Population of the Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire may have had a population of over 26 million at its height.

After the reign of Emperor Heraclius and the loss of all of its overseas borders, Byzantine territories were limited to the Balkans and Anatolia. When Byzantium began to recover after a series of conflicts in the 8th century and its territories stabilized, its population began to recover. By the end of the 8th century there were 7,000,000 Byzantines, a figure that climbed to over 12,000,000 people by 1025.[1] The numbers began falling steadily to 9,000,000 people at 1204 and even lower to 5,000,000 people at 1282 with the arrival of the Turks.[2]

Year Population Notes Area
300 17,000,000[3] Eastern Roman Empire 1,900,000 km. sq.
311 17,000,000[3] Eastern Roman Empire 2,100,000 km. sq.
457 16,000,000[3] Eastern Roman Empire 2,350,000 km. sq.
518 19,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 2,300,000 km. sq.
540 26,000,000[5] Eastern Roman Empire 3,200,000 km. sq.
565 19,000,000[5] Eastern Roman Empire 3,400,000 km. sq.
600 17,000,000[5] Eastern Roman Empire 2,900,000 km sq.
641 10,500,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,500,000 km. sq.
668 10,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,300,000 km. sq.
717 9,500,000 Eastern Roman Empire 780,000 km. sq.
775 7,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 880,000 km. sq.
780 7,000,000[6] Eastern Roman Empire 880,000 km. sq.
842 8,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,000,000 km. sq.
959 9,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,100,000 km. sq.
1025 12,000,000[1] Eastern Roman Empire 1,675,000 km. sq.
1097 5,000,000[2] Eastern Roman Empire 555,000 km. sq.
1143 10,000,000[2] Eastern Roman Empire 950,000 km. sq.
1180 11,500,000 Eastern Roman Empire 1,118,000 km.sq
1204 9,000,000[2] Eastern Roman Empire 210,000 km. sq.
1282 5,000,000[7] Eastern Roman Empire 550,000 km. sq.
1312 2,000,000[7] Eastern Roman Empire 460,000 km. sq.
1320 2,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 420,000 km. sq.
1453 4,500,000 Greece proper + Asia Minor 20,000 km. sq.

References

  1. 1 2 W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 570
  2. 1 2 3 4 W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 700
  3. 1 2 3 W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 137
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 W. Treadgold, A Concise History of Byzantium, 236
  5. 1 2 3 W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 278
  6. H. Wiseman, Roman maps
  7. 1 2 W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 841

Bibliography

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