The Origins of the Roman Economy
The Origins of the Roman Economy
£138.00
GBPIn this book, Gabriele Cifani reconstructs the early economic history of Rome, from the Iron Age to the early Republic. Bringing a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, he argues that the early Roman economy was more diversified than has been previously acknowledged, going well beyond agriculture and pastoralism. Cifani bases his argument on a systematic review of archaeological evidence for production, trade and consumption. He posits that the existence of a network system, based on cultural interaction, social mobility, and trade, connected Rome and central Tyrrhenian Italy to the Mediterranean Basin even in this early period of Rome's history. Moreover, these trade and cultural links existed in parallel to regional, diversified economies, and institutions. Cifani's book thus offers new insights into the economic basis for the rise of Rome, as well as the social structures of Mediterranean Iron Age societies.
- Provides a systematic review of production in Rome from the Bronze Age to the fourth century BC
- Analyzes the evidence of local production, trade and consumption within a Mediterranean perspective
- Includes discussion of the early Roman calendar and the origins of the modern calendar
Reviews & endorsements
'How did a single settlement in the Tiber valley become the centre of the most successful and longest-lasting of the world's empires? In this study of Rome's early economic history C. points us towards some of the answers.' Michael Fallon, Classics for All
'… it draws on an impressive knowledge of both textual and archaeological sources, and introduces recent methodological innovations and theoretical perspectives in a synthetic treatment of early Rome's economic development.' Tymon de Haas, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Product details
January 2021Adobe eBook Reader
9781108800969
0 pages
68 b/w illus. 11 tables
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Notes on the geographical context of early Rome
- 3. The beginnings of a longue durée
- 4. The Early Iron Age (Latial Phases II and III)
- 5. A settlement unlike others: the economic background to the rise of Rome
- 6. Latial Phase IV
- 7. Latial Phase IV A
- 8. Latial Phase IV B
- 9. The archaic phase (580–500 BC)
- 10. Modelling the demography and consumption
- 11. People, places, times and institutions of roman archaic economy
- 12. The economics of the early calendar
- 13. The early Latins overseas
- 14. The Fifth century BC
- 15. Crisis and opportunities in the fifth century BC
- 16. The archaeological evidence of the fourth century BC
- 17. The fourth century transformations and the end of the roman archaic economy
- 18. Epilogue
- Appendices.
