Main entry:

D'Arms, John H. (John Haughton), 1934-2002.

Title & Author:

Commerce and social standing in ancient Rome / John H. D'Arms.

Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, ©1981.

Description:

xviii, 201 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 182-194) and index.
1. Traders in Roman Society: Two Approaches -- 2. Attitudes, Conduct, and Commercial Organization in the Late Republic -- 3. Senators and Commerce -- 4. Luxury, Productivity, and Decline: Villa Society on the Bay of Naples -- 5. The "Typicality" of Trimalchio -- 6. The Freedmen of Puteoli and Ostia in Imperial Economy and Society -- 7. Attitudes, Conduct, and Commercial Organization in the Early Empire -- Appendix. Augustales of Puteoli and Ostia -- Bibliography -- Index.

Summary:

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.

Resources:
Available from ACLS Humanities
Electronic access restricted; authentication may be required:

ISBN:

0674144759
9780674144750

Subject:

Social classes Rome History.
Classes sociales Rome Histoire.
Commerce
Social classes
Geschichte
Handel
Sozialgeschichte
Sociale klassen.
Romeinse rijk.
Rome Commerce History.
Rome Commerce Histoire.
Rome (Empire)
Römisches Reich
Rome Commerce.
Rome Social conditions.
Rm̲isches Reich.
Geschichte 100 v. Chr.-200

Form/genre:

History

Holdings:

Location: Library main 140553
Call No.: 9165; ID:85-B25997
Status: Available