«Тахиййат»: Сборник статей в честь Н. Н. Дьякова

Byzantine Foreign, Defence And Demographic Policy During the Establishment... m 63 n stressed that there is not complete lack of written sources’ material for the seventh century, but this material is difficult to exploit. Especially for the Mardaites it should be mentioned that they have been often involved in scholar discussions either in broader context historical investigation or in specific articles 1 . In this contribution our attention will be focused on the information re- lated to the Mardaites and their engagement in the developments in the Syr- ian front, mainly in the outgoing seventh century. Although more ancient authors refer to the events, they more or less depend on each other and the details remain some times obscure. Attention will be drawn to Theophanes’ remarks related to the Mardaites, due to the fact that his Chronography pre- serves in its entries valuable information concerning this population group of Lebanon. Nonetheless, the question regarding the sources delivering the material for the entries in Theophanes’ Chronography remains a crucial problem 2 . The central issue of the following discussion is the treaty of 687/8 AD 3 between Justinian II (685–695 AD) and ‘Abd al-Malik (685–705 AD) that resulted in the partly 4 transfer of the Mardaites to Asia Minor. The motives that stipulated the Emperor’s decision for this transfer are not uniformly interpreted and further more it is disputed whether the transfer was disas- trous for the defence of the Empire’s Syrian front as Theophanes implies 5 . The success of Justinian II’s policy is additionally discussed as to whether it 1 Ahrweiler (1996) 399f., 407, 414; Antoniadis-Bibicou (1966) 30ff., 92ff.; Ostro- gorsky (1963) 110; Christides (1984) 9, 11; Kazhdan (1992) 19; Makrypoulias (1995) 153f. A valuable contribution, especially concerning the Arab sources related with the Mardaites, Rotter (1982) 174–77; Ditten (1993) esp. 138ff. and passim; Moosa (1969); Bartikian (1986); cf. the older, but nevertheless still important, special article of Aman- tos (1932). 2 On this issue: Proudfoot (1974); Conrad (1990); Conrad (1992), especially 238 and passim; Rochow (1991). Cf. further: Brooks (1906) 578–587; Pigulevskaia (1967) 55– 60; Brock (1976) 17–36; Ferber (1981) 32–42; Speck (1978) 389–397; Speck (1988) 500–502 and passim; extensive analysis, in: Mango and Scott (1997) lxiv–xcv. The discussion about the authorship of Theopahnes’ Chronography is a lengthy one in the scholar literature. A comprehensive presentation in the introduction, Mango and Scott (1997) lii–lxiii: “The Chronicle and the authorship”. 3 Stratos (1968–1980) IV 20f. stresses the differences in the sources and in modern litera- ture concerning the date of the treaty. Cf. the detailed discussion of all sources in Beihammer (2000) 346ff. (“dated c. 686–687 AD”). 4 Ditten (1993) 147f.; Hild and Hellenkemper (1990) I 44f. 5 A negative assessment is reflected in Theophanes’ narration, Theophanes 364, 4–5: κα λθ  ν  βασιλε  ς ε  ς A ρμενίαν κε  δέξατο το  ς ν τ  Λιβάν Μαρδαΐτας, χάλκεον τε  χος δια- λύσας (“The emperor went to Armenia and received there the Mardaites of Lebanon, thereby destroying a ‘brazen wall’” [MANGO and SCOTT, (1997), 507]). For a global evaluation cf. L ILIE (1976) 101f., and esp. 136f., with footnote 98.