Last updated: May 23rd, 2025 at 12:23 pm · Est. Reading Time: < 1 minute
After its inception, the Byzantine Empire progressively expanded, reaching its largest size in 555 CE during the reign of Justinian I. At that time, it governed vast stretches of land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Its sovereignty extended from Rome (Italian peninsula) over to Balkans in Europe, from Anatolia in Asia to Phoenicia (Lebanon), Levant and Palestine in the Middle East, from Egypt (Miṣr مصر), Libya and Carthage (Tunisia) to whole coast of north Africa, and lastly across Gibraltar to southern parts of Iberian Peninsula in Europe. By that time, it’s 3.4 million square kilometers might be accommodating about 19 million human souls.
Reference
Warren T. Treadgold. A History of the Byzantine State and Society (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997), 278.
Further Reading