The Eastern Mediterranean

This chapter, covering the period from roughly 200 BC to AD 300, sketches out some of the structural determinants of the eastern Mediterranean's economic performance, and then traces that performance through the processes: production, distribution, and consumption. Isolating these very closely interwoven elements is helpful for the purposes of this particular type of overview; ultimately, however, the interaction of the three requires reconciliation and synthesis in other, more targeted studies. The chapter also visits the issue of relative growth across the empire. Agriculture was central to the Roman economy but agricultural production was uncertain in the eastern Mediterranean. Land-ownership in the Roman east offered avenues to security and status, and the preeminent means to garner wealth in the ancient world. Regional distribution of goods was very active in the eastern Mediterranean. An inland city such as Sagalassos appears to enjoy fewer imported wares than coastal cities such as Anemurion or Perge, but has the usual signs of conspicuous consumption.