Editing Roman commerce

{{Short description|Major sector of the Roman economy}}
{{Original research|date=July 2023|reason=There is lots of prose throughout the article without any citation.}}[[File:Ménade danzante, Casa del Naviglio, Pompeya.jpg|thumb|A Roman fresco from [[Pompeii]], 1st century AD, depicting a [[Maenad]] in [[History of silk|silk dress]], [[Naples National Archaeological Museum]]; silks came from the [[Han dynasty]] of China along the [[Silk Road]], a valuable trade commodity in the Roman empire, whereas [[Roman glass]]wares made their way [[Sino-Roman relations|to Han China]] via land [[Indo-Roman trade relations|and sea]].<ref>An, Jiayao. (2002), "When Glass Was Treasured in China," in Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner (eds), ''Silk Road Studies VII: Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men Along China's Silk Road'', 79–94, Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, {{ISBN|2503521789}}, pp 83-84.</ref>]]
'''Roman commerce''' was a major sector of the [[Roman economy]] during the later generations of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]] and throughout most of the [[Roman Empire|imperial period]]. Fashions and trends in [[historiography]] and in popular culture have tended to neglect the economic basis of the empire in favor of the [[lingua franca]] of [[Latin]] and the exploits of the [[Roman legions]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} The language and the legions were supported by trade and were part of its backbone. The Romans were businessmen, and the longevity of their empire was caused by their commercial [[trade]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Whereas in theory members of the [[Roman Senate]] and their sons were restricted when engaging in trade,<ref>Livy, ''The History of Rome'' [http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Liv3His.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=63&division=div2 21.63] {{dead link|date=July 2016}}</ref> the members of the [[equestrian (Roman)|equestrian]] order were involved in businesses despite their upper-class values, which laid the emphasis on military pursuits and leisure activities. [[Plebs|Plebeians]] and freedmen held shop or manned stalls at markets, and vast numbers of [[slavery in ancient Rome|slaves]] did most of the hard work. The slaves were themselves also the subject of commercial transactions. Probably because of their high proportion in society compared to that in [[Classical Greece]], the reality of runaways, and the [[Servile Wars]] and minor uprisings, they gave a distinct flavor to Roman commerce.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

The intricate, complex, and extensive accounting of Roman trade was conducted with counting boards and the [[Roman abacus]]. The abacus, which used [[Roman numerals]], was ideally suited to the counting of [[Roman currency]] and tallying of [[ancient Roman units of measurement|Roman measures]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

== Negotiatores, mercatores and pedlars ==
{{further|Banking in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Arco degli Argentarii - lato esterno - Panairjdde.jpeg|thumb|left|[[Arcus Argentariorum]] in Rome, a private offering of the ''argentarii'' and ''negotiantes'' of the [[Forum Boarium]]]]
The ''negotiatores'' were in part bankers because they [[usury|lent money on interest]]. They also bought and sold staples in bulk or did commerce in wholesale quantities of goods.  The ''[[Banking in ancient Rome#Argentarii|argentarii]]'' acted as agents in public or private auctions, kept deposits of money for individuals, cashed cheques (''prescriptiones'') and served as moneychangers. In some instances the ''argentarii'' are considered a subset of the ''negotiatores'' and in others as a group apart. The ''argentarii sometimes'' did the same kind of work as the ''[[Banking in ancient Rome#Mensarii|mensarii]]'', who were public bankers appointed by the state. They kept strict books, called ''tabulae'', which were treated as legal proof by the courts.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

The ''Mercatores'' were usually [[Plebs|Plebeians]] or [[freedmen]]. They were present in all the open-air markets or covered shops, manning stalls or hawking goods by the side of the road. They were also present near Roman military camps during campaigns. They sold food and clothing to the soldiers and paid cash for any booty coming from military activities.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

There is some information on the economy of Roman Palestine from Jewish sources of around the 3rd century AD. Itinerant pedlars (''rochel'') took spices and perfumes to the rural population.<ref>{{cite book |first=Ze'ev |last=Safrai |title=The Economy of Roman Palestine |url=https://archive.org/details/economyromanpale00nfaz |url-access=limited |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1994 |page=[https://archive.org/details/economyromanpale00nfaz/page/n89 78] |isbn=0203204867 }}</ref> This suggests that the economic benefits of the Empire did reach, at least, the upper levels of the peasantry.

