Macedonia, within its previous historical boundaries, was one of the ten regions of the provincia of Moesia after the administrative reforms of Diocletian. Between 324 and 327 Moesia was itself divided into the provinciae of Macedonia and Dacia, both of which were sections of the superior provincia of Illyricum. Macedonia was simultaneously one of the seven regions of a provincia of the same name. The provincia was headed by a vicarius, and the region by a consularius. For a brief period (378), the province of Macedonia was divided into the provinces of Macedonia Prima and Macedonia Salutaria, the latter of which occupied the north-west part of the country. On the division of the Empire (396), the superior provincia of Illyricum fell to the lot of the Eastern state, while the provincia of Illyricum, with its six regions, joined the West. However, the Church in the superior provincia continued to be dependent on Rome, and Illyricum expressed itself through the vicarius of Thessaloniki. That office reached the height of its power in 412 and was abolished in 732-733.

In 441, when the Huns conquered the provincia of Illyricum and the northern part of the superior provincia of Illyricum, the administrative headquarters of the latter were moved from Sirmium to Thessaloniki. Macedonia was now divided into the provinciae of Macedonia Prima and Macedonia Secunda, based, respectively, on Thessaloniki and Stoboi (441-449). This arrangement lasted until 535, when the seat of the superior provincia was moved from Thessaloniki to Justiniana Prima. Macedonia Secunda was broken up, one part of it being incorporated into the provincia of Dacia and the other into the region of Macedonia. The capital of Illyricum moved back to Thessaloniki (538-540). The provinciae of Macedonia and Dacia were abolished at some point before 527-28, but some of their mechanisms were left in place to resolve administrative, economic and military issues.

The constant raids of barbarians and the inability of the central authorities to deal with them led to continuous shrinkage in the borders of Illyricum. Many of the urban centres were destroyed by the Kutrigurs and the Avar-Slavs, and the raids culminated in the first siege of Thessaloniki (582). Further unsuccessful sieges of the city followed in 604,616, 618 and 677. The first settlements of Slavs in the area of the province of Macedonia occurred in the late 6th and early 7th century. The tribes which established themselves were the Strymonites (in the valley of the Strymon), the Rynchites or Rechites (in the Rendina area), the Sagudates (to the west of Thessaloniki ), the Dragubites (around Veria) and the Smoleanoi (in the gorges of the Strymon). These tribes then formed the 'Sclaveniae', self-governing areas under the suzerainty of Byzantium. Their political and cultural assimilation - together with their conversion to Christianity - had already been completed by the time of Emperor Basil I (867-886).

After the 7th century, the earlier administrative system began to give way to one organized around 'themes'. The general who was in command of each 'theme' represented both civil and military authority, and he had under his orders a force consisting of men who had been granted state land in return for an obligation to serve as soldiers. The formation of the themes of Thessaloniki (early 9th century) and Strymon (before 899) consolidated Byzantine power in what had been the provincia of Macedonia. The theme system underwent significant changes in the late 10th century and throughout the 11th. Macedonia was divided into the themes of Strumitsa, Moglena, Smolenoi, Beroea, Strymon, Serrai, Molyskos, Skopia, Kalamaria and Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki-Voleron-Strymon). The themes of Macedonia present a different picture at the time of the beginning of the brief period of Frankish rule (1204-1224). At this time, each theme was headed by a 'dux', while a 'katepano' controlled the smaller 'katepanikia' into which the themes were divided. After the battle of Pelagonia in 1259, Macedonia formed an unquestionable part of the Empire of Nicaea, from which Byzantium was to rise again. The katepanikion was the most frequent form of administrative unit, and the representative of central authority in it was called a 'kephale'. There were two kinds of kephalai, the general (or katholike), based in Thessaloniki, and the local (or merike). In the meantime, the late 13th century (1282) saw the start of the gradual Serbian conquest of Macedonia (1345). Only Thessaloniki remained Byzantine. The battle of the Hebrus in 1371 marked the beginning of Ottoman occupation, which was well-established in many areas by the end of the century.

