The Demography of Roman Italy
The Demography of Roman Italy
This book provides a fresh perspective on the population history of Italy during the late Republic. It employs a range of sources and a multidisciplinary approach to investigate demographic trends and the demographic behaviour of Roman citizens. Dr Hin shows how they adapted to changing economic, climatic and social conditions in a period of intense conquest. Her critical evaluation of the evidence on the demographic toll taken by warfare and rising societal complexity leads her to a revisionist 'middle count' scenario of population development in Italy. In tracing the population history of an ancient conquest society, she provides an accessible pathway into Roman demography which focuses on the three main demographic parameters – mortality, fertility and migration. She unites literary and epigraphic sources with demographic theory, archaeological surveys, climatic and skeletal evidence, models and comparative data. Tables, figures and maps enable readers to visualise the quantitative dynamics at work.
- An all-encompassing, comparative approach to Roman demographic history
- The first study of the emerging Roman Empire to discuss the impact of climate change on Roman demography
- Will appeal both to specialists in ancient history and to demographers and other social scientists with historical interests
Reviews & endorsements
"Short summary cannot do justice to the importance of this contribution, which advances our understanding on a number of fronts. The Demography of Roman Italy is a major contribution, as impressive in its handling of the ancient sources as of the tools of historical demography. Its achievement lies in its sophisticated and cautious approach to both the dynamics of the Roman population and the large-scale trajectory of Roman development."
Kyle Harper, The Journal of Roman Studies
Product details
July 2017Paperback
9781108406536
420 pages
230 × 153 × 23 mm
0.61kg
19 b/w illus. 3 maps 22 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Economic and Ecological Parameters:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Framing the economic setting: structure and development
- 3. Climate and climatic change
- Part II. The Demographic Parameters: Mortality, Fertility and Migration:
- 4. Mortality
- 5. Fertility
- 6. Migration
- Part III. Population Size:
- 7. Counting Romans
- 8. Archaeology and population: demography from potsherds? 9. Summary and conclusion
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2.
