The Grain Market in the Roman Empire: A Social, Political and Economic Study
Cambridge University Press
Edition: First Edition. Hardback. Dust Jacket., 11/3/2005
EAN 9780521838788, ISBN10: 0521838789
Hardcover, 380 pages, 23.4 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm
Language: English
This book explores the economic, social and political forces that shaped the grain market in the Roman Empire. Examining studies on food supply and the grain market in pre-industrial Europe, it addresses questions of productivity, division of labour, market relations and market integration. The social and political aspects of the Roman grain market are also considered. Dr Erdkamp illustrates how entitlement to food in Roman society was dependent on relations with the emperor, his representatives and the landowning aristocracy, and local rulers controlling the towns and hinterlands. He assesses the response of the Roman authorities to weaknesses in the grain market and looks at the implications of the failure of local harvests. By examining the subject from a contemporary perspective, this book will appeal not only to historians of ancient economies, but to all concerned with the economy of grain markets, a subject which still resonates today.
Introduction
1. Production and productivity in Roman agriculture
2. The world of the smallholder
3. Farmers and their market relations
4. Market integration
connecting supply and demand
5. Rome and the corn provinces
6. Urban food supply and grain market intervention
Conclusions
References
Indexes.