Turkey 750 CE

What is happening in Turkey in 750CE

The wars between the Byzantines and the Persians in the 7^th century, followed almost immediately by a century of Muslim raids and invasions, turned much of Anatolia into a devastated war zone. The population declined drastically, and, although the region remains within the Byzantine empire – and indeed, is the key recruiting ground for the Byzantine army – it ceased to be the location for numerous and wealthy cities.

A new provincial system has been introduced into the region from the 630’s onwards, built around units of local government called “themes” . These are units of military administration, which organizes the local population as a type of militarized peasantry. This very effective defensive arrangement has kept the Muslim forces at bay.

Next map, Turkey in 979