Commerce and social standing in ancient Rome

John H. D'Arms

ISBN 10: 0674144759 / ISBN 13: 9780674144750

Published by Harvard University Press c1981., Cambridge, Mass., 1981

About this Item

Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 201 pages.

Seller Inventory # 2802

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Commerce and social standing in ancient Rome
• Publisher: Harvard University Press c1981., Cambridge, Mass.
• Publication Date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674144759
• ISBN 13: 9780674144750
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

John D'Arms explores here a question of central importance for the social economic history of the Roman world: which sectors of society were actively engaged in trade?

In the late Roman Republic and early Empire senators were prohibited by law from direct participation in seaborne commerce; trade was not considered a respectable pursuit. Yet large fortunes were amassed by men of rank through a variety of lucrative enterprises. Exploiting the evidence of literature, archaeology, and inscription, D'Arms constructs case histories which reveal how senators realized commercial profits by indirect involvement: freedmen, municipal notables, and "friends" often served as the equivalent of partners or agents of aristocrats with large holdings in land. In demonstrating a flexibility in upper-class attitudes toward commercial activity, he offers a study in the adaptation of a social system to economic realities.