Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 B.C.–A.D. 400)

TLDR

The essay offers a speculative, preliminary exploration of Roman economic history from 200 B.C. to A.D. 400. The purpose is to present experimental propositions that may prompt further scrutiny or revision by other scholars.

Abstract

This essay is speculative and tentative, a preliminary attempt at exploring a broad territory of Roman economic history over a long period. For the sake of clarity, I have canvassed several probabilities in the form of propositions, but the evidence is so sparse that it is difficult to prove that each proposition is right. It is disappointing to confess at the outset that one's case is unproven and that the generalizations advanced are disproportionately large in relation to the supporting evidence. Even so, the experiments made here with both evidence and methods may stimulate others into refuting or reshaping the propositions. And besides, some of the methods can be usefully applied to other problems in Roman history.