Rome's population was close to a million in the imperial period. How do we arrive at that number? Feeding Rome and records of those lists of the citizens on the annona, or grain dole, are essential aspects that figure prominently in the discussion. So, too, are the Regionary Catalogs, which give, however inaccurately, an idea of the population and their living quarters. Later, with the decline of Rome and the devastation from the 6th century AD Gothic Wars, as detailed by Procopius, the population substantially plummeted. In the Middle Ages, the city remained sparsely populated. The occupied area became known as abitato (essentially the Campus Martius area), and the abandoned area was defined as disabitato (the areas of the Forum, Imperial Fora, and the hills on the eastern and southern sides). For more information, have a look at the 16th-18th-century plans of Rome to see clearly the centro storico (historic center) versus the abandoned areas that were developed into farmland. A good resource is the 18th-century Nolli plan. This content is brought to you by The American Institute for Roman Culture (AIRC), a 501(C)3 US Non-Profit Organization. Please support our mission to aid learning and understanding of ancient Rome through free-to-access content by donating today via the following link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T44AE774MKBJE&source=url Don't forget also to subscribe, comment and like! You can also support us by following and engaging across our social media channels: Twitter: https://twitter.com/saverome Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIRCSaveRome/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/saverome/