Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy 31 BC - AD 305

300 Pages·2001·3.97 MB·English

by  Gary K. Young

ROME’S EASTERN TRADE

ROME’S EASTERN
TRADE
International commerce and imperial policy,
31 BC–AD 305
Gary K.Young

London and New York
First published 2001 by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
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© 2001 Gary K.Young
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Young, Gary K. (Gary Keith), 1963–
Rome’s eastern trade: international commerce and
imperial policy, 31 BC–AD 305/Gary K.Young.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Rome—Commerce—Middle East—History.
2. Middle East—Commerce—Rome—History.
3. Rome—Commercial policy—History.
4. Commercial products—Middle East—History.
5. Rome—Economic conditions—30 B.C.–476 A.D. I. Title.
HF377 .Y68 2001
382′.09370394–dc21
ISBN 0-203-47093-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-77917-7 (Adobe e-Reader Format)
ISBN 0-415-24219-3 (Print Edition)
DIS MANIBVS
DAVID J.BETTS
MAGISTRI ET AMICI

CONTENTS
List of illustrations viii
Preface and acknowledgements x
List of abbreviations xi
1 Introduction 1
2 The Red Sea Trade in Egypt 24
3 The Arabian incense trade 81
4 The trade of Palmyra 123
5 Trade in Syria and the north 169
6 The long-distance trade and the imperial government 181
7 Conclusion 192
Appendix A: Prices of goods of the eastern trade at Rome in the first

century AD 199
Appendix B: Silver content of Nahataean and Roman coins in the first

century AD 202
Appendix C: Inscriptions referring to Palmyrene military activities AD

132–225 207
Appendix D: The career of Septimius Odaenathus and the status of

Palmyra, AD 251–267 209
Notes 217
Bibliography 258
Index 278
ILLUSTRATIONS
Maps
1.1 The Roman Near East 3
1.2 Roman Egypt 11
2.1 The Indian Ocean in Roman times 25
2.2 Roman roads and forts in the Egyptian Eastern Desert 34
3.1 Caravan tracks of the Arabian peninsula 84
3.2 The Nabataean kingdom 88
3.3 Roman fortifications in Arabia and the Negev 118
4.1 Trade routes of Syria and Mesopotamia 127
Figures
1.1 The Via Sacra in the Forum, Rome 21
3.1 El-Beidha area north of Petra, Jordan 99
3.2 Ed-Deir (the Monastery), Petra, Jordan 101
3.3 El-Khazneh (the Treasury), Petra, Jordan 102
4.1 The Grand Colonnade, Palmyra, Syria 126
4.2 The Agora, Palmyra, Syria 126
4.3 Euphrates river and the city fortifications, Dura Europos, Syria 143
4.4 The Main Gate, Dura Europos, Syria 144
4.5 Temple of Bel, Palmyra, Syria 152
4.6 Temple of Baalshamin, Palmyra, Syria 152
5.1 Euphrates river from the Roman villa, Zeugma, Turkey 171
Tables
2.1 Silver content of imperial denarii AD 193–241 75
2.2 Silver content of imperial antoniniani AD 215–253 75
A.1 Prices per Roman pound for commodities of the eastern trade in Pliny NH 199
B.1 Nabataean silver coinage 28 BC–AD 100 202
B.2 Roman imperial denarii 30 BC–AD 100 204
B.3 Syrian Tetradrachmae of Antioch 34 BC–AD 100 205