Roman commerce was the engine that drove the growth of the Roman Empire. Fashions and trends in historiography and in popular culture have tended to neglect the economic basis of the empire in favour of the lingua franca of Latin and the exploits of the Roman legions. The language and the legions were supported by trade while being at the same time part of its backbone. Romans were businessmen — the longevity of their empire was due to their commercial trade. Commerce is the trading of something of value between two entities. ... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Historiography is the study of the way history is and has been written. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... It has been suggested that History of the Latin language be merged into this article or section. ... A modern reconstruction of a roman centurion around 70 AD The Roman legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus — to collect) was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army. ... A fruit stand at a market. ...

Whereas in theory members of the Roman Senate and their families were prohibited from engaging in trade, the members of the Equestrian order were involved in businesses, despite their upper class values that laid the emphasis on military pursuits and leisure activities. Plebeians and freedmen held shop or manned stalls at markets while vast quantities of slaves did most of the hard work. The slaves were themselves also the subject of commercial transactions, and given their high proportion in society (compared to that in Classical Greece), and the reality of runaways, the Roman Servile Wars and minor uprisings, they gave a distinct flavour to Roman commerce. The Roman Senate (Latin, Senatus) was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. ... An Equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. ... In Ancient Rome, the plebs was the general body of Roman citizens, distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. ... It has been suggested that Chattel slavery be merged into this article or section. ... This article describes the ancient classical period: for the classical period in music (second half of the 18th century): see Classical music era. ... The Servile Wars were a series of slave revolts that plagued the late Roman Republic. ...

The intricate, complex, and extensive accounting of Roman trade was conducted with counting boards and the Roman abacus. The abacus, using Roman numerals, was ideally suited to the counting of Roman currency and tallying of Roman measures. The Romans developed the so-called fucken Roman abacus, or rather a portable counting board, based on previous Greek counting boards. ... The system of Roman numerals is a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, and was adapted from Etruscan numerals. ... The main Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including: the aureus (gold), the denarius (silver), the sestertius (bronze), the dupondius (bronze), and the as (copper). ... The Roman system of measurement was built on the Greek system with Egyptian influences. ...

Negotiatores and Mercatores

The Romans knew two types of businessmen, the negotiatores and the mercatores. The negotiatores were in part bankers because they lent money on interest. They also bought and sold staples in bulk or did commerce in wholesale quantities of goods. In some instances the argentarii are considered as a subset of the negotiatores and in others as a group apart. The argentarii acted as agents in public or private auctions, kept deposits of money for individuals, cashed cheques (prescriptio) and served as moneychangers. They kept strict books, or tabulae, which were considered as legal proof by the courts. The argentarii sometimes did the same kind of work as the mensarii, who were public bankers appointed by the state. The mercatores were usually plebeians or freedmen. They were present in all the open-air markets or covered shops, manning stalls or hawking goods by the side of the road. They were also present near Roman military camps during campaigns, where they sold food and clothing to the soldiers and paid cash for any booty coming from military activities.

Commercial infrastructure

The Forum Cuppedinis in ancient Rome was a market which offered general goods while at least four other large markets specialized in particular goods such as cattle, wine, fish and herbs and vegetables, and the Roman forum drew the bulk of the traffic. All new cities, like Timgad, were laid out according to an orthogonal grid plan which facilitated transportation and commerce. The cities were connected by good roads. Roman Forum with Palatine Hill in the background. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Good (accounting) - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, kine archaic, or ky as the Scots plural of coo) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of grapes and grape juice. ... Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus: one of the most abundant species of fish in the world. ... This article is about the plants used in cooking and medicine. ... Vegetables on a market Vegetable is a nutritional and culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary fruit, nut, herb, spice, or grain. ... Roman Forum with Palatine Hill in the background. ... Timgad (called Thamugas by the Romans, located at 35°27′ N 6°38′ E) was a Roman colonial town in North Africa founded by the Emperor Trajan around 100 CE. The ruins are noteworthy for being one of the best extant examples of the grid plan as used in Roman... In mathematics, orthogonal is synonymous with perpendicular when used as a simple adjective that is not part of any longer phrase with a standard definition. ... A simple grid plan road map (Windermere, Florida). ... A Roman road in Pompeii The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by enabling them to move armies. ...

