The megalopolis of ancient Rome could never be fed entirely from its own surrounding countryside. It was therefore entirely reliant on grain supplies from foreign areas inside the empire (particularly the provinces of North Africa, Asia and Egypt). These areas were capable of shipping adequate amounts of grain for the population of the capital (60 million modii) and for the provincial populations that did not produce grain. These areas became known as Rome's bread baskets. In Rome from the 60 million modii of grain imported, estimated 10 to 15 million were for distribution as a free dole and 45 to 50 million were sold. First Sicily, then North Africa (and particularly Egypt) provided the wherewithal to feed the city of Rome. They - and the shipping lanes that connected them with Ostia and other important ports - gained great strategic and thus military importance. Whoever controlled the grain supply had a stranglehold on the city of Rome - Vespasian, for example, realised this in the year of the four emperors (69), held Egypt and so became emperor. Megalopolis (Greek: large city, great city) can mean: The city of Megalópoli (Μεγαλοπολη), Megalopolis, Greece. ... Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). ... Roman conquest of Asia minor The Roman province of Asia was the administrative unit added to the late Republic, a Senatorial province governed by a proconsul. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Roman provinces ... Ostia scale model The Temple of the goddess Roma on the Forum of Ostia Ostia, an ancient town on the coast facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Latium, Italy, was the harbour of ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia. ... Vespasian sestertius, struck in 71 to celebrate the victory in the Jewish Rebellion. ... The forced suicide of emperor Nero, in 68 AD, was followed by a brief period of civil war (the first Roman civil war since Antonys death in 31 BC) known as the Year of the four emperors. ... Centuries: 1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s - 60s - 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s Years: 64 65 66 67 68 - 69 - 70 71 72 73 74 Events The Year of the four emperors: After Neros death, Galba, Otho and Vitellius are all Roman...

In order to ensure a supply of corn sufficient to enable it to be sold at a very low price, it was procured in large quantities from Umbria, Etruria and Sicily. Almost down to the times of the empire, the care of the corn-supply formed part of the aedile's duties, although in 440 BC (if the statement in Livy iv. 12, 13 is correct, which is doubtful) the Roman Senate appointed a special officer, called praefectus annonae, with greatly extended powers. As a consequence of the second Punic War, Roman agriculture was at a standstill; accordingly, recourse was had to Sicily and Sardinia (the first two Roman provinces) in order to keep up the supply of corn; a tax of one-tenth was imposed on it, and its export to any country except Italy forbidden. The price at which the corn was sold was always moderate; the corn law of Gracchus (123 BC) made it absurdly low, and Clodius (58 BC) bestowed it gratuitously. (One of Pompey's special offices in 51 BC was 'curator annonae') The number of the recipients of this free gift grew so enormously (to 320,000 recipients, 25% of the population of the city), that both Julius Caesar and Augustus were obliged to reduce it. From the time of Augustus to the decline of the empire the number of those who were entitled to receive a monthly allowance of corn on presenting a ticket was 200,000. In the 3rd century, bread formed the dole, distributed as it always had been at stationes annonae. A praefectus annonae was appointed by Augustus to superintend the corn-supply; he was assisted by a large staff in Rome and the provinces, and had jurisdiction in all matters connected with the corn-market. The office lasted till the latest times of the empire. Umbria is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. ... Etruria — usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia — was an ancient country in Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium and Umbria. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis temple, building) was an office of the Roman Republic. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 445 BC 444 BC 443 BC 442 BC 441 BC - 440 BC - 439 BC 438 BC... The Roman Senate (Latin, Senatus) was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. ... History -- Military History -- War The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and the Phoenician city of Carthage. ... Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian, Sardigna, Sardinna or Sardinnia in the Sardinian language, Sardenya in Catalan), is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (Sicily is the largest), between Italy, Spain and Tunisia, south of Corsica. ... The Gracchi were a noble plebeian family of ancient Rome. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 128 BC 127 BC 126 BC 125 BC 124 BC - 123 BC - 122 BC 121 BC... Publius Clodius Pulcher (born around 92 BC, murdered January 18, 52 BC), was a Roman politician, chiefly remembered for his feuds with Milo and Marcus Tullius Cicero. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 63 BC 62 BC 61 BC 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56 BC 55... Marble bust of Pompey the Great For the ancient Roman city, see Pompeii. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 56 BC 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48... A bust of Julius Caesar. ... For the honorific title, see Augustus (honorific). ... // Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first... European sweetbread (strucla) Four loaves French bread has a somewhat rigid crust Breads and Bread Rolls at a bakery Continental Italian Bread Tin Vienna Bread Bread in a traditional oven, in Portugal, with hot coal in front For other uses, see Bread (disambiguation). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• Statio annonae
• Corn dole