Historians have long argued about the place of trade in classical antiquity: was it the life-blood of a complex, Mediterranean-wide economic system, or a thin veneer on the surface of an underdeveloped agrarian society? Trade underpinned the growth of Athenian and Roman power, helping to supply armies and cities. It furnished the goods that ancient elites needed to maintain their dominance - and yet, those same elites generally regarded trade and traders as a threat to social order. Trade, like the patterns of consumption that determined its development, was implicated in wider debates about politics, morality and the state of society, just as the expansion of trade in the modern world is presented both as the answer to global poverty and as an instrument of exploitation and cultural imperialism. This 2007 book explores the nature and importance of ancient trade, considering its ecological and cultural significance as well as its economic aspects.
| ISBN: | 9780521634168 |
| Publication date: | 19th April 2007 |
| Author: | Neville University of Bristol Morley |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 136 pages |
| Series: | Key Themes in Ancient History |
| Genres: |
Ancient history General and world history |
Historians have long argued about the place of trade in classical antiquity: was it the life-blood of a complex, Mediterranean-wide economic system, or a thin veneer on the surface of an underdeveloped agrarian society? Trade underpinned the growth of Athenian and Roman power, helping to supply armies and cities. It furnished the goods that ancient elites needed to maintain their dominance - and yet, those same elites generally regarded trade and traders as a threat to social order. Trade, like the patterns of consumption that determined its development, was implicated in wider debates about politics, morality and the state of society, just as the expansion of trade in the modern world is presented both as the answer to global poverty and as an instrument of exploitation and cultural imperialism. This 2007 book explores the nature and importance of ancient trade, considering its ecological and cultural significance as well as its economic aspects.
Trade in Classical Antiquity features in the following genres: Ancient history, General and world history
Trade in Classical Antiquity is available in Hardback, Paperback
Trade in Classical Antiquity was written by Neville University of Bristol Morley and published by Cambridge University Press
Trade in Classical Antiquity has 136 pages
Yes it is part of Key Themes in Ancient History series