2010 Theses Bachelor's
Vision, Folly and Balance: Imperial Approaches to Commerce and War in the Roman Near East, 27 BCE-180 CE
Few occurrences in antiquity are as widely discussed by a diverse, ancient authorship as transcontinental commerce between the Mediterranean Sea and East Asia. Yet modern historians remain profoundly divided over long-distance trade's origin, operation and effect with regard to the governance of the Roman Principate. There is broad consensus, however, that the volume and value of this trade consistently increased between the administrations of Augustus and Marcus Aurelius. These two centuries also witness curiously divergent foreign policies between emperors, particularly in Rome's Near Eastern possessions. It is thus argued that these phenomena are intrinsically connected and further, that emperors considered them so in deliberating policy. These findings throw light on previous topical historiography and propose a different approach to writing—and understanding—a Roman commercial history.
Subjects
Files
- 19Paranac.pdf application/pdf 4.6 MB Download File
More About This Work
- Academic Units
- History
- Degree
- B.A., Columbia University
- Published Here
- May 14, 2010
Notes
Senior thesis.