Population and Migration

This article discusses the migration to cities and the phenomenon of colonization. In Mesopotamia and Classical Greece, and perhaps also in the Mauryan empire, even the largest cities typically had less than 100,000 inhabitants. Some of the capital cities of the Hellenistic world seem to have had larger populations, and in Han China the city of Chang'an may have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants. However, in the period covered by the study only the population of early imperial Rome grew to about one million. In many pre-modern states, state-sponsored migration to colonies established in newly conquered areas was a major factor in the expansion of urban networks. Evidence also suggests that the forced migration of war captives and slaves played a key role in the growth of many early cities. In view of the high urban mortality rates caused by insalubrious living conditions, it is likely that the populations of large and densely populated cities could not be sustained without continuous immigration

Ancient history · Archaeology · Capital (architecture · Capital city · China · Colonization · Development economics · Economic geography · Economics · Empire · Geography · Human migration · Immigration · Internal migration · Mesopotamia · Population · Population growth · Sociology · State (computer science · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Demography · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Migration and Labor Dynamics

• Early Urbanism in Northern Mesopotamia

  Open Access•Anthony Mcmahon, Augusta Mcmahon•Journal of Archaeological Research•2019

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