The Economy of the Roman Empire: Quantitative Studies

410 Pages·1974·15.826 MB·English

by  Richard Duncan-Jones

THE ECONOMY OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
QUANTITATIVE STUDIES
RICHARD DUNCAN-JONES
Fellow of Gonville and Caius College
Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1974
Published by the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press
Bentley House, 200 Euston Road, London NWl 2DB
American Branch: 32 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y.10022
© Cambridge University Press 1974
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 72-93146
ISBN: 0 521 20165 9
Printed in Great Britain
at the University Printing House, Cambridge
(Brooke Crutchley, University Printer)
TO MY PARENTS

CONTENTS
List of tables ix Preface xi Abbreviations xii
INTRODUCTION page 1
PART 1: WEAL TH AND ITS SOURCES
1 The finances of a senator page 17
2 Agricultural investment and agricultural profits 33
The profitability of different crops 34
The net yield on vines implied by Columella's figures 39
The net yield, from corrected income figures 44
The reliability of Columella's capital investment figures 48
Conclusion 55
PART 2: PRICES AND PRICE-LEVELS
3 Prices in the African provinces
Regional distribution
Building costs
Statue costs
Tombs and funerary monuments
Foundations and ephemeral outlays
Summae honorariae and other civic payments
List of African costs
Notes
4 Prices in Italy 120
Regional distribution 121
Construction costs 124
Statue costs and weights 126
Tombs and funerals
127
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Vlll Contents
Perpetual foundations and interest-rates page 132
Sportulae and feasts 138
Subsistence costs and allowances 144
Summae honorariae and other payments to cities 147
List of Italian costs 156
Notes 224
5 The use of prices in the Latin novel
Petronius
Apuleius
The Historia Apollonii Tyriensis
PART 3: POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC
POLICY
6 The size of cities 259
Population 259
The size of town-organisations 277
7 Government subsidies for population increase 288
Introduction 288
The nature of the evidence 289
The founding of the alimenta 291
The purpose of the alimenta 294
The social basis of the distributions 300
The landowners 303
The rationale of the alimentary loans 306
Loan variations 310
Conclusion: the scope and effectiveness of the a/imenta 3 1 5
APPENDICES
1 Estate-sizes in Italy 323
2 Agricultural work loads and manning ratios 327
3 The first alimentary scheme at Veleia 333
4 Statistics from the alimentary Tables 336
5 The distribution of alimentary towns in Italy 337
1
6 The Table of Ligures Baebiani / 341
7 The size of private fortunes under the Principate 343
8 Prices at Rome 345
.9 The price of land in Africa 347
Contents lX
ro Prices of slaves in Rome and Italy page 348
r 1 The chronological distribution of prices in Africa and Italy 350
12 The regional distribution of prices in Africa and Italy 357
13 The rate of inscription-survival 360
14 Criteria for dating inscriptions 362
15 The price of wine at Rome 364
16 Wheat and land prices in Egypt 365
17 Diocletian's Price Edict and the cost of transport 366
Bibliography 370
Index 379
TABLES
1 The return from wine-growing 58
2 Expenditure on tombs in Africa related to salaries 79
3 Expenditure on tombs in Italy related to salaries 130
4 The relationship between interest-rates and the size of
perpetual foundations 135
5 Italian sportula rates 142
6 Italian summae honorariae 154
7 Estimated city-populations related to modern figures 273
8 The number of decurions and Augustales in different cities 286
9 The distribution of alimentary towns related to area,
town concentrations and epigraphic density 339
10 The alimentary towns 340
11 Analysis of all African and Italian inscriptions in CIL
dated by Emperor 351
12 Analysis of buildings dated by Emperor 352
13 The concentrations of dated African construction costs 353
14 The concentrations of dated Italian foundations and
sportulae 353
15 The size of dated costs 354
16 The regional distribution of African costs 358
17 The regional distribution of Italian costs 359

