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In this volume, papers by leading Roman historians and archaeologists discuss trade within the Roman Empire and beyond its frontiers between c.100 BC and AD 350, and the role of the state in shaping the institutional framework for trade. Documentary, historical, and archaeological evidence forms the basis of a novel interdisciplinary approach.
List of contents
- Frontmatter
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- 1: Andrew Wilson and Alan Bowman: Introduction: Trade, Commerce, and the State
- I. Institutions and the State
- 2: Alan Bowman: The State and the Economy: Fiscality and Taxation
- 3: Boudewijn Sirks: Law, Commerce, and Finance in the Roman Empire
- 4: Elio Lo Cascio: Market Regulation and Transaction Costs in the Roman Empire
- 5: Philip Kay: Financial Institutions and Structures in the Last Century of the Roman Republic
- 6: Colin Adams: Nile River Transport under the Romans
- II. Trade within the Empire
- 7: W. V. Harris: The Indispensable Commodity: Notes on the Economy of Wood in the Roman Mediterranean
- 8: Ben Russell: Stone-Use and the Economy: Demand, Distribution, and the State
- 9: Danièle Foy: An Overview of the Circulation of Glass in Antiquity
- 10: Michael Fulford: Procurators' Business? Gallo-Roman Sigillata in Britain in the Second and Third Centuries AD
- 11: Michel Bonifay: The Distribution of African Pottery under the Roman Empire: Evidence vs Interpretation
- 12: Paul Reynolds: The Supply Networks of the Roman East and West: Interaction, Fragmentation, and the Origins of the Byzantine Economy
- 13: Ivan Radman-Livaja: Prices and Costs in the Textile Industry in the Light of the Lead Tags from Siscia
- 14: Emanuele Papi: Exports and Imports in Mauretania Tingitana: The Evidence from Thamusida
- III. Trade beyond the Frontiers
- 15: David F. Graf: The Silk Road between Syria and China
- 16: Roberta Tomber: Egypt and Eastern Commerce during the Second Century AD and Later
- 17: Dario Nappo: Money and Flows of Coinage in the Red Sea Trade
- 18: Barbara Davidde: The Port of Qana', a Junction between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea: The Underwater Evidence
- 19: Andrew Wilson: Trade across Rome's Southern Frontier: The Sahara and the Garamantes
- Endmatter
- Index
About the author
Andrew Wilson is Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and former Chairman of the Society for Libyan Studies. His research interests include the economy of the Roman Empire, ancient technology, ancient water supply and usage, Roman North Africa, and archaeological field survey. He is the author of numerous articles on these subjects and has directed excavations in Italy, Tunisia, and Libya.
Alan Bowman is Vice-President and Fellow of the British Academy, Emeritus Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, and former Principal of Brasenose College, as well as a former President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. In addition to his work on the Roman economy, current research projects include further work on the Vindolanda Writing-Tablets and on the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, image-enhancement of damaged documents, and the development of Digital Humanities.
Summary
In this volume, papers by leading Roman historians and archaeologists discuss trade within the Roman Empire and beyond its frontiers between c.100 BC and AD 350, and the role of the state in shaping the institutional framework for trade. Documentary, historical, and archaeological evidence forms the basis of a novel interdisciplinary approach.
Additional text
Like its predecessors from OxREP, this volume contains a wealth of valuable interventions in debates about the Roman economy. The synthesis of recently discovered or compiled archaeological material, often by scholars responsible for its initial production, makes this book invaluable to economic historians. The inclusion of materials that are usually marginalized and the insistence on the importance of extra-imperial trade are themselves important steps forward as well. Any collection of scholarship on the Roman economy should contain this book.
