Polity · 337 CE – 632 CE
Eastern Roman Empire
Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
- Peak recorded area
- 2,599,600 km²
- 561 CE
- Rulers on record
- 4
- from 337 CE
- Data series
- 5
- 500 CE–629 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
36 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 632 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.
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Battle Count2 obs · 503 CE–533 CE | 1battles533 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Scale Avg | 4Lehmann-Zhukov 1-5533 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Wins | 1battles won533 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
Development
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Known Ancient Places3 obs · 500 CE–629 CE | 7,594places629 CE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
| Known Ancient Settlements3 obs · 500 CE–629 CE | 3,497settlements629 CE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
Rulers
4 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Constantius IIRoman emperor337 CE – 361 CE
- ValensRoman emperor364 CE – 378 CE
- Theodosius IRoman emperor379 CE – 395 CE
- Theodosius IIRoman emperor402 CE – 450 CE
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
Pleiades Gazetteer2024 snapshot
Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.). Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places.
CC BY 3.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Eastern Roman Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.