The Open Sea : The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World From the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome

**A major new economic history of the ancient Mediterranean world** In __The Open Sea__, J. G. Manning offers a major new history of economic life in the Mediterranean world in the Iron Age, from Phoenician trading down to the Hellenistic era and the beginning of Rome's imperial supremacy. Drawing on a wide range of ancient sources and the latest social theory, Manning suggests that a search for an illusory single "ancient economy" has obscured the diversity of lived experience in the Mediterranean world, including both changes in political economies over time and differences in cultural conceptions of property and money. At the same time, he shows how the region's economies became increasingly interconnected during this period. __The Open Sea__ argues that the keys to understanding the region's rapid social and economic change during the Iron Age are the variety of economic and political solutions its different cultures devised, the patterns of cross-cultural exchange, and the sharp environmental contrasts between Egypt, the Near East, and Greece and Rome. The book examines long-run drivers of change, such as climate, together with the most important economic institutions of the premodern Mediterranean--coinage, money, agriculture, and private property. It also explores the role of economic growth, states, and legal institutions in the region's various economies. A groundbreaking economic history of the ancient Mediterranean world, __The Open Sea__ shows that the origins of the modern economy extend far beyond Greece and Rome. History & Theory. Introduction. History, Theory, And Institutions: Approaching The Ancient Economy -- New Directions And Broader Contexts In The Study Of Premodern Economies -- Ancient Economies: Taking Stock From Phoenician Traders To The Rise Of The Roman Empire -- Bronze, Iron, And Silver: Time, Space, And Geography And Ancient Mediterranean Economies -- Environment & Institutions -- Agriculture And Labor -- The Boundaries Of Premodern Economies: Ecology, Climate, And Climate Change -- The Birth Of Economic Man: Demography, The State, The Household, And The Individual -- The Evolution Of Economic Thought In The Ancient World: Money, Law, And Legal Institutions -- Growth, Innovation, Markets, And Trade -- Conclusions -- Appendix. Climate Data. J.g. Manning. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.