Land routes

Even before the republic, the Roman Kingdom was engaged in regular commerce using the river Tiber. Before the Punic Wars changed completely the nature of commerce in the Mediterranean, the Roman republic had important commercial exchanges with Carthage, entering into several commercial and political agreements in addition to engaging in simple retail trading. The Roman Empire traded with the Chinese over the Silk Road. Staple goods and commodities like cereals for making bread and papyrus scrolls for book production were imported from ancient Egypt to Italy in a continuous fashion. The Roman Kingdom (Latin: Regnum Romanum) was the monarchal government for the city of Rome and its territories from its founding. ... Tiber River in Rome The River Tiber (Italian Tevere), the third-longest river in Italy at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches in two branches that cross the suburbs of... The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and the Phoenician city of Carthage. ... A map of the central Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Carthage (near modern Tunis). ... For other uses, see Silk Road (disambiguation). ... Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a grain, technically a caryopsis). ... Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that grows to 5 meters (15 ft) in height and was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ... Ancient Egypt was an African civilization located along the upper Nile, reaching from the Nile Delta in the north to as far south as Jebel Barkal at the Fourth Cataract of the Nile at the time of its greatest extension (15th century BC). ...

Sea routes

Maritime archaeology and ancient manuscripts from classical antiquity show evidence of vast Roman commercial fleets. As with most Roman technology, the Roman sea going commercial ships had no significant advances over Greek ships of the previous centuries. The Romans used round hulled sailing ships. Continuous Mediterranean "police" protection over several centuries was one of the main factors of success of Roman commerce, given that Roman roads were designed more for feet or hooves than for wheels, and could not support the economical transport of goods over long distances. The Roman ships used would have been easy prey for pirates had it not been for the fleets of Liburnian galleys and triremes of the Roman navy. Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline that studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of vessels, shore side facilities, cargoes and human remains. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... It has been suggested that Greco-Roman be merged into this article or section. ... Roman technology is the set of artifacts and customs which supported Roman civilization and made the expansion of Roman commerce and Roman military might possible over nearly a thousand years. ... A Roman road in Pompeii The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by enabling them to move armies. ... A liburnian was a galley, a warship propelled by oars. ... A Greek trireme A Roman trireme Triremes were ancient war galleys with three rows of oars on each side. ...

The trade over the Indian Ocean blossomed in the first and second century CE. The sailors made use of the monsoon to cross the ocean from the ports of Berenice, Leulos Limen and Myos Hormos on the Red Sea coast of Roman Egypt to the ports of Muziris and Nelkynda in Malabar. The main trading partners in southern India were the Tamil dynasties of the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras. Many Roman artifacts have been found in India, for example at the archaeological site of Arikamedu near present day Pondicherry. Meticulous descriptions of the ports and items of trade around the Indian Ocean can be found in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Monsoon in the Vindhya, a mountain chain in central India A monsoon is a (wind) pattern that reverses direction on a seasonal basis. ... Berenice or Berenice Troglodytica (now known as Medinet-el Haras) is an ancient seaport of Egypt on the west coast of the Red Sea. ... Myos Hormos was a Red Sea port constructed by the Ptolemies around the 3rd century BC. A few of its main destinations were the Indus delta and the Kathiawar peninsula in India. ... Location of the Red Sea Image:Red Seaimage. ... The conquests of Alexander the Great brought Egypt within the orbit of the Greek world for almost 900 years. ... Muziris is a lost port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala which was a major center of trade, especially pepper and other spices, with the Roman Empire from the 1st or 2nd century BCE to probably as late as 6th century CE. Large hordes of coins and innumerable... It has been suggested that Malabarian Coast be merged into this article or section. ... The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... The Cholas were a South Indian Tamil dynasty, antedating the early Sangam literature (c. ... The Cheras were one of the three ancient Tamil dynasties who ruled the southern tip of the peninsula of India for most of its early history. ... Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted its best-known excavation in the 1940s. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei ) is a Greek periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along East Africa and India. ...

Standard weights and measures

A standard amphora, the amphora capitolina, was kept in the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, so that others could be compared to it. The Roman system of measurement was built on the Greek system with Egyptian influences. Much of it was based on weight. The Roman units were accurate and well documented. Distances were measured, and systematically inscribed on stone by agents of the government. Amphoræ on display in Bodrum Castle, Turkey An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles, used for the transportation and storage of perishable goods and more rarely as containers for the ashes of the dead or as prize awards. ... Piazza del Campidoglio, on the top of Capitoline Hill, with the façade of Palazzo Senatorio. ...

