Population of the Byzantine Empire

After the reign of Emperor Heraclius and the loss of all of its overseas borders, Byzantine territories were pretty much 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 Romans, 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 1281 with the arrival of the Turks.[2]

Year Population Notes Area
300 17,000,000[3] Eastern Roman Empire 1,680,000 km. sq.
311 18,000,000[3] Eastern Roman Empire
457 16,000,000[3] Eastern Roman Empire 1,270,000 km. sq.
518 19,500,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,300,000 km. sq.
540 19,000,000[5] Eastern Roman Empire 1,860,000 km. sq.
565 26,000,000[5] Eastern Roman Empire 2,070,000 km. sq.
600 17,000,000[5] Eastern Roman Empire
641 10,500,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,140,000 km. sq.
668 10,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 1,070,000 km. sq.
775 7,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 690,000 km. sq.
780 7,000,000[6] Eastern Roman Empire 690,000 km. sq.
842 8,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 790,000 km. sq.
959 9,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 850,000 km. sq.
1025 12,000,000[1] Eastern Roman Empire 1,200,000 km. sq.
1097 5,000,000[2] Eastern Roman Empire
1143 10,000,000[2] Eastern Roman Empire 650,000 km. sq.
1204 9,000,000[2] Eastern Roman Empire
1282 5,000,000[7] Eastern Roman Empire
1312 2,000,000[7] Eastern Roman Empire 120,000 km. sq.
1320 2,000,000[4] Eastern Roman Empire 120,000 km. sq.
1453 4,500,000 Greece proper + Asia Minor

References

  1. ^ a b W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 570
  2. ^ a b c d W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 700
  3. ^ a b c W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 137
  4. ^ a b c d e f g W. Treadgold, A Concise History of Byzantium, 236
  5. ^ a b c W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 278
  6. ^ H. Wiseman, Roman maps
  7. ^ a b W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 841

Bibliography