Editing Thebes, Greece (section)

===Roman and Byzantine period===
{{Further|Achaia (Roman province)|Hellas (theme)}}
After the dissolution of the Boeotian League after the [[Achaean War]] of 146 BC, Thebes came under Roman rule. In 27 BC, the city was included in the newly established Province of Achaia. Thebes was assigned to the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] after the imperial division of 395. During the early [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period it served as a place of refuge against foreign invaders. In the late 7th century,  [[Justinian II]] created the Theme of Hellas with Thebes as the capital. The Holy church of [[Luke the Evangelist]] was built around the 10th century to commemorate the saint's tomb and relics at the location of his death. During the [[Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927]], Thebes was sacked by [[Simeon I of Bulgaria]]. 

From the 10th century, Thebes became a centre of the new silk trade, its silk workshops boosted by imports of soaps and dyes from Athens. The growth of this trade in Thebes continued to such an extent that by the middle of the 12th century, the city had become the biggest producer of [[Byzantine silk|silks]] in the entire Byzantine empire, surpassing even the Byzantine capital, [[Constantinople]]. The women of Thebes were famed for their skills at weaving. Theban silk was prized above all others during this period, both for its quality and its excellent reputation.

[[Benjamin of Tudela]] visited Thebes around 1161 or 1162. At that time, the city served as a regional administrative center, home to a local elite, a major producer of [[silk]] textiles, and an important regional market, all of which contributed to urban and demographic growth. Although there is no specific data on Thebes' overall population, estimates suggest it housed between 20,000 and 30,000 inhabitants, typical for a major Byzantine provincial city. Benjamin of Tudela reported that Thebes had a [[Jews|Jewish]] population of 2,000, the largest Jewish community in any Byzantine city of the 12th century, except for Constantinople.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacoby |first=David |title=Travellers, Merchants and Settlers in the Eastern Mediterranean, 11th–14th Centuries |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=9780367600624 |pages=160–161 |chapter=Benjamin of Tudela and his „Book of Travels“}}</ref>

Though severely plundered by the [[Normans]] in 1146, Thebes quickly recovered its prosperity and continued to grow rapidly until its conquest by the Latins of the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1205.