This book explores central areas of the Roman economy and the ways those areas connect and interact.

List of figures; List of tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Time and Distance: 1. Communication-speed and contact by sea in the Roman empire; 2. Trade, taxes and money; 3. Separation and cohesion in Mediterranean trade; 4. Stability and change; Part II. Demography and Manpower: 5. Age-awareness in the Roman world; 6. Roman life-expectancy; 7. Pay and numbers in Diocletian's army; Part III. Agrarian Patterns: 8. Land and landed wealth; 9. The price of wheat in Roman Egypt; Part IV. The World of Cities: 10. The social cost of urbanisation; 11. Who paid for public building?; Part V. Tax-Payment and Tax-Assessment: 12. Taxation in money and taxation in kind; 13. Land, taxes and labour: implications of the iugum; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.