Tourmarchia of Gothia and byzantine topoterete at Mangup at the end of the 10th - early of the 11th centuries

Introduction. The article examines the circumstances of the simultaneous appearance at the end of the 10th century in the central fortress of the Mountain Crimea - Doros, a byzantine garrison led by topotherete and the establishment of a separate tourmarchia of Gothia in the region. A special study of the issue allows to expand understanding of the causes and content of military-administrative reform. Methods . The research is interdisciplinary in nature. It takes into account all available information from written, sphragistic, epigraphic and archaeological sources about the events that took place in Taurica during the reign of emperor Vasily II (976-1025). Analysis . Establishment at the end of the 10th century in the Mountain Crimea the tourmarchia of Gothia and the appearance of Byzantine topotherete in Doros are events that had common causes. In the case of the tourmarchia we are talking about a plan to create an independent administrative structure in the mountainous part of the peninsula, which was supposed to quickly respond to external threats and over time be transformed into a “small” theme typical of its epoque. The residence of the tourmarch was the Mangup fortress, where no later than 994-995 the reconstruction of the fortifications was completed. These works were supervised by a byzantine official with the title topotherete, who stood at the head of a regular military unit and whose powers were reminiscent of those known from the second half of the 8th century topotheretes of cities in the border provinces of the empire. Results . The history of the tourmarchia in Mountain Crimea was short and ended around the middle of the 11th century. However, its appearance and existence were fully consistent with the military-administrative practice of Byzantium at that time in many regions of the empire, where numerous “small” thematic structures were created in dangerous areas to contain the expansion of the enemy or consolidate the empire in the conquered territories.