关于罗马的城市化率

At the height of Roman power in the mid 2nd century AD, conservative opinion is that the Empire was comprised of some 65 million people. Assuming that the world population was still roughly about 300 million people this would mean that the Roman population was approximately 21% of the world's total. However, less conservative estimates have added far more people living within the official borders of the Empire, perhaps as much as doubling the figure. With this in mind, the population of the Empire may have approached 130 million people or perhaps over 40% of the world's total! However, as these numbers for the ancient period are widely divergent and imprecise, it could be assumed that either number or any in between has the potential to be correct. Still the increase from 45 to 65 million in about a century is believable and can be credited to the conquests of Britannia and Dacia, and several annexations of client kingdoms dating from the time of Augustus. (mostly by Claudius)
Breaking down the 65 million population estimate, some additional assumptions can be made:
* 500,000 soldiers (legionaries totalling 150,000 and auxilia making up the rest)
* Approximately 600 Senators made up the elite of the elite.
* Perhaps up to 30,000 men filled the roles of Equestrians (knights), or the second tier of the aristocracy.
* 10 to 30% or 6 million to 19 million people lived in the cities, leaving the vast majority of some 46 to 59 million people to live in the country as independent and mostly tenant farmers.
下面就是Wilson对罗马各行省城市人口的估算:
首先是意大利,根据文献及考古调查,目前人们知道在罗马时代的意大利共有四百余座城市,下表是Morley 1996年对罗马时代意大利城市人口的统计及其在总城镇人口(“低估值”)中所占的比率,其主要依据的是考古调查、普林尼和斯特拉波的记载以及目前在意大利发现的与城市建设相关的建筑铭文:

该数字是富有争议的,例如有一些传统上的中小城市经过考古调查后人口远高于预期,因此也就有一些更乐观的估值,6.3是认为部分传统上的小城市的人口达到大城市水准,6.4则是认为部分小城市有更高的人口:

下面则是对罗马意大利人口进行的尽可能悲观的估值,调低对各城市人口的估值并假设部分大城市人口低于5000:

上表为在上面的各种估值下,罗马意大利人口为600万、900万和1200万时的城市化率,及扣除罗马城后的城市化率。