Book Description

This volume addresses a wide range of issues concerning the economic exchanges that took place within the Black Sea region and between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean from about 600 BCE to 200 CE. Seeking to shed light on several central aspects of the economic relationship that existed between these two eminently important regions in antiquity, the contributors, who are scholars of ancient history and archaeology, consider old and new evidence, propose novel approaches and propound a number of fresh interpretations. Key issues are the types of commodities traded and the relative volume of that trade from one period to the next; the relations existing between points of production and points of consumption; the institutional settings defining the organization of exchanges; the impact of fiscal exactions (e.g. toll payments at the Bosporus Straits) on trade, etc. The overarching question is whether the Black Sea and the Mediterranean complemented each other in economic terms, and were thus organically linked.