The ecclesiastical organization of Macedonia was bound up with the rate at which Christianity spread, bearing in mind that the new religion did not prevail completely until the 5th century. Despite the decisions of local or ecumenical councils ( Sardis 343, Chalcedon 451) and of the state (such as that of 480), not all the 37 urban centres of Macedonia became the seats of bishops. The 15 bishoprics were Thessaloniki, Heraclea Lyncou, Philippi, Doberus, Serrai, Stoboi, Bargala, Parthicopolis, Thasos, Cassandreia, Beroea, Amphipolis, Dion, Edessa and Zapara. Of these bishoprics, 12 were subject to the Bishop of Thessaloniki (who was the Pope's vicarius from 412 to 723-33) and the remaining three to Macedonia Secunda as dependencies of Justiniana Prima. The Early Christian pattern of ecclesiastical organisation degenerated in the 8th century and was replaced by organisation on the basis of the metropolis. In the 9th century, 19 diocesan bishoprics were subject to the metropolis of Thessaloniki, and six to Philippi. In the 10th century the diocesan bishopric of Serrai was elevated to metropolitan status. When the autocephalous archbishopric of Ochrid was founded, almost all of what is today Western Macedonia was detached from the metropolis of Thessaloniki (1020-1767). In the late Byzantine period, six urban centres held the title of metropolis: Thessaloniki, Beroea, Serrai, Philippi, Christoupolis and Drama. Monasticism did not grow rapidly in Macedonia during the Early Christian period, although there were a few monasteries in Thessaloniki and its environs. After the Iconoclastic Controversy, however, monasticism began to flourish, focusing on the urban centres or mountainous areas, with Mount Athos as the prime example. In Western Macedonia, the Blessed Nahum and St Clement of Ochrid, teachers of the Faith, were largely responsible for the growth of monasticism.

By this time, the hundred or more cities of Macedonia during the Early Christian era had dwindled to only 37. This reduction in the number of urban centres was the result of raids by barbarian tribes and of the decline in the system of production. Towns and cities became military and ecclesiastical centres, rather than focuses of civil power. The exploitation of naturally strong positions and the pressing of the population into military service were the means by which the Early Christian city, a primarily agricultural unit, became the fortress town of medieval times. Much trade was done in Thessaloniki and in the smaller towns or way-stations along the Via Egnatia (Philippi, Edessa, Heraclea ). We know from inscriptions about most of the occupations in which the population engaged. At this time there is evidence that the mines and marble quarries of Macedonia were being worked, and this encouraged the development of allied occupations. After the 8th century, such activities were controlled in Thessaloniki and the other urban centres by special departments of state (the commercium of the stores).

The population of the fortified towns consisted of the dynatoi ('the powerful ones', large landowners), the ktetores ('proprietors', householders, the middle classes), who were employed in trade and manufacturing, and the demos (poor labourers and craftsmen). By 1204, the artisans of the Macedonian towns and cities had formed guilds, to which financial and civil privileges were granted in Thessaloniki. The occupations of the city-dwellers were related to trade, manufacturing and farming. Thanks to its geographical position, Thessaloniki was the most important centre for local and entrepot trade. And it would appear from the text entitled Timarion (12th century) that the Demetria, one of the most important medieval fairs, had been taking place in the city since the 10th century.

Our primary source for tracing intellectual life in Macedonia is the writings of locals or foreigners who in some capacity or other (as church officials or members of the administration) lived and worked there. The production of most of these texts is associated with Thessaloniki, the second most important centre in the Empire after the 8th century. Work was also produced in Ochrid, Kastoria and Serrai, and there is a considerable body of hagiological writing (lives, panegyrics, canons) in honour of St Demetrius, produced at various times throughout the period in question. In the Early Christian period, we could note the names of John Stobaeus, of John, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and of Plotinus, Archbishop of Thessaloniki. The mid-Byzantine period saw the careers of the cleric Gregorius, of John Cameniates, of Theophylactus of Ochrid, of Cyrus of Kastoria, of the Metropolitans of Thessaloniki Michael Chumnus, Nicetas of Maroneia, Basil of Ochrid and Eustathius, and of the Jew Tobia Ben Eliezer of Kastoria. In the period of Latin rule, the most outstanding names include those of Demetrius Chomatianus and Constantine Cabasilas, both Archbishops of Ochrid. Our information about the Late Byzantine period is more extensive: among the eminent writers of this time were James Proarchius, Archbishop of Ochrid, John Stauracius, Thomas (Theodulus) Magister, Gregorius of Bulgaria, Demetrius Triclinius, Theodore Pediasimus, Matthew Blastaris, Barlaam of Calabria, Gregory Palamas, Philotheus Coccinus (Ecumenical Patriarch), Demetrius and Prochorus Cydones, Nicholas Cabasilas, Constantine Armenopoulos, John Anagnostes and the Metropolitans of Thessaloniki Isidore Glavas, Gabriel and Simeon. This account of the intellectual and spiritual figures who traced their descent from Thessaloniki or elsewhere in Macedonia might conclude with the names of those who were active elsewhere, such as Peter Patricius, Procopius, Bishop of Gaza,

