As with the other themes, the exact date of foundation is unclear. The Thracesians are first securely attested in 711, when a "tourmarchēs of the Thracesians" named Christopher was dispatched against Cherson by Emperor Justinian II, while and a governing stratēgos is only attested as late as 741. It is hence traditionally assumed that Thracesians were initially a tourma (division) of the Anatolic Theme, and that they were raised to a full theme some time after 695, probably in the early years of the 8th century, but the phrasing of the sources does not make clear whether that was the case already in 711. Some modern scholars, like Ralph-Johannes Lilie and John Haldon, however, have argued that the Thracesian army is to be identified with the Thracianus exercitus ("Thracian army") mentioned