"The remarkable economic performance of the Roman Empire is now widely acknowledged. Yet there is still much debate about its interpretation. Although this debate is mainly conducted at the empire-wide level, regional syntheses are indispensable to its further advancement. This book contributes...

Intro -- List of Plates -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Chronology -- Maps -- Introduction: The Ancient World Economy -- 1. Steel and Silk -- 2. Silk in Roman Society -- 3. The Chinese Empire and the Xiongnu -- 4. The Discovery of the West -- 5. Securing the Silk Routes -- 6. The Kushan...

Provincial coinage gives us a unique insight into the Roman world, reflecting the values and concerns of the elites of the many hundreds of cities in the Roman empire. Coins offer a very different perspective from written history, which usually represents the views of the senatorial class, and...

Cover; Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; 1 Framing the Discussion; 2 Prehistoric Textile Production on Crete; 3 Cloth Production in the Mycenaean World; 4 Gordion and Phrygian Cloth Production; 5 Comparative Textile Production and Conclusions; Bibliography; Index