What is "episkepsis"

An episkepsis (, pl. episkepseis, ) was a fiscal district in the middle Byzantine Empire (10th–13th centuries). In its strict technical sense, it refers to a domain or other property, in some cases including entire villages or towns, allocated for the support of individuals of the imperial family, noble houses or churches and monasteries. As the historian Paul Magdalino shows, these episkepseis were overwhelmingly situated in the coastlands around the Aegean Sea, which comprised the Empire's best arable land, or in fertile inland areas such as Thrace and Thessaly. In the 12th century, the term refers also to the fiscal divisions of the themes.