Recent years have witnessed an intense debate concerning the size of the population of Roman Italy. This book argues that the combined literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence supports the theory that early-imperial Italy had about six million inhabitants. At the same time the traditional view that the last century of the Republic witnessed a decline in the free Italian population is shown to be untenable. The main foci of its six chapters are: military participation rates; demographic recovery after the Second Punic War; the spread of slavery and the background to the Gracchan land reforms; the fast expansion of Italian towns after the Social War; emigration from Italy; and the fate of the Italian population during the first 150 years of the Principate.
Author(s): Luuk de Ligt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 408
Abstract
Title page
Contents
Tables
Maps
Note on abbreviations
Preface
1 Evidence, theories and models in Roman population history
2 Polybius’ manpower figures and the size of the Italian population on the eve of the Hannibalic War
3 Census procedures and the meaning of the republican and early-imperial census figures
4 Peasants, citizens and soldiers, 201 BC–28 BC
5 The Augustan census figures and Italy’s urban network
6 Survey archaeology and demographic developments in the Italian countryside
Epilogue
Appendix I: Cities and towns in early-imperial Cisalpina
Appendix II: Cities and towns in central and south Italy
Appendix III: Population figures for largest northern cities, AD 1600
Appendix IV: Some ingredients for a revised low-count model
Bibliography
Index
