alternatehistory.com

So, I've been trying to figure this one out for a while now and have been having some difficulty due to the various sources disagreeing.

On the low end, we have Chandler, who claims Constantinople (and Rome at it's height!) never achieved more than 450,000 people.

On higher scale, we have people that claim Constantinople achieved up to 1,000,000 souls at one point, with the likes of Baghdad having 2,000,000 (!) at it's height and Cordoba maybe 800,000.

During Basil II's reign, Chandler puts Constantinople at 300,000 while the highest sources place it at some 800,000 people.

Now, in this cynical age we might be tempted to take Chandler's low estimates as the most 'plausible' and realistic...but keep in mind, this is a man that believes Moses invented Chinese writing.

So, in 1025 AD, at the death of Basil II, where do you think these three cities sat in terms of population?
Top