Economy of the roman empire
Territorial annexations allowed a large-scale reorganization of land use that resulted in extra agriculture and specialization, particularly in north Africa. Some cities were known for particular industries or commercial activities, and the building scale in urban areas indicated the construction industry being present. Although the means of transport and communication were limited in oldness, transportation in the 1st and 2nd centuries expanded greatly, and trade routes connected regional economies. The supply contracts of the army which infused every part of the Empire, drew on local suppliers near the base throughout the province. Economic growth, though not proportionate to modern economies, was greater than that of most other societies before industrialization. Social advancement wasn't dependent on birth, patronage, good luck or even extraordinary ability. Guilds and corporations provided support for individuals to succeed through networking, sharing sound business practises and a willingness to work.
currency and banking
The early Empire was legalized as money to a near-universal extent. The sestartius was the basic unit for reckoning value into the 4th century, though the silver denarius, worth four sesterces, was also used for accounting starting in the Severan dynasty. The smallest coin commonly made known was the bronze as which was one-fourth of a sestartius. Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries counted coins rather than weighing them. So this tendency towards flat money led eventually to the perversion of Roman coinage, with consequences in the later Empire. Rome had no central bank and there was a minimal regulation to the banking system. A typical bank had fairly little capital and often only one principal, though some banks had as many as six to fifteen principals. Conditions during the Crisis of the Third Century—such as reductions in long-distance trade, disruption of mining operations, and the physical transfer of gold coinage outside the empire by invading enemies—greatly diminished the money supply and the banking sector by the year 300.
mining and metallurgy
The main mining regions of the Empire were Spain (gold, silver, copper, tin, lead); Gaul (gold, silver, iron); Britain (mainly iron, lead, tin); the Danubian provinces (gold, iron); and Asia Minor (gold, silver, iron, tin). Intensive large-scale mining took place from the reign of Augustus up to the early 3rd century AD. The gold mines of Dacia were no longer available for Roman exploitation after the province surrendered in 271 AD. The total annual iron input was estimated at eighty two thousand and five hundred tonnes. Copper was produced at an annual of fifteen thousand tonnes and lead was produced at eighty thousand tonnes and both of these production levels weren't matched until the Industrial Revolution. Spain alone had a forty per cent share in the world lead production. Also the extensive silver mining reached two hundred tonnes per annum. To give people of an indication of the Roman metal production, lead pollution in the Greenland ice sheet quadruples over its prehistoric levels during the Imperial era and it fell thereafter.
transport and communication
As most people know, the Roman Empire encircled the entire Mediterranean Sea and the Roman sailing vessels navigated the Mediterranean as well as the major rivers of the Empire. Transport by water was preferred where possible while transport by land was far more difficult. But the land transport utilized the advanced system of Roman roads. Relay stations were located every seven to twelve Roman miles along these roads and these stations tended to grow into a village or a trading post. A mansio was a privately run service station privileged by the imperial administration for the cursus publicus and the support staff at such a facility included muleteers, secretaries, blacksmiths, cartwrights, a veterinarian, and a few military police and couriers. The distance between these mansiones determined on what distance a wagon could travel in a day. Mules were the animals most often used for pulling carts at four miles per hour and it took a messenger nine days to get a letter from Mainz in Germania Superior to Rome even if it was urgent.
trade and commodities
Roman provinces traded amongst themselves and some Roman trade stretched as far as India and China. The main asset was grain and other assets included olive oil, various foodstuffs, garum (fish sauce), slaves, ore and manufactured metal objects, fibres and textiles, timber, pottery, glassware, marble, papyrus, spices and materia medica, ivory, pearls and gemstones. Though most provinces were capable of producing wine, regionally different wines were desirable and wine was a central item of trade. Shortages of table wine were very rare. The major suppliers of the city of Rome was the west coast of Italy, southern Gaul, Tarraconensis region of Spain, and Crete. The second-largest city, Alexandria, imported wine from Laodicea in Syria and from around the Aegean Sea. Taverns or specialty wine shops sold wine by the jug for carry out and by the drink on premises, with price ranges reflecting quality.
labour and occupations
Inscriptions record two hundred and sixty eight occupations in the city of Rome and eighty five in Pompeii. Professional association or trade guilds were attested for a wide range of occupations, including fishermen, salt merchants, olive oil dealers, entertainers, cattle dealers, goldsmiths, teamsters and stonecutters. These trade guilds are sometimes very specialized where a guild at Rome was strictly limited to craftsmen that work in ivory and citrus wood. There were five general categories that slave labour fall into: domestic, imperial or public service, urban crafts and services, agriculture and mining. Captives provided much of the labour in the mines and quarries, where conditions were very brutal. The greatest number of common labourers worked in agriculture and in the Italian system of industrial farming, these may have been mostly slaves. But throughout the Empire was less important than other forms of dependent labour by people who weren't enslaved.
Textile production was a major source of employment. Both textiles and finished garments were traded among the peoples of the Empire. Better ready-to-wear was exported by businessmen who were often well-to-do residents of the production centres. Finished apparels might be sold by their sales agents, who travelled to promising customers, or by vestarii, clothing dealers who were mostly freedmen. In Egypt, textile producers could run successful small businesses employing apprentices, free workers earning wages, and slaves. The fullers and the dye workers also had their own guilds.
Textile production was a major source of employment. Both textiles and finished garments were traded among the peoples of the Empire. Better ready-to-wear was exported by businessmen who were often well-to-do residents of the production centres. Finished apparels might be sold by their sales agents, who travelled to promising customers, or by vestarii, clothing dealers who were mostly freedmen. In Egypt, textile producers could run successful small businesses employing apprentices, free workers earning wages, and slaves. The fullers and the dye workers also had their own guilds.