1. Establishment of Phrygia Pacatiana

The early Byzantine province of Phrygia Pacatiana or Capatiana was first established under the name Phrygia I in the western lands of the region of Phrygia, in western Asia Minor, between the years 301 and 305, with Laodicea as its metropolis. In 314, it came under the jurisdiction of the newly established diocese of Asiana. At the same time, the province of Phrygia II was established in the east, the later province of Salutaris, with Synada as its metropolis. The two provinces of Phrygia, along with Caria, might have been one province for a short period of time, from the middle of the 3^rd century until the year 297.¹ Only one province of Phrygia is mentioned in the records of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), a province with seven bishoprics and Laodicea in the first place. Two provinces of Phrygia are mentioned in Laterculus Veronensis of the 1^st quarter of the 4^th century and in the records of the council of Sardica of the year 343. During the 2^nd half of the 4^th century, the Byzantine name of the province was finally established: Phrygia Pacatiana or Capatiana.

2. Administration – Political geography

From 314 onwards, Phrygia I (Pacatiana) was situated in the center of the lands of the diocese of Asiana. It bordered with the province of Caria in the south, the provinces of Caria and Lydia in the west, the provinces of Phrygia Salutaris and Pisidia in the west and the province of Bithynia of the diocese of Pontica in the north.

The province of Phrygia Pacatiana was a consular province (its governor was a consularis). The metropolis of Laodicea was the seat of the governor of the province at first and the metropolitan of Laodicea later. At the beginning of his reign, Justinian I (527-565) upgraded the office of the consularis of the province to that of a comes, which replaced the vicarius of Asiana as the leading military and political authority. From 535 onwards, the comes of the province was assigned with the administration of the two provinces of Phrygia. The office of biokolytes was then introduced, with law-enforcing responsibilities in the two provinces. It was replaced in 548 by the office of dux. From then on, law enforcement and the handling of the Isaurian raids were assigned to the political officials and the bishops of the province.

During the 3^rd quarter of the 7^th century, following the year 669 in particular, the lands of the province of Phrygia Pacatiana came under the jurisdiction of the kaballarika themes of Anatolikon and Opsikion. From then on, Phrygia Pacatiana was counted among the provinces of Bithynia and/or Lydia and/or Phrygia Salutaris, in order to facilitate the fiscal services of the kommerkiarioi of the empire.

In the Synekdemos of Hierocles, compiled during the 1^st quarter of the 6^th century, no less than 36 cities, including Hierapolis and Eumeneia, have been recorded in the province of Phrygia Pacatiana. According to the notitia no. 1 of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, offering information about the ecclesiastical administration during the early 7^th century, the metropolis of Laodicea was responsible for no less than seventeen bishoprics and the metropolis of Hierapolis for no less than five.

3. History – Society

The mountainous region of Phrygia occupied the lands between the Aegean Archipelago and the plateau of central Asia Minor. Historically, it was of great strategic importance since the great roads of the Roman Empire crossed its lands. At the time of Theodosius I (379-395) Goth farmers settled in Phrygia. At the end of the 4^th century, they rebelled under the leadership of comes rei military Tribigild in the city of Nakoleia of Phrygia Salutaris and raided the entire region. They then moved to neighboring provinces. During the Middle Byzantine period, the cities shrank. The image of the province as part of the themes of Anatolikon and Opsikion was, according to modern day researchers, that of a military camp.