Notable Point · 5:07:52-5:10:00

Roman and medieval mobilization rested on different population geographies

Roman and medieval mobilization depended on population distribution and the number of frontiers a ruler had to defend.

Notes

Roman mobilization benefited from a more urbanized and concentrated population, while much of medieval Europe's population was widely dispersed. England and France still had millions of inhabitants during the Hundred Years War, but rulers could not concentrate all of them against one opponent. English armies sent to France had to leave forces facing Scotland and Wales, whereas the Roman Empire operated behind larger and often more stable borders.