Python: create dictionary using dict() with integer keys?

Yes, but not with that version of the constructor. You can do this:

>>> dict([(1, 2), (3, 4)])
{1: 2, 3: 4}

There are several different ways to make a dict. As documented, "providing keyword arguments [...] only works for keys that are valid Python identifiers."

There are also these 'ways':

>>> dict.fromkeys(range(1, 4))
{1: None, 2: None, 3: None}
>>> dict(zip(range(1, 4), range(1, 4)))
{1: 1, 2: 2, 3: 3}