Olga Karagiorgou, Academy of Athens

The TAKTIKON Research Project realised at the Academy of Athens by Olga Karagiorgou (Director), Pantelis Charalampakis and Christos Malatras (Scientific collaborators), studies the prosopography and administrative structure of the Byzantine themes, based on sigillographic and non-sigillographic evidence. The first significant results of this project on the themes of Hellas, Opsikion, Anatolikoi and the Kibyrraiotai, including chronological catalogues of officials active in a specific sector of the thematic administration per theme and office, were published in the collective volume TAKTIKON. Studies on the prosopography and administrative structure of the Byzantine themata (Athens 2021). The presentation of these results also in digital format has been a major concern since the conception of the TAKTIKON Research Project. The development of a high-standard database successfully presenting the complexity of the collected data presupposed a fruitful collaboration with experts in Digital Humanities and (the more demanding task of securing) funds. Thanks to the financial support that the TAKTIKON Research Project received from the Research Committee of the Academy of Athens in 2022 and 2024, and the expertise of the “EPAPHOS New Technologies” company, the TAKTIKON online was finally launched in December 2024. The TAKTIKON online database operates on the interaction of specifically designed and interconnected Prosopography Cards (one for each thematic official) and Molybdoboullon Cards (one for each seal issued by a thematic official). The Prosopographic Cards offer information on the career (number and duration of career stages) of each thematic official, as attested on the available sigillographic and non-sigillographic evidence. The Molybdoboullon Cards offer a detailed description of each thematic seal, including (if copyright allows) the necessary photos. This paper explains how the TAKTIKON online works and presents the methodological principles that aspire to make it a reliable reference tool to all scholars interested in the political, military, and social history of Byzantium.