== Commercial infrastructure ==
{{further information|Roman economy}}
[[File:Europe 180ad roman trade map.png|thumb|300px|Principal Roman trade routes, internal and external in 180 AD]]
The [[Roman Forum|Forum Cuppedinis]] in [[ancient Rome]] was a market which offered general goods. At least four other large markets specialized in specific goods such as [[cattle]], [[wine]], [[fish]] and herbs and vegetables, but the [[Roman Forum]] drew the bulk of the traffic. 
All new cities, like [[Timgad]], were laid out according to an [[orthogonal]] [[grid plan]] which facilitated transportation and commerce. These cities were connected by good [[Roman roads|roads]]. Navigable rivers were extensively used and some canals were dug, but neither leave such clear archaeological traces as roads. Consequently, they tend to be underestimated. Maintaining peace was a major factor in the expansion of trade. All settlements—especially the smaller ones—could be located in economically rational positions. Before and after the Roman Empire, hilltop defensive positions were preferred for small settlements and [[piracy]] made coastal settlement particularly hazardous for all but the largest cities.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

By the 1st century, the provinces of the Roman Empire were trading huge volumes of commodities to one another via sea routes. There was an increasing tendency for specialization, particularly in manufacturing, agriculture and [[Mining in ancient Rome|mining]]. Some provinces specialized in producing certain types of goods, such as grain in [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]] and [[North Africa]] and [[Ancient Rome and wine|wine]] and olive oil in Italy, [[Hispania]], and Greece.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Knowledge of the [[Roman economy]] is extremely patchy. The vast bulk of traded goods, being agricultural, normally leave no direct remains. Very exceptionally, as at Berenice, there is evidence of long-distance trade in [[black pepper]], [[almond]]s, [[hazelnut]]s, [[stone pine]] cones, [[walnut]]s, [[coconut]]s, [[apricot]]s and [[peach]]es besides the more expected [[fig]]s, [[raisin]]s and [[date (fruit)|date]]s. The wine, olive oil and [[garum]] (fermented fish sauce) trades were exceptional in leaving ''[[amphora]]e'' behind. There is a single reference of the Syrian export of kipi stiff [[Quince cheese|quince jam]] or [[marmalade]] to Rome.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Grant |title=Galen on Food and Diet |url=https://archive.org/details/galenonfooddiet00gran_408 |url-access=limited |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=2000 |page=[https://archive.org/details/galenonfooddiet00gran_408/page/n139 129] |isbn=0415232325 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=R. T. J. |last=Cappers |title=Foodprints at Berenike: Archaeobotanical evidence of subsistence and trade in the Eastern desert of Egypt |series=Monograph |volume=55 |publisher=Cotsen Institute of Archaeology UCLA |year=2006 |isbn=1931745269 |location=Los Angeles }}</ref>

=== Land routes ===
{{see also|Sino-Roman relations}}
Even before the [[Roman Republic]], the [[Roman Kingdom]] was engaged in regular commerce using the river [[Tiber]]. Before the [[Punic Wars]] completely changed the nature of commerce in the Mediterranean, the Republic had important commercial exchanges with [[Carthage]]. It entered into several commercial and political agreements with its rival city in addition to engaging in simple retail trading. The [[Roman Empire]] traded with the [[Han dynasty|Chinese]] (via [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] and other intermediaries) over the [[Silk Road]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== Sea routes ===
{{Further|Indo-Roman trade relations}}
[[File:Neumagener Weinschiff.jpg|thumb|250px|River vessel carrying barrels, assumed to be wine]]
[[Maritime archeology]] and ancient [[manuscripts]] from [[classical antiquity]] show evidence of vast Roman commercial fleets. The most substantial remains from this commerce are the infrastructure remains of harbors, moles, warehouses and lighthouses at ports such as [[Civitavecchia]], [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]], [[Portus]], [[Leptis Magna]] and [[Caesarea Maritima]]. At Rome itself, [[Monte Testaccio]] is a tribute to the scale of this commerce. As with most [[Roman technology]], the Roman seagoing commercial ships had no significant advances over Greek ships of the previous centuries, though the lead sheeting of hulls for protection seems to have been more common. The Romans used round hulled sailing ships.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} Continuous Mediterranean "police" protection over several centuries was one of the main factors of success of Roman commerce, given that [[Roman roads]] were designed more for feet or hooves – with most land trade moving by pack mule – than for wheels, and could not support the economical transport of goods over long distances. The Roman ships used would have been easy prey for pirates had it not been for the fleets of [[liburna]] galleys and [[trireme]]s of the Roman [[navy]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

