SHORT NOTES ON THE PROSOPOGRAPHY OF THE BYZANTINE THEME OF KOLONEIA (PART II)

This paper presents the case study of Kallistos (reportedly a member of the Melissenos family), one of the Forty-two Byzantine officials captured by the Arabs in the aftermath of the siege of Amorion in 838. The person in question has been recorded in scholarly literature as a military officer active in Koloneia (or, according to other views, in the themes of the Anatolikoi or the Armeniakoi). A closer examination of extant evidence, however, may suggest that he never existed – or at least not as a military commander in Koloneia – and his mention in the sources was the result of a misunderstanding and/or fictional writing related to hagiography, politics, or family prestige.