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§ 1. Early state of the Byzantine province. Government of the despot Theo-
dore I.,

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MEDIEVAL GREECE

CHAPTER I.

CHANGES OF THE POPULATION AFTER THE DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. A. D. 540-1460

SECT. I.-OBSERVATIONS ON THE EARLY POPULATION OF GREECE

THE fate of the Greeks, after the loss of their liberty, continues to supply us with lessons of political experience that are to be found in no other portion of the annals of the human race. The Roman conquest first compressed

the Hellenic race into a distinct nation. That union was effected by the destruction of the local patriotism that gives its greatest charm to ancient history. Fortunately, it had been fully accomplished before Greece was invaded by the northern nations; for though the Greeks repulsed the Goths and Huns, they could not prevent the Sclavonians from creeping silently into the most secluded valleys of their primeval seats.

Two leading facts form the basis of Greek history at the commencement of the Byzantine empire: the diminution in the numbers of the Hellenic race, and the

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