[[File:Corbita BM GR1850.3-4.32.jpg|thumb|left|A small coaster]]
Bulky, low-value commodities, like grain and construction materials, were traded only by sea routes, since the cost of sea transportation was sixty times lower than land.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sociological Studies in Roman History|last=Hopkins|first=Keith|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2017|isbn=9781139093552|pages=169}}</ref> Staple goods and commodities like [[cereals]] for making [[bread]] and [[papyrus]] scrolls for book production were imported from [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] to Italy in a continuous fashion.

The trade over the [[Indian Ocean]] blossomed in the 1st and 2nd century AD. The sailors made use of the [[monsoon]] to cross the ocean from the ports of [[Berenice Troglodytica|Berenice]], [[Leukos Limen]]<ref>Young, Gary K. - "Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy 31 BC - AD 305" - Ed. Routledge, (2003) {{ISBN|1134547935}}, 9781134547937 p. 35-48</ref> and [[Myos Hormos]] on the [[Red Sea]] coast of [[Aegyptus (Roman province)|Roman Egypt]] to the ports of [[Muziris]] and Nelkynda in the [[Malabar Coast]]. The main trading partners in southern India were the [[Tamils|Tamil]] dynasties of the [[Pandyas]], [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and [[Chera dynasty|Cheras]]. Many Roman artifacts have been found in India; for example, at the archaeological site of [[Arikamedu]], in [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]. Meticulous descriptions of the ports and items of trade around the Indian Ocean can be found in the Greek work ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'' (see article on [[Indo-Roman trade]]).{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== Standard weights and measures ===
{{main|Ancient Roman units of measurement}}

A standard [[amphora]], the ''amphora capitolina'', was kept in the temple of Jupiter on the [[Capitoline Hill]] in Rome, so that others could be compared to it. The [[Ancient Roman units of measurement|Roman system of measurement]] was built on the [[Ancient Greek units of measurement|Greek system]] with Egyptian influences. Much of it was based on weight. The Roman units were accurate and well documented. Distances were measured, and systematically inscribed on stone by agents of the government.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

A fairly standard and fairly stable and abundant currency, at least up to circa 200 AD, did much to facilitate trade. (Egypt had its own currency in this period and some provincial cities also issued their own coins.){{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

== Contacts with India and China ==
[[Alexander the Great]] had conquered as far as India, and the Roman god [[Dionysus#Childhood|Bacchus]] was also said to have journeyed there. The Far East, like sub-Saharan Africa, was a mysterious land to the Romans.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== India ===
{{main|Roman trade with India}}
[[File:Gold coin of Claudius 50 51CE excavated in South India.jpg|thumb|left|[[Aureus|Gold coin]] of [[Claudius]] (50-51 CE) excavated in South India]]
There was an Indian in [[Augustus]]'s retinue [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Alexander*/10.html#69.9 (Plut. Alex. 69.9)], and he received embassies from India [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Augustus/Res_Gestae/5*.html#31 (Res Gestae, 31)]; one which met him in Spain in 25 BC, and one at Samos in 20 BC.

The trade over the [[Indian Ocean]] blossomed in the 1st and 2nd century AD. The sailors made use of the [[monsoon]] to cross the ocean from the ports of [[Berenice Panchrysos|Berenice]], Leulos Limen and [[Myos Hormos]] on the [[Red Sea]] coast of [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman Egypt]] to the ports of [[Muziris]] and Nelkynda on the [[Malabar coast]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/unearthingmysteries.shtml |title=Radio 4 - Unearthing Mysteries |publisher=BBC |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4970452.stm |title=South Asia &#124; Search for India's ancient city |publisher=BBC News |date=2006-06-11 |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref> The main trading partners in southern India were the [[Tamil people|Tamil dynasties]] of the [[Pandyan Dynasty|Pandyas]], [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and [[Chera dynasty|Cheras]].  Meticulous descriptions of the ports and items of trade around the Indian Ocean can be found in the Greek ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]''. In Latin texts, the term Indians (''Indi'') designated all Asians, Indian and beyond.

