Greece and the Balkans 500 CE

What is happening in Greece and the Balkans in 500CE

The Balkan provinces of the Roman empire are ruled from Constantinople, subject to the effective rule of the eastern Roman emperors. They have been spared much of the turmoil visited upon the western provinces. They certainly have not escaped completely – from time to time over the past three centuries armies of Visigoths, Huns and others have roamed to and fro across them. Nevertheless, the provinces have been spared the worst of the upheavals, and provincial life remains largely intact. Ancient cities continue to thrive, remaining centres of Roman-Greek civilization.

Many of these cities are also now seats of Christian bishops, which in the eastern Roman empire is firmly under the control of the emperors in Constantinople. There is not that separation between secular and spiritual authority that is becoming increasingly marked in the west, where many Roman Christians find themselves under the rule of Arian Germans. Although they still regard themselves very much as members of the same faith, the eastern and western branches of the Church are already beginning to diverge.

Next map, Greece and the Balkans in 750