Peter Heather

The line of the Danube is the place to start, but then you do have to add Transylvania beyond at this point.

So there's a big arc up into the Carpathian system.

Well, you've got two things going on.

First of all, it is the biggest state that Western Eurasia has ever seen.

It's much bigger than Charlemagne's empire.

It's much bigger than the Holy Roman Empire.

You know, it is colossal.

It goes from Scotland to Iraq.

I mean, that tells you it's huge.

And of course, it's bigger than it looks because...

Land transport moves, you can do a kind of rough calculation and come up with a round number about 20 times more slowly.

Than today.

So it's actually measured in, because the real distance is how long it takes you and me to get from one place to another.

That's the real measure of distance, not miles or kilometers or anything like that.

So it's actually 20 times bigger than it looks.

It's like running all of Eurasia now.

That's the scale you're talking about.

So it is colossal.

Transport is slow.

On the other hand, it's also the longest-lived state that Western Eurasia has ever known.