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Greek colonists in the Middle East always formed a local militia when needed. In the last challenge to Greek rule, there were no Greek local militias available. They were killed in the last Persian war. Not only were the Byzantines exhausted, but their native troops deserted or turned against them. They were also without their local Greek auxiliaries.

I'm afraid this doesn't do much for me, considering some of the shoddy writing elsewhere in this article. Here's an example:

"...The local Christians had to struggle for the acceptance of their monotheism. The large majority of local Christians belonged to one of the Southern Christian churches, Nestorians or Monophysites. Their dogmas were far from the official Christian creed, which attempted to prove that three is equal to one. Indeed, the Monophysites violently opposed the official creed."

This is simply dead wrong. The Monophysites were trinitarian. Where they differed with the Chacedonians was that they assigned only a single nature to Christ, whereas the Chalcedonians (and the Orthodox and Catholics today) ascribe two natures to Christ--True God and True man.

At any rate, I'll need to see a primary source confirming this--not the writings of some internet crank with his own pet theories.

Well, you're right. So much for that!

I don't have a primary source to give you. What I know is that I had an inexplicable fascination with the Byzantine Empire back in my teens and read several big fat books about it, from Constantine the Great to Constantine XI Paleologus. I was especially intrigued by the Arab conquests of the 7th century and by the Fourth Crusade. My remark (and the exerpt I linked to, notwithstanding the tangential drivel about Monophysites & "liberation") was consistent with my recollection of what I read.

Oh, and you are incorrect about that thema system. It was set up by Emperor Heraclius in the 610s as a response to the invasions by the Persians. Heraclius has always intrigued me more than any other Byzantine emperor except Julian the Apostate. With Julian, I can't help but wonder how the course of history would've been altered if he'd ruled for, say, 45 years. With Heraclius, it's tragic how he pulled the Empire out of its death throes and stood at the very peak of triumph, only to see it all crumble around him in the final years.

But in any case, the thema system was introduced in the 610s. Look it up!

To be very clear though, I do concede that my recollection may be faulty (and that particular source is impeached enough that I wouldn't rely on it either). I am curious to take a look at the cited source if I can track it down, or the source that I know I was thinking of before. The parts I was remembering involved the pathetic initial concession of Egypt BTW.