ENTRY TYPE
General |
SUMMARY
The term akritai designates the inhabitants along the frontiers. In military treatises of the 10th and 11th century, «akritai» was a name for the army units responsible for guarding the frontier of the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor; they could either belong to the regular army or be drawn from the civilian people along the border, and they were supported by the Byzantine administration, either financially or through the cession of arable land. The action of these «akritai» significantly strengthened the defence of Byzantine Asia Minor. The way the «akritai» were viewed by their contemporaries is reflected in the acritic songs of the Byzantine and post-Byzantine period. |
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