Size of the Roman Empire

[prr]

I've seen a few different numbers on the size of the Roman empire.

 

(1) I didn't find a figure in the only survey of the Roman world (Chester Starr's History of the Ancient World--much more than simply a work on Rome) that I own. Does someone have a number of square miles of the Roman empire (I suppose the accession of Hadrian in 117, its greatest extent, would be a good time to measure, although honestly a better measure would be only the provinces they kept for a long time).

 

(2) One other problem I have is that I'm pretty sure at one time that I came across a given area for the ROman empire that included water. Now, ever time I come across a number, I'm not sure if the author meant to include the Mediterranean or not.

 

What figures to folks have for its area? Can you please quote sources for this? And tell me if this includes the Mediterranean or not?

[gilius]

What good is a number/figure? One needs to examine the changing map of the Roman Empire over the centuries of its existence to gain an understanding of the extent at any given time.

 

 

[chimera]

The extremities are gradually being discovered. The seaport of Lundeborg near Copenhagen was possibly a Roman trading centre. It's believed that Romans sailed a couple of times a year from east India to Oc Eo port in Vietnam for silk and ceramics from China.  In theory a Nordic-Roman could have met Chinese traders and perhaps taken a boat to China and taken lacquer-paint ware back to Norway. The ancient world is looking more like the world we are seeing today.