Polity · 633 CE – 1474 CE
Byzantine Empire
Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
- Peak recorded area
- 2,335,390 km²
- 633 CE
- Data series
- 22
- 700 CE–1362 CE
Overview
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
99 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1474 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population8 obs · 630 CE–1200 CE | 6Mpersons1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Largest Settlement Pop7 obs · 630 CE–1073 CE | 250Kpersons1073 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Population6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 6.82score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Sophistication6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 0.8333score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Monetary Complexity6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 0.8333score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Battle Count5 obs · 503 CE–1362 CE | 1battles1362 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Military Sophistication4 obs · 700 CE–1000 CE | 1score1000 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Military Levels3 obs · 632 CE–1073 CE | 9levels1073 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Battle Losses2 obs · 1355 CE–1362 CE | 1battles lost1362 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Scale Avg2 obs · 533 CE–964 CE | 3Lehmann-Zhukov 1-5964 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Wins2 obs · 533 CE–964 CE | 1battles won964 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Territory km²9 obs · 632 CE–1200 CE | 540Ksq km1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Territory6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 5.73score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Admin Levels3 obs · 632 CE–1073 CE | 8levels1073 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Hierarchy3 obs · 632 CE–1073 CE | 7levels1073 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Development
6 of 7 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Government Complexity6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 1score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Hierarchy Levels6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 7.67score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Information Complexity6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 0.9231score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Infrastructure6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 0.9167score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Largest Settlement Pop6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 5.4score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Levels6 obs · 700 CE–1200 CE | 7score1200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- medieval Greek, medieval Latin
- Currency
- Histamenon, Stavraton, solidus, hyperpyron, Byzantine coinage, miliaresion
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3)v3
Brecke, P. Conflict Catalog (Historical Conflict Events Dataset), digitized v3.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Equinox 2020Equinox 2020
Turchin, P. et al. Seshat Global History Databank, Equinox 2020 release.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Byzantine Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.