PREFACE
This book owes much to the advice and encouragement of the late Pro
fessor A. H. M. Jones, who supervised the doctoral thesis on which
chapters 3 and 4 are based. Three chapters were composed and the
remainder rewritten after Professor Jones's death in 1970, but his many
writings have remained an unfailing source of stimulus. Professor M. I
Finley has also given me invaluable help and advice over a long period.
Professor P. A. Brunt kindly read chapter 2 in draft and made many
useful criticisms. Mr ]. A. Crook gave most helpful comments on the
doctoral thesis which he examined. Professor E. R. Birley and Dr
H.-G. Pflaum kindly encouraged me to write this book. I should like to
offer my warmest thanks to all of them.
I should also like to thank many others who have helped me, including
Professor C. 0. Brink, Lady Brogan, Professor T. R. S. Broughton,
Mr. M. H. Crawford, Professor A. Gershenkron, Professor]. F. Gilliam,
Professor P. Grierson, Professor]. Guey, Professor G. M. A. Hanfmann,
Professor C. P. Jones, Professor M. Leglay, Dr W. D. Macpherson,
Dr F. G. B. Millar, Professor A. D. Momigliano, Dr John Morris,
Professor G. C. Picard, Monsieur Cl. Poinssot, Miss J. M. Reynolds,
Professor D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Professor F. W. Walbank and Mr
]. B. Ward Perkins.
I carried out the research on which the book is based while holding
a Studentship at King's College, Cambridge, followed by a Fellowship
at Gonvillt\ and Caius College, Cambridge. I should like to express my
gratitude to both Colleges. I wrote part of the text in the United States,
while enjoying the hospitality and research facilities of the Institute for
Advanced Study at Princeton, of which I was a member during 1971-2.
Parts of the book have appeared in an earlier form in periodicals,
chapters r, 3, 4 and 7 in the Papers of the British School at Rome, and a
fragment of chapter 6 in the Journal of Roman Studies. The chapters
concerned are intended to supersede the earlier articles, from which they
differ substantially.
Cambridge, November I972 R.P.D.-J.
[xi]
ABBREVIATIONS
For abbreviations used only in the lists of costs see p. 89 (Africa) and p. 156 (Italy).
Capital Roman numerals followed by Arabic numerals refer to volumes of the Corpus
Inscriptionum Latinarum: thus VIII 23107 means Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
volume VIII no.23rn7.
References in the form of an Arabic numeral preceded by 'no.' refer to entries in the
list of costs on pp. 90 ff. and pp. 157 ff.
IX Censimento IX Censimento generale delle popolazioni [dell'Italia]. Dati sommari per
comuni (1955)
AAA S. Gsell Atlas archtologique de l'Algerie (19II)
AAASH Acta antiqua academiae scientiarzim Hungaricae.
ACSDIR Atti, Centro di Studie Documentazione sull'Italia Romana
AB Annie epigraphique
AESC Annales. Economies. Societes. Civilisations
AJP American Journal of Philology
Ant.afr. Antiquites africaines
Apol. Apuleius Apologia
BAC Bulletin archtologique du Comite des travaux historiques et scientifiques
BCAR Bullettino del/a Commissione archeol. municipale (comunale) di Roma
BCB E. Boeswillwald, R. Cagnat, A. Ballu, Timgad, une cite africaine sous
l'empire romain (1905)
Beloch J. Beloch Bevölkerung der griechisch-römischen Welt (1886)
BGU Ägyptische Urkunden aus den Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin. Griechische
Urkunden (1895- )
Billeter G. Billeter Geschichte des Zinsfusses im griechisch-römischen Altertum
bis aufJ ustinian ( 1898)
Bourne F. C. Bourne 'The Roman Alimentary Program and Italian Agri
culture' TAPHA 91 (1960) 47-75
Brockmeyer N. Brockmeyer Arbeitsorganisation und ökonomisches Denken in der
Gutswirtschaft des römischen Reiches (1968)
Broughton T. R. S. Broughton The Romanization of Africa Proconsularis (1929)
Brunt P. A. Brunt Italian manpower 225 B.C.-A.D. r4 (1971)
Buecheler F. Buecheler Carmina Latina epigraphica (1895-']); supp. ed.
Lommatzsch (1926)
C. no. Numbered item in the !ist of costs on pp. 90 ff. and pp. 157 ff.
CAH Cambridge ancient history
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