Contacts with China and India

China

The Hou Hanshu (History of the Later Han Chinese dynasty) recounted the first of several Roman embassies to China sent out by a Roman Emperor, probably Marcus Aurelius judging by the arrival date of 166 (Antoninus Pius is another possibility, but he died in 161 - the confusion arises because Marcus Aurelius took the names of his predecessor as additional names, as a mark of respect and so is referred to in Chinese history as "An Tun" (= Antoninus), hence the confusion. ). The mission came from the South, and therefore probably by sea, entering China by the frontier of Jinan or Tonkin, bringing presents of rhinoceros horns, ivory, and tortoise shell which had probably been acquired in Southern Asia. The Book of Later Han (Chinese: 後漢書; pinyin: ) is a history of the Chinese Empire which was compiled by Fan Yeh (范晔; 398-445), using a number of earlier histories as sources. ... Sino-Roman relations started first on an indirect basis with the opening of the Silk Road during the 2nd century BC. China and Rome progressively inched closer with the embassies of Zhang Qian in 130 BC and the military expeditions of China to Central Asia, until general Ban Chao attempted... Marcus Aurelius Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death. ... Events Pope Soter succeeds Pope Anicetus Change of Patriarch of Constantinople from Patriarch Laurence to Patriarch Alypius Dacia invaded by barbarians Conflict erupts on the Danube frontier between Rome and the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni Roman envoy sent out by emperor Antoninus Pius. ... Emperor Antoninus Pius Sestertius of Antoninus Pius, with the personification of Italia on reverse. ... Events March 7 - Roman emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. ... Jinan (Simplified Chinese: 济南; Traditional Chinese: 濟南; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chi-nan) is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of Chinas Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct)Elasmotherium (extinct) A rhinoceros (commonly called a rhino for short) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... Tortoiseshell can refer to: a Tortoiseshell cat a pattern used in clothing and jewellery the Small Tortoiseshell, a butterfly the Hawksbill turtle Tortoiseshell, a song by The Boo Radleys which appeared on their EP Every Heaven This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise... This is a region of the continent of Asia that can have the following interpretations: The Indian Subcontinent and nearby islands in the Indian Ocean; see South Asia India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka All of Asia that is considered to be Southwest, South and Southeast Asia. ...

The mission reached the Chinese capital of Luoyang in 166 and was met by Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty. About the same time, and possibly through this embassy, the Chinese acquired a treatise of astronomy from Daqin (Rome). Luoyang (Simplified Chinese: 洛阳; Traditional Chinese: 洛陽; pinyin: ) is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Events Pope Soter succeeds Pope Anicetus Change of Patriarch of Constantinople from Patriarch Laurence to Patriarch Alypius Dacia invaded by barbarians Conflict erupts on the Danube frontier between Rome and the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni Roman envoy sent out by emperor Antoninus Pius. ... Format of naming convention in English is under discussion at Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (Chinese). ... The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 漢朝; Simplified Chinese: 汉朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Han Chau; 206 BC–AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ... Astronomy (Greek: αστρονομία = άστρον + νόμος, astronomia = astron + nomos, literally, law of the stars) is the science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere, such as stars, planets, comets, aurora, galaxies, and the cosmic background radiation. ... Daqin (Ch:大秦) is the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire. ...

However, in the absence of any record of this on the Roman side of the silk road, it may be that the "ambassadors" were in reality free traders acting independently of Aurelius. For other uses, see Silk Road (disambiguation). ...

India

• There was an Indian in Augustus's retinue (Plut. Alex. 69.9), and he received embassies from India (Res Gestae, 31).

• Bacchus's triumph

Augustus (Latin:IMPERATOR CAESAR DIVI FILIVS AVGVSTVS[1]; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known to modern historians as Octavian in English for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and one of the most important of the Roman Emperors, though he downplayed... Bacchus is the name of: the Roman god Bacchus, known to the Greeks as Dionysus the Christian martyr Saint Bacchus, companion to Saint Sergius; see: Saint Sergius the asteroid 2063 Bacchus the Bacchus grape variety, grown predominantly in Germany the Bacchus (painting) by Leonardo da Vinci the comic book Bacchus...

Commerce and Religion

Mercury, who was originally only the god of the mercatores and the grain trade eventually became the god of all who were involved in commercial activities. On the Mercuralia on May 14, a Roman merchant would do the proper rituals of devotion to Mercury and beseech the god to remove from him and from his belongings the guilt coming from all the cheating he had done to his customers and suppliers. This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... Mercuralia is a Roman celebration known also as the Festival of Mercury. Mercury was thought to be the god of merchants and commerce. ...

See also

• Roman currency
• Roman finance