The main articles imported from India were spices such as pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, sandal wood and gems such as pearls, rubies, diamonds, emeralds and ivory. In exchange the Romans traded silver and gold. Hoards of Roman coins have been found in southern India during the history of Roman-India trade. Roman objects have been found in India in the seaside port city of [[Arikamedu]], which was one of the trade centers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haywood |first=John |page=46
|quote=Arikamedu was a trading port in the 1st century AD: many Roman artifacts have been excavated there.
|title=Historical atlas of the classical world, 500 BC–AD 600 |year=2000 |isbn=0-7607-1973-X |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books}}</ref>

[[Pomponius Mela]] argued for the existence of [[Northeast Passage]] through the northward strait out of the [[Caspian Sea]] (which in Antiquity was usually thought to be open to [[Oceanus]] in the north). 
<ref>[http://ourworld-top.cs.com/latintexts/m305.htm Book III, Chapter 5] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060728215936/http://ourworld-top.cs.com/latintexts/m305.htm |date=2006-07-28 }}, copied by [[Pliny the Elder]].</ref>

=== China ===
{{see also|Romano-Chinese relations|Roman glass|Smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire}}
[[File:Green glass Roman cup unearthed at Eastern Han tomb, Guixian, China.jpg|thumb|Green [[Roman glass]] cup unearthed from an [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25-220 AD) tomb, [[Guangxi]], China; the first Roman glassware discovered in China, dated early 1st century BC, was excavated from a [[Western Han]] tomb in the southern port city of [[Guangzhou]], most likely [[Sino-Roman relations|arriving]] via the [[Indian Ocean]] and [[South China Sea]].<ref name="an 2002 p83">An, Jiayao. (2002), "When Glass Was Treasured in China," in Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner (eds), ''Silk Road Studies VII: Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men Along China's Silk Road'', 79–94, Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, {{ISBN|2503521789}}, p. 83.</ref>]]
There is suggestive archaeological evidence that Roman traders were present in [[Southeast Asia]], which was roughly mapped out by [[Ptolemy]] in his ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' where he labelled the land bordering the ''[[Magnus Sinus]]'' (i.e., the [[Gulf of Thailand]] and [[South China Sea]]) as the ''[[Sinae]]''.<ref>Raoul McLaughlin (2010), ''Rome and the Distant East: Trade Routes to the Ancient Lands of Arabia, India, and China'', London & New York: Continuum, {{ISBN|9781847252357}}, pp 58-59.</ref> Their port city of "[[Cattigara]]", lying beyond the [[Golden Chersonese]] ([[Malay Peninsula]]) where a Greek sailor named Alexander allegedly visited, was quite possibly the ancient settlement at [[Oc Eo]], [[Vietnam]], where Roman artefacts from the [[Antonine]] period such as [[medal]]lions from the reigns of [[Antoninus Pius]] ({{Reign}}138–161) and [[Marcus Aurelius]] ({{Reign}}161–180) have been found.<ref>Gary K. Young (2001), ''Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy, 31 BC - AD 305'', London & New York: Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415-24219-3}}, p. 29.</ref> An event recorded in [[Twenty-Four Histories|the Chinese]] ''[[Weilue]]'' and ''[[Book of Later Han]]'' for the year 166 seems directly connected to this activity, since these texts claim that [[Sino-Roman relations|an embassy]] from "[[Daqin]]" (i.e., the Roman Empire) sent by their ruler "An Dun" ([[Historical Chinese phonology|Chinese]]: 安敦; i.e., either Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius) landed in the [[Rinan|southern province]] of [[Jiaozhi]] (i.e., northern Vietnam) and presented tributary gifts to the Chinese ruler [[Emperor Huan of Han]].<ref name="halsall 2000">{{cite web|orig-year=1885|date=2000|author=Friedrich Hirth|editor=Jerome S. Arkenberg|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html |title=East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. - 1643 C.E. |publisher=[[Fordham University]]|website=Fordham.edu|access-date=2016-09-19}}</ref> [[Rafe de Crespigny]] and [[Warwick Ball]] contend that these were most likely Roman merchants, not official diplomats sent by Marcus Aurelius (given the absence of this event in Roman sources).<ref>[[Rafe de Crespigny|de Crespigny, Rafe]] (2007), ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)'', Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, {{ISBN|978-90-04-15605-0}}, p. 600,</ref><ref name="ball 2016 p152">Warwick Ball (2016), ''Rome in the East: Transformation of an Empire'', 2nd edition, London & New York: Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-72078-6}}, p. 152.</ref>

