The Roman Bazaar: A Comparative Study of Trade and Markets in a Tributary Empire (Cambridge Classical Studies)

It has long been held by historians that trade and markets in the Roman Empire resembled those found later in early modern Europe. Using the concept of the bazaar, however, Peter Bang argues that the development spawned by Roman hegemony proves clear similarities with large, pre-colonial or tributary empires such as the Ottoman, the Mughal in India, and the Ming/Ch'ing in China. By comparing Roman market formation particularly with conditions in the Mughal Empire, Bang changes our comparative horizons and situates the ongoing debate over the Roman economy firmly within wider discussions about world history and the 'great divergence' between east and west. The broad scope of this 2008 book takes in a wide range of topics, from communal networks and family connections to imperial cultures of consumption, and will therefore be of great interest to scholars and students of ancient history and pre-industrial economics. "It has long been held by historians that trade and markets in the Roman Empire resembled those found later in early modern Europe. Using the concept of the bazaar, however, Peter Bang argues that the development spawned by Roman hegemony proves clear similarities with large, pre-colonial or tributary empires such as the Ottoman, the Mughal in India, and the Ming/Ch'ing in China. By comparing Roman market formation particularly with conditions in the Mughal Empire, Bang changes our comparative horizons and situates the ongoing debate over the Roman economy firmly within wider discussions about world history and the 'great divergence' between east and west. The broad scope of this book takes in a wide range of topics, from communal networks and family connections to imperial cultures of consumption, and will therefore be of great interest to scholars and students of ancient history and pre-industrial economics."--Jacket Prolegomena Part I. The Roman Empire and the Comparative Study of Pre-Industrial Society: 1. Beyond the ancient economy? Trade in the Roman empire and the problem of comparative history 2. An agrarian empire between market and tribute - situating interregional trade in the Roman empire Part II. Imperial Bazaar: 3. A rough trading world - opaque, volatile and discontinuously connected markets 4. A thin line - portorium, protection and predation 5. Community - cult, courts, credit and collaboration in the bazaar Epilegomena: taking stock - the world of goods. SKM-PR084317110218230_0001 1 SKM-PR084317110218230_0002 21 SKM-PR084317110218230_0003 41 SKM-PR084317110218230_0004 61 SKM-PR084317110218360_0001 72 SKM-PR084317110218360_0002 92 SKM-PR084317110218360_0003 112 SKM-PR084317110218360_0004 132 SKM-PR084317110218360_0005 152 SKM-PR084317110218360_0006 172 It has long been held that conditions in the Roman economy resembled those found in early modern Europe. In this intriguing study, Peter Bang interrogates this claim and argues that Roman trade and markets could more accurately be compared to those of the Mughal Empire in India.

Interrogates the widely held assumption that economic conditions in the Roman Empire resembled those found in early modern Europe.