Here’s yet another piece in this article series, taking us back exactly 1000 years. This time to June 15th in the year 1020.

Troia is a city situated in the northernmost part of Apulia (shown in magenta in the map) , south of Benevento. According to legend, it was founded in the 10th century BC by the Greek hero Diomedes who had participated in the Trojan War and helped destroy the ancient Troy - a city in the northwest of Asia Minor (in today’s Turkey).

So mind you, these are two different places - Troy and Troia. Troy is probably for most of us the more familiar one through the tales of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War.

Yet the Troia of this story needs to be distinguished from the Troia founded by Diomedes. For we are talking here of the current Troia which was founded as a fortified town in Apulia in 1018 by the Byzantine general Basil Boiannes (Βασίλειος Βοϊωάννης in Greek and Bugiano in Italian) - one of the greatest Byzantine generals of his time.

He built the fortress in order to defend the entrance into the Apulian plain from the Normans. It became an important strategic town which was besieged several times throughout the years.

The Byzantine Empire (395-1453), also known as the Eastern Roman Empire - or just Byzantium - was still going strong in the year 1020 despite Norman invaders and the constant struggles for power.

So on June 15th of that year general Boiannes and his troops recaptured the fortress of Troia from Norman mercenaries and the Lombard noble Melus of Bari. This and all the other accomplishments of Boiannes enabled the Empire to reestablish itself as a major force in southern Italy after centuries of decline.

The Byzantine Empire in 1025

Updated 15.6.2020