Despite two other Roman embassies recorded in Chinese sources for the 3rd century and several more by the later [[Byzantine Empire]] ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 拂菻; [[Pinyin]]: ''Fú lǐn''),<ref name="halsall 2000"/><ref name="ball 2016 p152"/> only sixteen Roman coins from the reigns of [[Tiberius]] ({{Reign}}14–37 AD) to [[Aurelian]] ({{Reign}}270–275 AD) have been found in China at [[Xi'an]] that pre-date the greater amount of Eastern Roman (i.e., Byzantine) coins from the 4th century onwards.<ref name="ball 2016 p154">Warwick Ball (2016), ''Rome in the East: Transformation of an Empire'', 2nd edition, London & New York: Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-72078-6}}, p. 154.</ref><ref>The following source, although printed in 2012, is outdated compared to Ball (2016: 154) in regards to the [[Principate]]-era coins found at Xi'an: [[Valerie Hansen]] (2012), ''The Silk Road: A New History'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 97-98, {{ISBN|978-0-19-993921-3}}.</ref> Yet this is also dwarfed by the amount of Roman coins found in India, which would suggest that this was the region where the Romans purchased most of their Chinese silk.<ref name="ball 2016 p154"/> For that matter, the [[spice trade]] remained more important to the [[Roman economy]] than the silk one.<ref>Warwick Ball (2016), ''Rome in the East: Transformation of an Empire'', 2nd edition, London & New York: Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-72078-6}}, pp 154, 156.</ref>

From the 3rd century a Chinese text, the [[Weilüe]], describes the products of the Roman Empire and the routes to it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html#products |title=Weilue: The Peoples of the West |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |date=2004-05-23 |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>

== Commerce and religion ==
[[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], who was originally only the god of the ''mercatores'' and the [[grain trade]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} eventually became the god of all who were involved in commercial activities.  On the [[Mercuralia]] on May 14, a Roman merchant would do the proper rituals of devotion to Mercury and  beseech the god to remove from him and from his belongings the guilt coming from all the cheating he had done to his customers and suppliers.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

== The elite and a dual mentality on trade ==
While [[Livy]] makes reference to the [[Lex Claudia]] (218 BC) restricting senators and sons of senators from owning a ship with greater than 300 amphorae capacity (about seven tons), they were still undoubtedly partaking in trade as [[Cicero]] mentions this law when attacking [[Verres]], although he makes no move to charge him.<ref>II Verr.V18</ref>

Senators were still allowed to own and make use of ships under the size restriction, Cato when advising where to build a farm specifically mentions to have it built near an accessible river, road or port to allow transport of goods<ref>Cato De.Agr 1.3</ref> which is in direct conflict to Livy's assertion that all profit made through trade by a senator was dishonorable.<ref>21.63.3-4</ref> Senators often utilized free and enslaved agents as a loophole to legal restrictions, thereby allowing themselves to diversify their sources of income.<ref>John H. D’Arms, Commerce and Social Standing in Ancient Rome, Harvard University Press, 1981, chapter 3</ref>

That is not to say that the acquisition of wealth was not to be desired, Pliny notes that a Roman man should by honorable means acquire a large fortune<ref>Pliny NH 7.140</ref> and Polybius draws a comparison between the attitudes of Carthage and Rome towards profit from trade.<ref>6.56.1-3)</ref>  Thus starts the confusion in the role of the elite in trade as Terence writes that there is nothing wrong with large scale trade; it is in fact completely honorable and legitimate to import large quantities of product from around the world especially if it happens to lead to a successful trader buying land and investing in Roman agriculture; what is dishonorable is trade on a small scale.<ref>Terrence 151</ref> Small trade is again shown as vulgar by [[Tacitus]] as he describes the involvement of [[Sempronius Gracchus]] in petty trade.<ref>Tacitus annas 4.13.2</ref>

