The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire [Hardcover]

Explores the economy of the Seleukid Empire and provides a quantified model of the royal economy.The Seleukid empire, the principal successor-state of the empire of Alexander the Great, endured for over 200 years and stretched, at its peak, from the Mediterranean to the borders of India. This wide-ranging study of the economy of the empire shows how the rulers exploited their lands and subjects, undertook the building of cities, introduced coinage, financed their armies and administration and managed their finances. Adopting a highly-original numerical approach and drawing on different types of evidence, the book presents a model of the workings of an ancient state.The Seleukid empire, the principal successor-state of the empire of Alexander the Great, endured for over 200 years and stretched, at its peak, from the Mediterranean to the borders of India. This wide-ranging study of the economy of the empire shows how the rulers exploited their lands and subjects, undertook the building of cities, introduced coinage, financed their armies and administration and managed their finances. Adopting a highly-original numerical approach and drawing on different types of evidence, the book presents a model of the workings of an ancient state.The Seleukid empire, the principal successor-state of the empire of Alexander the Great, endured for over 200 years and extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the borders of India at its peak. This wide-ranging study of the economy of the empire reveals how the rulers exploited their lands and subjects, undertook the building of cities, introduced coinage, financed their armies and administration and managed their finances.Part I. Preliminaries: 1. Sources and methods; 2. Historical summary; 3. The posing of a problem; Part II. The Underlying Economy: 4. Geography and population; 5. Production and exchange; 6. The granting of land; Part III. The Royal Economy: 7. Ps-Aristotle's Oikonomika, book II; 8. Revenue; 9. The handling of surpluses;l“&