In 873, the Byzantines retook Bari from the Saracens. Along with the already existing theme of Calabria, the region of Apulia, around Bari, formed a new theme, that of Longobardia. In ca. 965, a new theme, that of Lucania, was established, and the stratēgos (military governor) of Bari was raised to the title of katepanō of Italy, usually with the rank of patrikios. The title of katepanō meant "the uppermost" in Greek. This elevation was deemed militarily necessary after the final loss of nearby Sicily, a previously Byzantine possession, to the Arabs.