Population of the Byzantine Empire
The population of the Byzantine Empire fluctuated throughout the state's millennial history. After the reign of Emperor Heraclius and the loss of the empire's overseas territories, Byzantium was limited to the Balkans and Anatolia. When the empire 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 the population of the empire was around 7,000,000, 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]
Population estimates
| Year | Population (estimated) |
Notes | Area (km2; estimated) |
Population density (per km2; estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 17,000,000[3] | Roman East | 1,900,000 | 8.95 |
| 311 | 17,000,000[3] | Roman East | 2,100,000 | 8.1 |
| 457 | 16,000,000[3] | Roman East | 2,350,000 | 6.81 |
| 518 | 19,000,000[4] | 2,300,000 | 8.26 | |
| 540 | 26,000,000[5] | 3,200,000 | 8.13 | |
| 565 | 19,000,000[5] | 3,400,000 | 5.59 | |
| 600 | 17,000,000[5] | 2,900,000 | 5.86 | |
| 641 | 10,500,000[4] | 1,500,000 | 7 | |
| 668 | 10,000,000[4] | 1,300,000 | 7.69 | |
| 775 | 7,000,000[4] | 880,000 | 7.95 | |
| 842 | 8,000,000[4] | 1,000,000 | 8 | |
| 959 | 9,000,000[4] | 1,100,000 | 8.18 | |
| 1025 | 12,000,000[1] | 1,675,000 | 7.16 | |
| 1097 | 5,000,000[2] | 555,000 | 9.09 | |
| 1143 | 10,000,000[2] | 950,000 | 10.53 | |
| 1204 | 9,000,000[2] | 210,000 | 42.86 | |
| 1282 | 5,000,000[6] | 550,000 | 9.09 | |
| 1312 | 2,000,000[6] | 460,000 | 4.35 | |
| 1320 | 2,000,000[4] | 420,000 | 4.76 |
References
- ^ a b Treadgold 1997, p. 570.
- ^ a b c d Treadgold 1997, p. 700.
- ^ a b c Treadgold 1997, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d e f g Treadgold 2001, p. 236.
- ^ a b c Treadgold 1997, p. 278.
- ^ a b Treadgold 1997, p. 841.
Bibliography
- Treadgold, Warren T. (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Treadgold, Warren T. (2001). A Concise History of Byzantium. Basingstoke: Palgrave. ISBN 0-333-71829-1.
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Further reading
- Laiou, Angeliki E., ed. (2002). The Economic History of Byzantium from the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century (PDF). Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 0-88402-288-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Mcevedy, Colin; Jones, Richard (1978). Atlas of World Population History. Great Britain: Penguin Books Ltd. and Allen Lane.
External links
- Howard Wiseman (2002–2011). "18 Centuries of Roman Empire".