The following map of the Byzantine Empire shows the extent of the empire in 1025, the year of the death of Emperor Basil II and the year Anna Dalassena was born. During Anna’s lifetime, much of this territory was lost due to exceptionally poor leadership in most of the years following Basil’s death.
One place mentioned often in the story that is not on the map is Bithynia. This ancient name for part of the Anatolian peninsula was not the name of any Byzantine theme (a governing unit similar to a state or province) and covered various parts of Anatolia at different times. This area was generally on the western most coast of Anatolia, from the Black Sea area down to the Bosphoros and the Sea of Marmara. Eleventh century Byzantines still called that general part of Anatolia “Bithynia” the way Americans might refer to the “Midwest” or “the East Coast.” People generally knew what area was being referred to even though it isn’t specifically labeled on a map.
I have no certainty of the location of the nomadic tribes of Scythes and Pechenegs. They did roam quite a bit. I’ve put them on the map so that readers can get a general idea of where they came from.
The empire lost vast amounts of territory during Anna’s lifetime. The Hungarian kings were often trying and succeeding, before losing again, at taking Croatia and Serbia. The Norman mercenaries in Italy had taken over all remaining Byzantine territory there by about 1070. The Seljuk Turks began raiding in Anatolia by about 1050, but swooped into Anatolia almost without any impediment following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Every one of these losses cost the empire in tax revenue and resources, especially manpower.
N.B. – The official name of the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire was Constantinople. However, I realized, when reading the histories written in this period, that the people living in Constantinople almost never called the city by its official name. It was most often called by its old name of Byzantium, and sometimes the Queen of Cities. I suspect it was because the official name is a mouthful – six syllables in Greek vs. four syllables for the old name. I do use all three names in this novel.
Cartography by Julie Witmer Custom Map Design
Base map data from Natural Earth
Byzantine themes and places - Cplakidas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Additional places by Eileen Stephenson
Via Egnatia route - Eric Gaba (Sting), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons