, c. 293. Permanent praetorian prefectures established after the death of Constantine I. Empire permanently partitioned after 395. Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa established after 584. After massive territorial losses in the 7th century, the remaining provinces were superseded by the theme system in c. 640–660, although in Asia Minor and parts of Greece they survived under the themes until the early 9th century.
Western Roman Empire (395–476)
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Diocese of Spain
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Eastern Roman Empire (395–c. 640)
Praetorian prefecture
of Illyricum
Diocese of Pannonia
Diocese of Dacia
Diocese of Macedonia
Praetorian prefecture
of the East
Diocese of Thrace
Diocese of Asia
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