219-234

The Voenas castle and its founding memorandum

Articles

• Βελένης, Γεώργιος Μ.
• Παπαθανασίου, Ευάγγελος

An engraved clay inscription is examined, whose surviving sherds were located in 2007 within the fortified hill known as “Kastro” or “Palaiokastro” of the Adrianos area, approximately 7 km W-SW of Katerini. Only the lower levels of the fortification, which can be dated to the 11th/ 12th c. survive in places. The inscription informs us of the castles name (Voenas), the person who took the initiative for its erection (protopappas Paulos) -head, at the time, of either a vacant diocese or a bishopric-, the name of the emperor under whose reign the castle was built (Constantine), as well as the supervising military commander (Leon Diabatenos) who could be either a ‘katepano’ of Kitros or a duke of Veria or some other supervising authority. Further on, the inscription clarifies its character, which is characterised as a memorandum, with the name of its draftsman and engraver (Ioannis Klementos). The inscription’s end mentions the date: December of the 6580th year since the world's creation (AD 1071), which is the first year of the reign of Michael VII Doukas. The inscriptions data is examined, followed by an extensive discussion on Leon Diabatenos. The fortifications were built during the reign of Constantine X Doukas (1059-1067), while the memorandum was compiled due to doubts and concerns caused in the region by the restoration of the Doukas dynasty in 1071. Finally, an attempt is made to correlate the castles erection with the known secession of the Thessalians under Nikolitzas in the summer of 1066.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Ιστορία

κάστρα, Μακεδονία, συνέδρια

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