Deforestation during the Roman period

Deforestation during the Roman period was a result of the geographical expansion of the Roman Empire, with its increased population, large-scale agriculture, and unprecedented economic development. Roman expansion marks the transition in the Mediterranean from prehistory (around 1,000 BC) to the historical period beginning around 500 BC. Earth sustained a few million people 8,000 years ago and was still fundamentally pristine,^[1] but Rome drove human development in Western Europe and was a leading contributor of the deforestation around the Mediterranean.^[2]