Economy and society in the age of Justinian PDF
Preview Economy and society in the age of Justinian
This page intentionally left blank ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN The reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527–65) stands out inlateRomanandmedievalhistory.Justinianreconqueredfar-flung territories from the barbarians, overhauled the Empire’s administra- tive framework, and codified for posterity the inherited tradition of Romanlaw.ThisworkrepresentsthefirstmodernstudyinEnglishof thesocialandeconomichistoryoftheEasternRomanEmpireinthe reignoftheEmperorJustinian.Drawinguponpapyrological,numis- matic,legal,literary,andarchaeologicalevidence,thestudyseeksto reconstructtheemergentnatureofrelationsbetweenlandownersand peasants, and aristocrats and emperors, in the late antique Eastern Empire.Itprovidesasocialandeconomiccontextinwhichtosituate the Emperor Justinian’s mid-sixth-century reform programme, and questions the implications of the Eastern Empire’s pattern of social andeconomicdevelopmentunderJustinianforitssubsequent,post- Justinianichistory. peter sarrisisLecturerinMedievalHistoryandaFellowofTrinity College,Cambridge,andAllSoulsCollege,Oxford. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN PETER SARRIS cambridgeuniversitypress Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,SãoPaulo Cambridge University Press TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb22ru,UK PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521865432 ©PeterSarris2006 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisionof relevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace withoutthewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublishedinprintformat 2006 isbn-13 978-0-511-24346-2eBook (Adobe Reader) isbn-10 0-511-24346-4eBook (Adobe Reader) isbn-13 978-0-521-86543-2hardback isbn-10 0-521-86543-3hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurls forexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,anddoesnot guaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Contents Listoffigures pagevi Preface vii Introduction 1 1 Egypt and the political economy of empire 10 2 TheApionarchive:economicstructureandestateaccounts 29 3 Labourandadministration:theevidenceofthecontractual papyri 50 4 Lettersandpetitions:socialrelationsinthesixth-century Oxyrhynchite 71 5 TheApionesandtheiranalogues 81 6 Onthemarginsofmagnatepower:DioscorusandAphrodito 96 7 Landscapesofpower:thegreatestatebeyondEgypt 115 8 Thehistoriographyofthegreatestate 131 9 Thegreatestateandtheimperialauthorities 149 10 Theriseofthegreatestate 177 11 EconomyandsocietyintheageofJustinian 200 Conclusion 228 Bibliography 235 Index 253 v Figures 1 P.Oxy.LVII4616 pageix 2 MapofJustinian’sempirein565 x 3 MapofEgypt xi 4 TheApionfamily 23 5 TheadministrativestructureoftheApionhousehold 79 6 Therateofexchangebetweencopperandgoldc.500–600 225 7 Copperweightpersolidusc.500–600 226 vi Preface Thisworkismeantasashortcontributiontothestudyofthepoliticalecon- omyoftheEasternRomanEmpireintheageoftheEmperorJustinian,one of the most extraordinary yet enigmatic rulers to have reigned in Byzan- tineConstantinople.ForreasonsthatwillbeexplainedintheIntroduction, however,muchofitisconcernedwiththehistoryoflateRomanEgypt.The modern historiography of Egypt from the fourth to the seventh centuries adisanimportanttopic,which,forreasonsofargumentativestructure,will notbeaddressedindetailuntilchaptereight.Itisperhapsworthsignalling at the outset, however, for the benefit of those familiar with the topic, wheremyapproachandconclusionsstandinrelationtothebroaderfield. First, I am largely in agreement with Banaji in regarding the great estates of late Roman Egypt as highly commercialised, monetised, and sophisti- catedeconomicenterprises,althoughIplacemoreemphasisthanhedoes ontheroleplayedbycoercionintheexpansionandmaintenanceofthese estates.Iamalsounconvincedbyreadingsofthesourcesthatpresentthese greatestatesas‘semi-publicinstitutions’,orthatareinclinedtoemphasise co-operative, symbiotic relations between the owners of these estates and theimperialauthorities.Formostoftheperiodinquestion,thestateonly accommodated the interests of great landowners because it had to, and it invariably emerged weaker as a result. It is my contention that the degree ofpeasantautonomyinlateRomanEgypthasbeenmuchexaggerated.My approachtothepapyrologicalsourcesisa‘bottomup’onemodelledonthat ofRathbone,althoughmysourcesdonotpermitanythinglikethedegree ofanalyticalsophisticationthathasinformedhiswork.Inparticular,along withotherswhohaveturnedtheirattentiontothematerial,Ihavefound thattheApionarchiveisnotreallyamenabletothesortofdeep,structural analysisthathasinformedsomeofthebestpapyrologicalstudiesofrecent years. Rather, the highly fragmentary nature of the archive (as it stands) invitesamorestraightforward,proceduraltechnique. vii viii Preface During the course of writing this study, I have incurred many debts of gratitude. It began life as a doctoral thesis written under the supervi- sion of James Howard-Johnston, who, both as undergraduate tutor and doctoral supervisor, was a source of constant encouragement and impec- cableadvice.JohnReaguidedmethroughthepapyrologicalsourceswith remarkable patience. Both conceptually and substantively I owe a great deal to conversations and communications with Jairus Banaji, Peregrine Horden,JohnMa,CyrilMango,MarliaMundellMango,(thelate)Geof- freydeSteCroix,andChrisWickham(withoutwhoseassistancethisbook really would not have been written), as also to my undergraduate forma- tion at Balliol at the feet of Maurice Keen and (the again late, and much missed)PatrickWormald.Thedoctoraldissertationonwhichthisbookis basedwasexaminedbyAlanBowmanandJohnHaldon,who,alongwith CambridgeUniversityPress’s‘anonymousreaders’,andmyeditor,Michael Sharp, I should like to thank. The research on which it is built owes a great deal to the forbearance of Norma Potter of the Codrington Library inOxford,thestaffofTrinityCollegeLibraryinCambridge,andthegen- erosityandcompanionshipoftheMasterandFellowsofTrinity.Turlough Stoneprovidedinvaluablesupportandreadthewholeindraft.Someolder debts need to be repaid. I was first directed to the study of Byzantium as a schoolboy by two of my history masters: Geoffrey Brown and Nigel Williams.Tothem,andtoGeraldBevan(whotaughtmehowtothink)I owemuch.Lastly,Ithankmyparentsforencouragingmychildhoodinter- estinHistoryandHellenisminallitsforms,anditistothememoryofmy latefather,AndreasCostasSarris(1937–2002)thatthisworkisdedicated.
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