Population of Ancient Rome

[Cassius Loginus]

Can anyone comment:

 

1) at what period Rome had 1 million people living in the city.

 

2) The 1 million people lived within the walls of Rome or at the outskirts?

 

 

Thanks.

[Vibius Tiberius Costa]

Can anyone comment:

 

1) at what period Rome had 1 million people living in the city.

 

2) The 1 million people lived within the walls of Rome or at the outskirts?

 

 

Thanks.

 

I know at 147 bc there was approximately halfa million, i therefore suppose that Rome reached the big million when Aurelian expande the walls.

 

vtc

[Maty]

drat - let's try again. See below

Edited August 23, 2007 by Maty

[Maty]

Can anyone comment:

 

1) at what period Rome had 1 million people living in the city.

 

This is something of a hot potato among Roman demographers. I've seen quotes for a population of Rome as high as 4 million. No-one really knows the exact figure, and almost certainly not the Romans of the time. For instance it seems highly improbable that slaves were counted in a systematic way, and then as today, some resident foreigners will have actively resisted being counted.

 

It seems very likely that the Romans tolerated far higher population densities than we do today, so you could cram a lot of people into the residental areas available. This was necessary as 2/3 of central Rome was taken up by monumental, religious and public space as well as the houses of the wealthy, so this left mainly the Esquiline and Transtiburina as residential areas for the majority. I estimate 200 AD at the time of peak development, though it is highly probable that by then the population had dropped sharply due to the plague that followed the eastern campaigns of Verus.

 

So I'd guess that Rome hit a million in AD 150 - or even more, depending on what you count as 'Rome'.

[M. Porcius Cato]

It seems very likely that the Romans tolerated far higher population densities than we do today, so you could cram a lot of people into the residental areas available. This was necessary as 2/3 of central Rome was taken up by monumental, religious and public space as well as the houses of the wealthy, so this left mainly the Esquiline and Transtiburina as residential areas for the majority.

 

I thought the Aventine was heavily populated. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any non-habitable public works on the Aventine aside from the temple of Ceres.