459, the island was plundered by the Vandals under Geiseric, who carried off 500 local aristocrats. Zakynthos appears to have been spared from the Slavic invasions of the 6th-7th centuries, as no Slavic names are attested on the island.

During the middle Byzantine period (7th-12th centuries), Zakynthos belonged to the Theme of Cephallenia, and the local bishopric