Thalian
Scribe
I am trying to determine a countries population size, as well as their military size, and keep it realistic. I don't want to have a country say the size of England to be able to field an army of 800,000, it's just not reasonable. I have been hitting Google hard for about 4 hours, and while I have a much stronger grasp on the concept now, I am hoping someone here as better first-hand knowledge and is able to point me in the right direction.
To describe this country (Alendar):
-It is approximately 160,000 square miles. Estimating, about 50% of that would be livable, the rest being mountains and a forest that is controlled by a separate, friendly power.
-Of the livable land, it is very fertile, and nearly all of it used would be for farmland.
-They are at peace with neighboring countries (but that is soon to change, obviously).
-They are wealthy. They grow more than they use, and send the remainder to other less-arable countries for a profit.
Now, from what I have gathered on Google it is a common rule of thumb that 1% of a countries population would be its standing army, and in the 13th-15th centuries about 3-5% of a countries population was urbanized. Basing off of population density estimates of Europe and Asia prior to the Black Death, the population of Alendar would be 3.15 million and 2.3 million respectively, so lets say 2.75 million, making my capital between 82,000-137,500 people, and my standing army 27,500, and with bannermen and peasants armed with pitchforks and old fence posts the king could likely field an army around 150,000 (worst case scenario).
This whole idea stems from a character in my WIP wanting to casually threaten another with the size of his king's army. Naturally, he would exaggerate, and my initial idea was to say they had a standing army of 150,000, which if the numbers from my research are close Alendar would need a population of at least 12 million, and that's not realistic for such a small area of land.
I feel like I am rambling, but I guess my question would be, would it be reasonable to suggest that Alendar has a population of 5-6 million? The population of England and Wales in 1300 is estimated at 3 million and is about 60,000 square miles. If Alendar did have that population, would 80,00 square miles of fertile, arable farmland be enough to provide for its citizens and still have enough remaining to export? I don't want to rely on the "It is fantasy, so you can do whatever you want" excuse, but am I taking this too far? Haha.
Also, I am sorry for figuring all of this out in miles. As a Canadian it hurts my head, but most of the stuff I could find online was in miles, and distance in my world is measured in leagues, so it just made sense.
To describe this country (Alendar):
-It is approximately 160,000 square miles. Estimating, about 50% of that would be livable, the rest being mountains and a forest that is controlled by a separate, friendly power.
-Of the livable land, it is very fertile, and nearly all of it used would be for farmland.
-They are at peace with neighboring countries (but that is soon to change, obviously).
-They are wealthy. They grow more than they use, and send the remainder to other less-arable countries for a profit.
Now, from what I have gathered on Google it is a common rule of thumb that 1% of a countries population would be its standing army, and in the 13th-15th centuries about 3-5% of a countries population was urbanized. Basing off of population density estimates of Europe and Asia prior to the Black Death, the population of Alendar would be 3.15 million and 2.3 million respectively, so lets say 2.75 million, making my capital between 82,000-137,500 people, and my standing army 27,500, and with bannermen and peasants armed with pitchforks and old fence posts the king could likely field an army around 150,000 (worst case scenario).
This whole idea stems from a character in my WIP wanting to casually threaten another with the size of his king's army. Naturally, he would exaggerate, and my initial idea was to say they had a standing army of 150,000, which if the numbers from my research are close Alendar would need a population of at least 12 million, and that's not realistic for such a small area of land.
I feel like I am rambling, but I guess my question would be, would it be reasonable to suggest that Alendar has a population of 5-6 million? The population of England and Wales in 1300 is estimated at 3 million and is about 60,000 square miles. If Alendar did have that population, would 80,00 square miles of fertile, arable farmland be enough to provide for its citizens and still have enough remaining to export? I don't want to rely on the "It is fantasy, so you can do whatever you want" excuse, but am I taking this too far? Haha.
Also, I am sorry for figuring all of this out in miles. As a Canadian it hurts my head, but most of the stuff I could find online was in miles, and distance in my world is measured in leagues, so it just made sense.
Myth Weaver
Auror
