Karabisianoi

The Karabisianoi (Medieval Greek Καραβισιάνοι), sometimes anglicized as the Carabisians, were the main forces of the Byzantine navy from the mid-seventh until the early eighth centuries. The name derives from a term for ships (κάραβος, καραβίς; cf. caravel), and means "people of the ships". The Karabisianoi were the first new and permanent naval establishment of the Byzantine Empire, formed to confront the early Muslim conquests at sea. They were disbanded and replaced with a series of maritime themes sometime in 718–730.