Cyril and Methodius, apostles to the Slavs and founders of Slav literature, and Nahum and Clement, who continued their work.

In the sphere of intel­lectual life more generally, we could note the information we have about the existence of private, ecclesiastical or monastic libraries (a library belonging to an unnamed person in late 13th century Thessaloniki, the libraries of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki and the Archbishopric of Ochrid, the library of Antony Malaces, Metropolitan of Beroea). There were notable scriptoria in Thessaloniki, and also in ecclesiastical centres and monasteries of less central importance. Among the copyists, we know the names of Theodore Agiopetrites, Demetrius Canisces Cabasilas, John Catrares, Nicholas Triclinius, John Astrapas and Theodore Pagomenus.

After the end of the 4th century, great advances were made in all sectors of the visual arts: painting (floor and wall mosaics, wall-paintings), sculpture and woodcarving. The motifs used in mosaic floors corresponded to the manner in which the parts of the church building were articulated and used, and were taken from geometry, the plant and animal worlds, and everyday life. Purely symbolic compositions of an eschatological nature were relatively common, including deer and birds of paradise on either side of a vase with a

vine or of a fountain (the Amphipolis basilica). The capital of Macedonia can boast the only pre-Justinian wall mosaics to be found in the East (Rotonda of St George, Our Lady' Acheiropoietos', some of the mosaics of St Demetrius and the Blessed David). In these works, the artists remain faithful to the achievements of Hellenistic art, as it had come down to their time via Roman art. Our knowledge of the wall-painting of the Early Christian period is very limited, in view of the scarcity of such monuments. This scarcity can, to some extent, be made up by tomb paintings ( Thessaloniki, Beroea). The motifs used in paintings of this kind were taken primarily from the plant and animal worlds, and included symbols and scenes from the Old and New Testaments (such as the story of Susanna). The dead themselves are more rarely portrayed (tomb of Eustorgius, Thessaloniki ).

Sculpture flourished in Macedonia during the period under review. Very few free-standing Christian sculptures have survived (two miniature statues of the Good Shepherd from Thessaloniki ). The architectural carvings which have survived in Macedonia (column capitals and cushions, templon closure panels, cornices) make clear that there was a close relationship with the sculpture of Constant­inople, and also that there were local studios (in Thessaloniki, Philippi and Stoboi). Among the notable creations of the local studios were the ambo in the Rotonda, with its depictions of the Annunciation, the shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi. Apart from the famous Pausilipus disc (at Augst), the reliquaries of Nea Irakleia and the basilica extra muros of Thessaloniki should also be attributed to Thessaloniki workshops.

