Product Description

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 book explores the nature and importance of ancient trade, considering its ecological and cultural significance as well as its economic aspects.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #239664 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 136 pages

About the Author
Neville Morley is a Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Bristol. His previous publications include Metropolis and Hinterland: the City of Rome and the Italian Economy (Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Models and Concepts in Ancient History (2004).

Customer Reviews

Trade in Classical Antiquity
I love Neville Morely's work. This book is extremely accessable and easy to understand. This book is an excellent grounding for first steps towards researching and beginning to undertstand trade in the ancient world. Professor Morley's 'Theories, Models and Concepts in Ancient History' is another such book that is certainly worth looking at.