The Grain Market in the Roman Empire A Social, Political and Economic Study [Paperback]

This book offers a contemporary approach to the crucial issue of the supply of grain in the Roman Empire.Grain was crucial to the food supply of the Roman Empire, and this study concentrates on its production, distribution and marketing. Key questions discussed include: who produced the grain sold in urban markets; was the grain market capable of supplying grain when local harvests failed; did the Roman authorities care whether ordinary people went hungry? Taking a contemporary approach to the age-old question of the supply of food, this study is essential reading for historians of ancient economies and all those interested in grain supply.Grain was crucial to the food supply of the Roman Empire, and this study concentrates on its production, distribution and marketing. Key questions discussed include: who produced the grain sold in urban markets; was the grain market capable of supplying grain when local harvests failed; did the Roman authorities care whether ordinary people went hungry? Taking a contemporary approach to the age-old question of the supply of food, this study is essential reading for historians of ancient economies and all those interested in grain supply.Paul Erdkamp illustrates how entitlement to food in Roman society was dependent on relations with the emperor, his representatives and the landowning aristocracy, and local rulers controlling the towns and hinterlands. He assesses the response of the Roman authorities to weaknesses in the grain market and looks at the implications of the failure of local harvests. By examining the subject from a contemporary perspective, this book will appeal not only to historians of ancient economies, but to all concerned with the economy of grain markets, a subject which still resonates today.Introduction; 1. Production and productivity in Roman agriculture; 2. The world of the smallholder; 3. Farmers and their market relations; 4. Market integration: connecting supply and demand; 5. Rome and the corn provinces;lÃd