Demography of the Ancient Roman World

Introduction and Historical Background

During the last half century, historical demography has become one of the central subdisciplines within the field of economic and social history. It is precisely in demography that some of the differences between the modern world and the preindustrial past are most prominently visible. We now live much longer than our ancestors, and there are also far more of us than there ever were. The change occurred during the so-called demographic transition, that began in Europe and North America in the nineteenth century, and subsequently also reached the rest of the world, though not yet completely. This demographic transition involved the change from a society with high mortality and high natality to a society with much lower mortality, and much lower natality. As a result, people in advanced modern economies now live on average two or even three times longer than their ancestors. Since mortality had begun to decline well before natality, population also...