Jean-Pierre Brun (dir.), Despina Chatzivasiliou (dir.) and Willem M. Jongman (dir.)
Economic performance in the Roman Empire. A new archaeology of trade and technology
An innovative book that goes against established historiography and proposes new interpretations of archaeological data.
The Roman Empire, the largest and most populous in the world, with its highly urbanized society and impressive architecture, will never be surpassed throughout the entire pre-industrial European period. Although Rome benefited from an efficient central government and bureaucracy, a well-trained professional army, a stable monetary apparatus and a functional legal system, the Empire eventually declined and disappeared.
The Empire's successes and failures have long been attributed to the fact that its wealth and splendor were not the result of an efficient economy, but of the exploitation of the poor and the provinces. This book brings together a large volume of new archaeological data that modifies the established historiographic vision : it shows that Roman society practiced commerce to a very large extent and had developed a production that involved considerable technological innovation.
With contributions from Emmanuel Botte, Jean-Pierre Brun, Laetitia Cavassa, Kristina Jelinčić, Willem M. Jongman, Bastien Lemaire, Marine Lépée, David J. Mattingly, Matthieu Poux, Michel Reddé and Andrew Wilson.
Brun J.-P.(dir.), Chatzivasiliou D. (dir.) and Jongman W.M. (dir.), Performances économiques de l'Empire romain. Une nouvelle archéologie du commerce et des techniques, Paris, Collège de France, coll. " Conférences ", 2024, 256 p.
ISBN : 978-2-7226-0769-9
Price : 35 €
Publication : December 5 2024
