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Demographics
The study of demographics in the early Middle Ages is a notably difficult task. In his comprehensive Framing the Early Middle Ages, Chris Wickham suggests that there are currently no reliable calculations for the period regarding the populations of early medieval towns. What is likely, however, is that the cities of the empire did not exceed the 20-25,000 speculated for Rome during this period. On an empire-wide level, the Empire's populations expanded steadily from 750-850 AD. Figures ranging from 10-20 million have been offered, with estimates being devised based on calculations of empire size and theoretical densities. Recently, however, Timothy Newfield challenges the idea of demographic expansion, criticising scholars for relying on the impact of recurring pandemics in the preceding period of 541-750 AD and ignoring the frequency of famines in Carolingian Europe.