The number of monuments to have survived in Thessaloniki from the period after the Iconoclastic Controversy, in which the main features of Byzantine painting took shape, is small, but nonetheless large enough to permit identification of the prevailing artistic tendencies ( Thessaloniki, Kastoria). Our picture of artistic life in Thessaloniki is supplemented with written references to the painting and sculpture workshops which operated in the city. It is not possible to place the surviving monuments on any stylistic scale indicative of evolutionary progress, but it is easy, after the 11th century, to see the predominating role of Thessaloniki in disseminating the achievements made in Constantinople. Among examples of the prevailing trends in late Comnenian art are the wall-paintings of the Blessed David in Thessaloniki (academic style), of Haghioi Anarghyroi in Kastoria and St George in Kurbinovo (dynamic or mannerist style), and of St Nicholas 'tou Kaznitsi' in Kastoria (ordinary Comnenian style). There are also numerous monuments whose painting is of a provincial nature (Chortiatis, Meleniko, Aiani, Velvendo). A considerable number of icons have survived from the same period (collections of Veria - ancient Beroca - and Kastoria, monasteries of Mount Athos ). A transitional style came into being in the Greek state of Epirus, centring on liberated Thessaloniki (1224), and this was to influence the monuments of the princely houses of Serbia and Bulgaria. On the other hand, a large number of monuments in the provincial towns continued in a conservative style of painting which paid no heed to the concerns of the age. After the late 13th century, the artistic dynamism of Thessaloniki was unprecedented. Its workshops executed project after project in the city and elsewhere: Arilje in Serbia (1296), the Protaton of Mt Athos (c. 1300), Our Lady 'Perivleptos' at Ochrid (1294-95), the Chapel of St Euthymius in St Demetrius, Thessaloniki (1303), and the wall-paintings in the narthex of St George at Omorfokklisia (early 14th century). The paintings in these monuments stand out for their heavy, massive figures, which dwindle to human size after the second decade of the 14th century. Among these works are the mosaics and some of the wall-paintings of the Holy Apostles (1310-14,1315-20), the wall-paintings of St Nicholas 'Orphanos' in Thessaloniki, the wall-paintings of the Church of Christ in Veria (1315), and the wall-paintings of the katholikon of the Chilandari Monastery on Mount Athos (1318-20). We know the names of the painters Manuel Panselinos, Michael Astrapas, Eutychius, Michael Proeleusis and George Kallierges. In the second and third quarters of the 14th century, painting rested on the laurels won earlier in the century: the wall-paintings of the churches of Christ the Saviour (c. 1360), of the Prophet Elijah (1360-80) and of the Monastery of Blatadon in Thessaloniki (1370-80), of the Archangels (1359-60) and of St Athanasius 'tou Mouzaki' in Kastoria (1384-85), and the katholikon of the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Serres (Serrai) (1358-64). Among the exceptions to this rule are the wall-paintings in the Old Cathedral of Edessa (1360-80) and of the katholikon of Pantocrator Monastery on Mount Athos (1363), and a series of icons from Chilandari and Vatopedi on Mount Athos, the katholikon of the Great Meteoron and the miraculous icon of Latomou in the Sofia Museum. Thessaloniki itself ceased to be a centre for the creative arts after it fell for the first time to the Ottomans in 1387. In the smaller centres (Kastoria, Veria, Serres) all we can see is a desperate effort to survive under the Ottoman regime.

In the first centuries of Turkish domination, and in the 15th century in particular, there was a reduction in building activity, and simple single-aisled churches became the rule for monasteries, urban centres and smaller towns and villages (St George at Rendina, Torniki, Our Lady 'Porphyra', Our Lady on the Aliakmon, St Nicholas of the monk Anthimos, Our Lady 'Chaviara', St Nicholas at Magaleio, St Athanasius at Koustochori, St Nicholas at Vevi). In the 16th century there was a slight upturn in monastic architecture, with the foundation of monastery katholika on Mount Athos and elsewhere (monasteries of Iveron 1514, Dionysiou 1539, Koutloumousiou and Philotheou 1540, Stavronikita 1542, Xenophontos 1544, Docheiariou 1568, Zavorda 1534). There are very few 17th century monuments to which one could point as notable examples of architecture (katholikon of the Spilaio Monastery near Grevena, 1633). The Athonite architectural type was still used for katholika on the Holy Mountain itself (Xeropotamou 1761-63, Gregoriou 1779) and elsewhere (Bounasia at Grevena, the Holy Trinity at Vythos). After the mid 18th century the basilica type became more common, either with a wooden roof or covered with a semi-cylindrical vault (the Prophet Elijah at Siatista, St Achilleus at Pentalofo). By the 19th century there was not a village in Macedonia without its three-aisled basilica. Particular care was taken over the ornamentation of stone doorways and the sanctuary arches (relief carving in stone).

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