1. The province of Armenia I during the Early Byzantine period

During the Early Byzantine period Armenia I included the cities of Sebasteia, Nicopolis, Coloneia, Satala, Sebastopolis; to the north it bordered on the province of Pontos Polemoniakos. The province of Armenia Ι appears in this form in the Synekdemos,¹ but in the notitiae episcopatuum is registered as Armenia II, in accordance with the reform of the emperor Maurice.² Together with other provinces³ it belonged until 536 to the diocese of Pontica which initially was administered by the vicarius dioceseos Ponticae, drawn from the senatorial class of the viri spectabilis. The diocese of Pontica belonged to the vast prefecture of Oriens (praefectura praetorio per Orientem) governed by the praefectus praetorio per Orientem, who belonged to the senatorial class of the viri illustris.⁴ The political administration of the province of Armenia I was the jurisdiction of the praeses.

2. Modification to the administrative system during Justinian’s reign

In 536, Emperor Justinian I (527-565), with his nuvella no 31, radically reorganized the administrative system of the Byzantine Armenia and created four Armenian provinces, numbering them Armenia I to Armenia IV. This measure was intended to strengthen the empire’s eastern border. The Justinianic Armenia I was a fresh administrative district, founded to the north of the former province of Armenia I, which was now renamed to Armenia II. The Justinianic Armenia I included the eastern part of the province of Pontos Polemoniakos and the north-eastern part of the former Armenia I. Its capital was Justinianopolis, the ancient city with the Armenian name Bazanis, which Emperor Leo I (457-474) had renamed to Leontopolis.⁵ The province was governed by a proconsul drawn from the senatorial class of the viri spectabilis; Acacius was the first official to become proconsul of Armenia I. This new province of Armenia I included the cities of Theodosioupolis, Satala, Nicopolis and Coloneia, formerly belonging to the pre-Justinianic Armenia I, as well as the cities of Trebizond and Cerasous, taken from the province of Pontos Polemoniakos.⁶ Justinian’s numbering of the Armenian provinces (Ι-ΙV) was adopted by the Armenian sources.⁷

In 591, the reform of Maurice took place. The early Armenia I persisted with its justinianic appellation (i.e. Armenia II) but justinianic Armenia I was renamed to Armenia III. The province Armenia I of the this period was in fact the early Armenia II, with Melitene as its capital.⁸

3. The abolition of Armenia I

With the introduction of the themes in the provincial administration during the 7th century, the province of Armenia Ι ceases to exist as an administrative district, as it is now included in the newly established theme of Armeniakon (the first mention of a strategos of this theme dates to 667) and later in the themes of Charsianon and Coloneia. However, as a geographical term, Armenia I is mentioned on kommerkiarii seals;⁹ in all probability, these should have refered to the Armenia I of Maurice (capital: Melitene) and not the early, pre-Justinianic province of Armenia I (capital: Sebasteia). Their existence suggests intense commercial activity in that region.