Demography, Climate, and Disease - Ancient Mediterranean History

Light wide spread control

covers a lot of territory and has shallow control over things

Ancient Greek City-States

Many states with their own laws, State power was narrow but in depth

Roman Empire

control covered a lot of territory and was very in depth

Eastern Eurasia and western Eurasia is separated greatly due to

difference in geography

travel on water was

faster and cheaper than travel by land

open waters in the Mediterranean region encourages

large scale movement of people and things

 tombstones help us figure out

population size and average age of death

Average life expectancy in the pre-modern

20-40 (distorted by infant deaths)

Ulpian Life Tables

from Rome, Shows us life expectancy if one reaches a certain age (Ex: if you get to 50 you’ll live another 10 years or so)

Romans believed the purpose of marriage was

procreation

plagues in the ancient world were

major death events on a regional continental scale

Plague of Athens

430-426 BCE, Population was tightly packed , 25-30% of the population died, many mass graves