Cato himself was involved with trade, although he himself cautioned against it as it was a risky occupation,<ref>de.Agr. Praefatio</ref> perhaps this was part of the reasoning to keep senators excluded from the trade business, as if they had a severe misfortune with trading they could fall below the financial threshold of being a senator, whereas comparatively land owning  was a far safer investment. Plutarch describes Cato's involvement in trade in great detail, depicting how he would use a proxy (a freedman by the name of Quintio) to run his business through a group of fifty other men.<ref>Plutarch Cato the Elder 21.5ff</ref>

The restriction on senators trading was itself passed initially through the tribune of the plebeians, a class of people who the restrictions would not apply to. It is suspected that this reform could have been the equites and other wealthy merchants trying to muscle the senators out from the rapidly expanding trade business.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

== Commercial classes ==
The majority of the people of the Roman Empire were living in rural areas, with a small part of the population engaged in commerce being much poorer than the elite. The industrial output was quite low, due to the fact that the poor majority could not pay for the products. Technological advance was hampered by this fact. Urbanization in the western part of the empire was also limited. Slaves accounting for most of the means of industrial output, rather than technology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haywood |first=John |page=27
|quote=the empire's commercial classes remained small and enjoyed neither wealth nor the status of the landowning aristocracy...most production in the empire was small scale and under-capitalized, the rich preferring to invest in land. It is in any case doubtful, in view of the poverty of most of the empire's population, whether the markets existed to support a greater degree of industrial production. This is probably one of the factors behind the surprising lack of technological innovation in the empire...The ready availability of cheap slave labor may also have deterred investment in expensive machinery....But most of the west was too poor and under-populated to support this level of urbanization and towns remained primarily administrative or military centers.
|title=Historical atlas of the classical world, 500 BC–AD 600 |year=2000 |isbn=0-7607-1973-X |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
*[[Roman Britain#Trade|Roman Britain: Trade]]
*[[Roman currency]]
*[[Roman finance]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*Bowman, Alan K., and Andrew Wilson. ''Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods and Problems''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
*Callataÿ, François de. ''Quantifying the Greco-Roman Economy and Beyond''. Bari: Edipuglia, 2014.
*Duncan-Jones, Richard. ''Structure and Scale In the Roman Economy''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
*Garnsey, Peter, and Richard P. Saller. ''The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture''. 2nd edition. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2015.
*Greene, Kevin. ''The Archaeology of the Roman Economy''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
*Jones, A. H. M. ''The Roman Economy: Studies In Ancient Economic and Administrative History''. Oxford: Blackwell, 1974.
*Lewit, Tamara. ''Agricultural Production In the Roman Economy, A.D. 200-400''. Oxford: Tempus Reparatum, 1991.
*Peacock, D. P. S., and D. F. Williams. ''Amphorae and the Roman Economy: An Introductory Guide''. London: Longman, 1986.
*Russell, Ben. ''The Economics of the Roman Stone Trade''. 1st edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 
*Scheidel, Walter. ''The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
*Scheidel, Walter, Richard P. Saller, and Ian Morris. ''The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
*Temin, Peter. ''The Roman Market Economy''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
*Tomber, R. ''Indo-Roman Trade: From Pots to Pepper''. London: Duckworth, 2008.
*Vrba, Eric Michael. ''Ancient German Identity In the Shadow of the Roman Empire: The Impact of Roman Trade and Contact Along the Middle Danube Frontier, 10 BC - AD 166''. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2008.
* Warnking, Pascal (2015). ''Der römische Seehandel in seiner Blütezeit: Rahmenbedingungen, Seerouten, Wirtschaftlichkeit.'' Rahden/Westf: Verlag Marie Leidorf, {{ISBN|978-3-86757-264-4}}.

== External links ==
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*[http://romans.etrusia.co.uk/amphora_trade_p1.php The Romano-British Amphora Trade to A.D. 43] An Overview
*[http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/Ancient_Roman_Currency_Economy.htm Ancient Roman Currency and Economy]

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