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Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean

Private Order and Public Institutions

Taco Terpstra

$72.99

Hardback

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English
Princeton University Pres
18 June 2019
How ancient Mediterranean trade thrived through state institutionsFrom around 700 BCE until the first centuries CE, the Mediterranean enjoyed steady economic growth through trade, reaching a level not to be regained until the early modern era. This process of growth coincided with a process of state formation, culminating in the largest state the ancient Mediterranean would ever know, the Roman Empire. Subsequent economic decline coincided with state disintegration. How are the two processes related?

In Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean, Taco Terpstra investigates how the organizational structure of trade benefited from state institutions. Although enforcement typically depended on private actors, traders could utilize a public infrastructure, which included not only courts and legal frameworks but also socially cohesive ideologies. Terpstra details how business practices emerged that were based on private order, yet took advantage of public institutions.

Focusing on the activity of both private and public economic actors-from Greek city councilors and Ptolemaic officials to long-distance traders and Roman magistrates and financiers-Terpstra illuminates the complex relationship between economic development and state structures in the ancient Mediterranean.
By:  
Imprint:   Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication:   United States
Volume:   79
Dimensions:   Height: 235mm,  Width: 155mm, 
ISBN:   9780691172088
ISBN 10:   0691172080
Series:   The Princeton Economic History of the Western World
Pages:   296
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Taco Terpstra is assistant professor of classics and history at Northwestern University. He is the author of Trading Communities in the Roman World.

Reviews for Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean: Private Order and Public Institutions

"""[Terpstra's] case studies are valuable and thought-provoking contributions to ongoing debates about trade practice in the ancient world.""---Miko Flohr, Sehepunkte ""The book certainly comprises a stimulating and well written account, including rich historical details. It thus is definitely a welcome addition to the ongoing debate on the ancient economy.""---Lieve Donnellan, Ancient West and East"


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