The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome
A major new economic history of the ancient Mediterranean world

In The Open Sea, J. G. Manning offers a major new history of economic life in the Mediterranean world during the Iron Age, from Phoenician trading down to the Hellenistic era and the beginning of Rome's supremacy. Drawing on a wide range of ancient sources and the latest social theory, Manning suggests that the search for an illusory single ancient economy has obscured the diversity of the Mediterranean world, including changes in political economies over time and differences in cultural conceptions of property and money. At the same time, this groundbreaking book shows how the region's economies became increasingly interconnected during this period—and why the origins of the modern economy extend far beyond Greece and Rome.

1127137963
The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome
A major new economic history of the ancient Mediterranean world

In The Open Sea, J. G. Manning offers a major new history of economic life in the Mediterranean world during the Iron Age, from Phoenician trading down to the Hellenistic era and the beginning of Rome's supremacy. Drawing on a wide range of ancient sources and the latest social theory, Manning suggests that the search for an illusory single ancient economy has obscured the diversity of the Mediterranean world, including changes in political economies over time and differences in cultural conceptions of property and money. At the same time, this groundbreaking book shows how the region's economies became increasingly interconnected during this period—and why the origins of the modern economy extend far beyond Greece and Rome.

33.0 In Stock
The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome

The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome

by J. G. Manning
The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome

The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome

by J. G. Manning

Paperback

$33.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 1-2 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A major new economic history of the ancient Mediterranean world

In The Open Sea, J. G. Manning offers a major new history of economic life in the Mediterranean world during the Iron Age, from Phoenician trading down to the Hellenistic era and the beginning of Rome's supremacy. Drawing on a wide range of ancient sources and the latest social theory, Manning suggests that the search for an illusory single ancient economy has obscured the diversity of the Mediterranean world, including changes in political economies over time and differences in cultural conceptions of property and money. At the same time, this groundbreaking book shows how the region's economies became increasingly interconnected during this period—and why the origins of the modern economy extend far beyond Greece and Rome.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691202303
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 06/09/2020
Pages: 442
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

J. G. Manning is the William K. and Marilyn M. Simpson Professor of History and professor of classics at Yale University. He is the author of The Last Pharaohs: Egypt under the Ptolemies (Princeton) and Land and Power in Ptolemaic Egypt, and the coeditor of The Ancient Economy.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xxv

Chronology xxvii

I History & Theory

Introduction History, Theory, and Institutions: Approaching the Ancient Economy 3

1 New Directions and Broader Contexts in the Study of Premodern Economies 17

2 Ancient Economies: Taking Stock from Phoenician Traders to the Rise of the Roman Empire 39

3 Bronze, Iron, and Silver: Time, Space, and Geography and Ancient Mediterranean Economies 72

II Environment & Institutions

4 Agriculture and Labor 109

5 The Boundaries of Premodern Economies: Ecology, Climate, and Climate Change 135

6 The Birth of “Economic Man”: Demography, the State, the Household, and the Individual 173

7 The Evolution of Economic Thought in the Ancient World: Money, Law, and Legal Institutions 193

8 Growth, Innovation, Markets, and Trade 216

9 Conclusions 262

Appendix Climate Data 271

Notes 277

Key Readings 329

Bibliography 333

Index 405

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An expert and bracing survey."—Kyle Harper, EH.net

"Ranging over the entire Mediterranean from the Iron Age to the dawn of the Roman Empire, Manning draws on new evidence to rethink ancient history as a whole."—Philip T. Hoffman, author of Why Did Europe Conquer the World?

"For too long, specialists have drawn lines through the ancient Mediterranean, with Egypt and the Near East on one side and Greece and Rome on the other. True to its title, The Open Sea washes these lines away, reuniting what should never have been separated. Manning provides a unified view of the economies of the first millennium BC, and everyone interested in the period will want to read this book."—Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules—for Now

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews