Demes in the Byzantine Empire

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The demes (Ancient Greek: δῆμοι, Latin: factiones) were chariot racing factions in the Roman and later Byzantine Empires, which over time developed into social and political factions. There were four demes; the dominant two were the Blues (Greek: Βένετοι, romanized: Vénetoi) and the Greens (Greek: Πράσινοι, romanized: Prásinoi), which exercised patronage over the Whites (Greek: Λευκοὶ, romanized: Leukoí) and the Reds (Greek: Ῥούσιοι, romanized: Rhoúsioi) respectively. The demes began in the Principate era as chariot racing factions. With the decline of urban self-governance, they took on broader responsibilities such as organizing the spectacles. The colour divisions gradually covered other aspects of daily life such as theatre, so that by the fifth century they had become more akin to political parties. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the demes grew so powerful that they participated in the political and religious conflicts of the time, terrorised the major Byzantine cities with their...

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