[4][5] The literary evidence is partially confirmed by several buried coin hoards from the 570s/580s and early 7th century, which attest to large-scale upheaval in two waves, one that peaked ca.

[9][10] In about 800, however, Hellas was split up, and while the name was retained for the territory comprising eastern Central Greece and Thessaly, the Peloponnese became a separate theme, with Corinth as the capital.

This was achieved by the victories of the strategos (military governor) Skleros in 805, as reported by the Chronicle of Monemvasia, and the failure of a Slavic siege of Patras at about the same time.

Emperor Nikephoros I (r. 802–811) followed up these successes with an extensive colonization and Christianization programme, which included the region's resettlement with Greeks from Italy and Asia Minor.

[1][18] The joint theme of Hellas-Peloponnese was subdivided further during the 12th century into a series of smaller fiscal districts variously termed oria, chartoularata and episkepseis.