Agrarian conditions in the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages

Abstract

The eastern half of the Roman Empire was economically stronger and more thickly populated than the western half. The predominating feature of rural economy in the early Byzantine period was the great private estate. This chapter lays special emphasis on the fact that in the Byzantine Empire, property and land were always hereditary and individual possessions. Emperor Heraclius turned the course of Byzantine agrarian development into fresh channels. In the middle Byzantine period, the free and freely moving peasantry is the chief factor in agrarian development. The Byzantine emperors imposed a legislation to protect the small landowner from being bought out by the 'powerful' and at the same time to prevent further subdivision. The agrarian history of the late Byzantine period is that of great landowners and their dependants. The course taken by Byzantine agrarian history provides the key to the understanding of the whole historical evolution of Byzantium.