The Military Function of the Pastoral Colonization. In Search of the Byzantine Institutional Patterns in a Venetian Administrative Environment

Abstract

The main research question of this study is the imitation of a Byzantine institutional model by the Venetians, that of the stratiotes. The research area concerns the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea and the Venetian possessions in the Greek peninsula. During the 14th–15th century, the lack of cultivators and defense needs forced the Venetians to settle Albanian and Vlach nomads in exposed coastal areas and near fortified locations; the Byzantines have used both legislation and settlement practices while coping corresponding problems. In reference to relevant Byzantine sources, the Venetian documents help us determine the nature of the relationship of the military units camped in rural areas with their pastoral inhabitants and/or newcomers and moreover, whether we could argue for a Byzantine model or a Byzantine background while forming this relationship. We comment on the typology of choices available to the Venetians, and their attempt to convert the local peasants into a cavalry militia through legislation ‒ such as the replacement of a domestic tax or tax exemptions ‒ or integration practices, such as land concession, land reparcelling, concession of hereditary rights and mixed marriages’ license.