The population of the Byzantine Empire encompassed all ethnic and tribal groups living there, mainly
Byzantine Greeks
The Byzantine Greeks were the Greek-speaking Eastern Romans of Orthodox Christianity throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), of Constantinople ...
, but also Khazars, Bulgars, Turks, Armenians, Slavs, Goths, Arabs,
Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...
,
Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...
, Assyrians, Tzans and other groups. It fluctuated throughout the state's millennial history. The reign of the Emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
in the mid-sixth century was the high point of the empire's expansion; however, the arrival of
plague in 541 AD and its subsequent recurrences caused a severe depletion of the population.
After the reign of
Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt ...
() and the loss of the empire's overseas territories,
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
was limited to the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. 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 AD.
[.] The numbers began falling steadily to 9,000,000 people at 1204 AD and even lower to 5,000,000 people at 1282 AD with the arrival of the Turks.
[.]
Population estimates
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
*{{cite web, author=Howard Wiseman, title=18 Centuries of Roman Empire, year=2002–2011, url=http://www.ict.griffith.edu.au/wiseman/Roman/RomanEmpire.html
Society of the Byzantine Empire
Society of Greece
Demographics
Demographics of the Middle East