What was the population of the Roman Empire?
score:6
Picture a graph starting at 50AD around 41 million, peaking around 200 AD at 45 million and then dropping slowly and steadily to 36 million around 500 AD, and you won't be too far off. At least not in trend, but magnitude is debatable. That's a 10% increase from 50 to 200AD, and then a 20% decrease to 500AD.
The ultimate source I use for these kinds of numbers is McEvedy & Jones' Atlas of World Population History (out of print, but available at libraries and online if you know where to look). However, its primarily geographic-based, and the boundaries of that particular political unit changed a bit over the eras, spanning portions of 3 continents. This means retro-fitting it to a polyglot empire like Rome takes some hoof-work. Honestly, I'm reluctant to do that kind of hoof-work myself (counts 1, 2, 3...) 8 times just for the purpose of this one question.
Fortunately, McEvedy was kind enough to do that for his 362AD map in his New Penguin Atlas of Ancient History, which had a number for TRE at that date of 39 million. His Atlas of Medieval History has a similar map for 737 AD, with an entry that reads:
In its heyday, the second century AD, the Roman Empire had a population of about 45 million. Thereafter, a slow decline set in, and on the eve of the Western Empire's collapse the figure was more like 36 million, a drop of a fifth.
By "eve of the ... collapse" he of course means the rough vicinity of 500AD. So this covers the entire year range you were interested in (minus the first date), and even verbally plots a curve for you.
The "41 million" at the top is my own quick-and-dirty personal estimate, by fitting the curve M&J showed for Europe from 50AD to 200 AD (its population peak) to McEvedy's Roman Empire numbers. A better figure could probably be arrived at by compiling the various appropriate M&J regional numbers for 50AD, but I doubt this is far off enough to be significant. The trend should be right, and the absolute numbers are debatable. The important thing is consistency of sources, if you want to look at trends.
I will note that McEvedy/Jones numbers tend to be on the low side compared to others. I like to use them because nobody else has data that competes in scope, detail, and consistency with theirs. I also think that historians (and amateurs) have a natural bias favoring larger numbers, so theirs feel safer to me. However, it should be pointed out that estimates vary greatly, and this one will be on the lower end.
Upvote:0
Wikipedia has an article, Population of the Byzantine Empire, giving the population and area of the Easter Roman or "Byzantine" Empire at 19 dates from AD 300 to 1320.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_of_the_Byzantine_Empire1
Only a few of those dates are the ones you are interested in, but that is a start.
Wikipedia also has an article, Demography of the Roman Empire, giving various population estimates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_the_Roman_Empire2
Here is links to articles about the population of the Roman Empire:
https://www.unrv.com/empire/roman-population.php3
https://www.livescience.com/9732-ancient-rome-real-population-revealed.html4
https://www.tabulae-geographicae.de/2017/06/06/population-numbers/5
More post
- 📝 How many died during St. Lawrence Island 1878-1880 famine?
- 📝 When did the key advances in vehicle suspension happen?
- 📝 Can someone explain the joke that killed Chrysippus of Soli?
- 📝 Does a description of the original design for the Great Seal of the United States by Simitiere survive?
- 📝 Why and how did Macedon support Carthage in the Punic wars?
- 📝 Who was this Roman General/figure of authority who, on his deathbed, named these two regrets?
- 📝 Was Mid-Night always considered the transition point between two days in Gregorian/Julian Calendars?
- 📝 When and where did it first became usual that the ID Card holder signed his card?
- 📝 Can anyone identify this sword?
- 📝 Vietnam war "blue tag"
- 📝 When did the socialist movement start becoming noteworthy in Russian history?
- 📝 Has Puerto Rico experienced fewer privileges and autonomy than other US territories?
- 📝 When were public roads cleaned electromagnetically?
- 📝 How would one muzzle a full grown polar bear in the 13th century?
- 📝 Why has Nepal never been conquered or colonized?
- 📝 Why is the United States the only developed country whose labour laws leave most up to the employer?
- 📝 at what point did Europe overtake the Arabic World and India in math and science?
- 📝 What was the impetus behind the British Empire's acquisition of what is now Canada?
- 📝 Why is/was the world's expo 1967 so important to Montreal, Canada?
- 📝 How was the Free Czech Army formed in World War 2?
- 📝 Are there any underground cities known except those found in Cappadocia?
- 📝 Can you help me identify the rank and patch on this Royal Italian Army uniform?
- 📝 Were any of the early settlements in America attacked from the sea?
- 📝 Pre-Christian use of the Greek Septuagint
- 📝 How to translate runic text not knowing the origin?
- 📝 Slave owners mobbed and murdered?
- 📝 Broad and deep historical causes of gang violence in Mexico and El Salvador
- 📝 Are there historical examples of audiences drawn to a work that was "so bad it's good"?
- 📝 What was the meaning behind these lip make-ups in Ancient China?
- 📝 Did anyone in Europe predict the existence of the Americas?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the population of the Roman Empire around 210 AD?
- 📝 What was the northernmost region/city in the Roman Empire that spoke Greek as the native language?
- 📝 What was the cost of buying Silk in the Roman Empire
- 📝 What was the population of the Parthian Empire around (AD) 1 CE?
- 📝 What was the biggest region in the Holy Roman Empire that was never Protestant, if any?
- 📝 What was the population of the Roman Empire?
- 📝 Why was the Roman Empire considered an empire rather than a kingdom (again)?
- 📝 What was the average height of Roman men and women?
- 📝 What role did the Eastern Roman Empire play in the fall of the Western Roman Empire?
- 📝 Was the Roman Empire based on a 'plunder economy'?
- 📝 What was the estimated population living in Egypt around 1446 BC?
- 📝 What was the importance of the patrician class in the Roman Empire?
- 📝 What was the life expectancy of an ancient Roman child and adult?
- 📝 What was the reason for the Ottoman empire to adopt the crescent moon as its flag/coat of arms?
- 📝 What was the world population around 970 BC? Does it fit the biblical narrative?
- 📝 What was the fate of Latvian Jewish population sent to gulags in June 1941?
- 📝 What Roman Republican legal structures lasted into the Empire and which ones didn't?
- 📝 What were the insignia of the Western Roman Empire and what happened to them?
- 📝 What kinds of goods were commonly smuggled in the Roman Empire up to the end of the 3rd century AD?
- 📝 Why was the government expenditures of the Roman Empire very low compared to modern governments?
- 📝 What was the status of specialized workers during the Roman times?
- 📝 What would slaves in the Roman Empire call their masters?
- 📝 What was the largest empire in terms of time of communication between its two ends?
- 📝 What was the estimated population of the Mississippi Valley before contact with Europeans?
- 📝 What was the population within the Aurelian Walls of Rome during its peak?
- 📝 What was the lowest available population to the Soviet Union in WW2?
- 📝 Was there ever support for any persons outside of the empire to be elected Holy Roman Emperor?
- 📝 What percentage of the population was in the clergy (chastity vows) in Europe *at its peak* between 500-1500)?
- 📝 What Was the Political Condition of the Region that Encompasses the Modern Russian State in the time of the Roman empire?
- 📝 What was the population of late Pre-Islamic Arabia and the population of Arabic speakers before Islam?