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o FRoNTTERApgnueernl
ALEXANDRU
MADGEARU
Una dintre urmirile marii invazii pecenege din 1036a fost abandonarea
forrificalieide la Dervent.Distrusa,ea nu a mai fost ref6cuti2a. Astfel, vadulde
acolo,unul dintre cele mai importante in antichitate gi evul mediu, a fost lesat
neaparat. (Pe malul opus,cetateade la Picuiul lui Soarese transformas€ intr-o
simph agezare fortificad).A fost un fap foartegrav,fiindci acestvad seafltr la o
distanli foartemicl de Drisra, re9€dinla provinciei.O neglijentlincredibili,care
denoti gravitateasitualieiin aceasti provincie periferici, in vr6meade totali
nepisarefa{i de armati $i aperareastatului, carc a caracterizatperioadacare a
urmatdup[ moartealui VasileIt. Neglijenperacu aiiit mai marecu cat Stimsigur
ci si Dristraa fost afectate de invaziilein 1034-1036(edificiiincendiate, datatecu
monedeanonimetip B, emisein intervalul1028-1034,descoperite in stratulde
df,rimiturl)2r.
Nimic de mirarein aceas0isitualie.Urmasiilui Vasilell, ConstantinVlll
(1025-1028), Romanlll (1028-1034) qi Mihail IV (1034-1041), au neglijatcu
totul apirareastatuluipi chiar au subminatbazaacesteiafiindc[ au abandonat
protejareapropriet{ilor stratiotilor- adici a celor care in epocaimpimlilor
macedoneni au constituitel€mentulesentialal armatei.Mai mult,a fost incurajatl
destramareasistemului stratiotic, prin autorizareariscumpirf,rii obliga(iilor
militareprin bani.Sumeleoblinuteau fostfolositemai alespentrucheltuielide
naturdcivill gi doarin mici mtrsuripentrucreareauneiarmatede mercenaribine
pusela punct26.
Srategiageneralia lui Roman l nu s-abazatpe o analizilucidea realite$i,
ci pe pofta de glorie.Mihail Psellosscriac! el aveaambiliade a cuceri,,toate
ptrmanturile barbarede la rlisirit 9i de la apus".dar c6 pe popoarele barbarede la
apus,,nu le prca lua in seami,chiar daci le-ar fi putut ingenunchea lesne;in
schimb,de cdteori igi indrcptagandurilesprecele de la soare-risare, socoteace
acolo s-ar puteael impunegi gi-arputeadura o domniemtrrea1d"2?. Neglijarea
Peninsulei Balcanice a ingiduit dezastrul din anii 1034-1036.
Invaziiledin 1034-1036 au fostdecisivepentruslIbireafrontierei.Deciderea
miliare din vremeanedemnilorurma5iai lui VasileIl igi gisegtela Dun6reun
exempluelocvent.Chiar dacl unelefortificatii au fost reficute,ele nu au mai
alcAtuitelementele unui sistemdefensivbine pus la punct,capabilsi respingd
atacurife.Acestsistemse atomizeazd. Agezirilefortificatedevindin ce in ce mai
mult centreaulonome, careseaperausingure,duptrputerilelor, fire a mai aftepta
ajutorul puterii imperiale.Unele fortificalii nu mai sunt refecutedupi aceste
r{ P. Diaconu.
bs Petchinigues.... p. 44: ldem, Denenr. in EnciclopediaorheologieiSi
istorizlvechia RomlAni?i.Il. Bucuresti.196. o. 50.
'<
Vezi S. Angelova. Jur Ia caractiristique
de la ceraniquedu HautMoten Age,prnvenant de
Drastor(silistra).in vol.Dobrudia.Etudesethno-culnrelleJ, Soria.198?,p. 94.
:6 Vezide ex.
G. Ostrogo.sky,Histoir.fu t'tat byzantin, Pans.I956,p 346-347,35,f355.
'' MihailPsellos,
Crorografa.t.ad.R. Alexandrcscu. Iafi. 1998.p. 34 (lll, 4), p. 35 (llt. 7).
7 Dunlreain eDocabizantid
Abstract
The Byzantinefrontierwasnot so well defended as the Roman/lmes.Some
of the fortified settlements
of the loth-l2th centuriesweresoonabandoned and
eventheimportanfford of Derventwasleft withoutdefenseafter1036.It waseasy
''
Pcntrudspendirea monedclor bizaniinc?nMuntcnissi Oltcni8duDalot t. veziD. Ciobotea.
Circulalia monetafi in Olreniain prcajna constituirii starlllutleudol independentfara Romtinascd
(sec.X-XJV),..ArhiveleOltcnici",SN. 2. 19E3.p. ?,+_86: Gh. Mlnucu-Adame$eanu . Aspecteale
politicri....p.359-3(f1 E. Oberldnder,Timoveanu, Numismotic HisroricalRenark on the B\zantine
CoinHo-ards from thel2th Centuryat thelnwcr Danuhe,RESEE,30, l92, l-2, D.4l-60.
" V. Tepkova-Zaimov
+ Ia population....
p.336.
io pen€trate the frontier.The sourcesaboutthe inroadsof 103,t-1036,lM7 and
1065 are testifying the weaknessof the defensivesystemof the province
Paradunavon. A majordiffercncebetweenthe Byzantineand the Romanfrontier
wasthe absence of a permanently stationed flee(on the Danub€.The navalforces
werebroughtfrom Constantinople or from Messembria andAnchialos,only when
it wasa dangerbeyondtheDanube. The defense of Paradunavon wasbasedon the
fonified settlements restoredor built by TzimiskesandBasilIL The alliancewith
the Petchenegs wasregarded in 971asa wayto ensurethefrontier,but thispeople
attackedthe Danubianareaseveraltimes after 1027.
The defensivesystemestablishedby Basil II was disintegrated by the
Barbarianinroadsand also by the unrestof the local populationallied with the
Petchenegs. An importantgroupof Petchenegs wassettledin Paradunavon in 1045;
they became after an intemal enemy. The way of life umed into a
"Mixobarbarian" one,a kind of civilizationat thecrossroad of Byzantiumand the
Barbaricum.In fact, the frontier was not a line, arcal limes, but a gray zone,a
peripherywherethe populationand the way of life were semi-barbarian. The
repeatedinroadsemphasized this evolutionand,rnoreover, the rebellionof 1073
againstthecentralpowerledto theextension of thePetcheneg domination southof
the Danubeup to 1091.In the next centurythe Cumanscausedother major
destructions. Theywerenot regarded asthemainenemy,because of the longwars
betweenByzantiumandHungary.In this way,theattentiontumedto theWestern
sectorof theDanubianfrontier.
on the Danubehadsemi-ruralfeatures.
The fortifiredsettlernents The people
lived in hutsandtherewereno streetnetworkandpublicbuildings,excepta small
chapelat Garvdn,builtjust after97| . Thesingler€altownwasDristra.Thewayof
life was more alike to that of the North-Danubian areathan with the proPer
Byzantineone. The weakness of ihe frontierand the "mixobarbarian" type of
civilizationimprovedthecontactsacrossthefrontierandtheconvergent evolution
of thecommunities of thetwo banksof theDanube.