INTRODUCTION

Abstract

Did a Roman imperial economy exist under the Late Republic, the Roman Principate and the Later Roman Empire?And if so, what type of economy was it?Another equally important question is: did the Roman Empire, by specific actions, the creation of infrastructures, or its very existence, trigger a transformation of economic life in the regions which it dominated?Or was the Empire a marginal affair in the regions that belonged to it, and did economic developments take their own course, independently of the Empire?Questions like these, which are of great consequence to any student of Roman history, archaeology, and Roman law, were at the centre of interest during the second workshop ofthe network Impact ofEmpire 1 • Recent discussion of the Roman imperial economy has been dominated by the controversy between modemists like Michael Rostovtzeff, primitivists like Moses Finley and scholars who take an intermediate position, like Keith Hopkins, with his well-known argument that Roman taxation stimulated trade empire-wide 2 • In reaction to Rostovtzeff's modernistic interpretations 1 We owe thanks to Luuk de Ligt for his advice.This introduction draws heavily on articles by H.W.Pleket.See his contribution to F. Vittinghoff, ed.

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