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2015 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

4. Economic Crises and Practices in the Roman and Byzantine Era

verfasst von : Nicos Christodoulakis

Erschienen in: How Crises Shaped Economic Ideas and Policies

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The Roman Empire was too much relying on slave labour to feel the need for technical innovation, but nevertheless the recurrence of economic crises exercised a constant pressure to improve policies and institutions. When a real-estate bubble collapsed, Caesar invented a scheme of financial support to save households and banks. After the monetary collapse in the times of Diocletian, the introduction of coinage based on Gold restored confidence in the Eastern Roman Empire and ushered in a long period of flourishing trade and economic reforms. Economic thinking was advanced too, ranging from pragmatic rules on lending and profit to the concept of single tax and distribution theories.

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Vorheriges Kapitel How Old Are Economics?

Nächstes Kapitel Economic Theories and Practices in Medieval Europe

Montesquieu notes that “Romans considered commercial and technical activities as suitable only for slaves”, in line with the views of Plato previously discusses in Sect. 3.5.1. Montesquieu, Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence (1968, Chap. 10).

The steam engine was rediscovered and finally put in production in the course of the Industrial Revolution, more than eighteen centuries later.

See Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy, 1000–1700 (1994).

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Book I: XLII. The US government did the opposite after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis; by providing direct support to the banks made depressed households vulnerable to the pressures of lenders. In most cases, lenders foreclosed the mortgaged properties.

Suetonius, op.cit., Book II, XLI.

Foretelling similar policy prescriptions suggested by Malthus in the nineteenth century ad; see Chap. 6.

Suetonius, op. cit., Book II, XLII.

Suetonius, op. cit., Book VI, XLIV.

Described in Tainter, The collapse of complex societies (1988, p. 137).

Described in Tainter, op. cit., p. 143.

A description of the Edict is provided by Doyle (1976).

For a detailed record of famines and pestilences in the late Roman Empire, see Stathakopoulos, Famine and Pestilence in the late Roman and early Byzantine Empire: systematic survey of subsistence crises and epidemics (2004).

Quoted by Tainter, op. cit., p. 147.

Papasotoriou, Byzantine high strategy: 6th–11th centuries (2001, p. 55).

The destruction of the ancient temples covered other needs as well. Most of the building blocks used for the erection of the Church of Hagia Sofia came from ancient temples, with leftovers used for the construction of Constantinople’s aqueduct.

The English golden sovereign has been in circulation since 1692, so far less than half the duration of the solidus.

For a non-legalistic description of the content and the effect of the codex see Rosen, Justinian’s Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman Empire (2008).

As described by Harvey, “in both cases it is almost certain that the transaction was at the cost of the producer”, Economic expansion in the Byzantine Empire 900–1200 (1997, p. 138).

In Europe, coin-clipping was eliminated in the sixteenth century with the introduction of indentations on coins.

The term Byzantine came in use as a synonym of the Eastern Roman Empire only after its fall, but it has since prevailed and I use it in this book as an equivalent alternative name.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ advises the rich who want to be virtuous to give interest-free loans, because only sinners lend money at interest: “…And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return” (New Testament, Luke, 6:34–36).

St Gregory of Nyssa & St Basil the Great, The rich, the poor and usurers.

Similar practices applied to the agricultural communities in Germany during Middle Ages, and this is perhaps what led Marx to find analogies between the Byzantine system and the German mode of production. Actually, he briefly refers to the Slavonic mode of production which prevailed in the Balkans and was based on small parcel land ownership.

For a detailed account, see Kordatos, op.cit. (1928).

An account of the economic views developed by Gemistus is given in Spentzas, Philosopher of Mystra (1996).

See Gramsci, Prison Notebooks (1975, p. 47).

An extensive network of post stations is founded as early as in the fourth century to facilitate communications in the Empire; see Papasotoriou, Byzantine high strategy: 6th–11th centuries (2001).

According to Kordatos: “They were tied to their piece of land and were bought and sold with it… The serfs were a kind of crofters of the Byzantine era”, op.cit. (Chap. A).

Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1986, Book 3, Chap. 2).

For a history of the Pandidaktirion and the courses taught there, see Komninos, Divine-built Walls (1965).

Cipolla C (1994) Before the industrial revolution: European society and economy, 1000–1700. Norton, New York

Doyle EJ (1976) Two new fragments of the edict of Diocletian on maximum prices. Hesperia 45(1):77–97. http://www.jstor.org/stable/147719

Gramsci A (1975) Prison notebooks. Columbia University Press, New York (Edited and translated by Joseph A. Buttigiegg, vol. I 1992 & vol. II 1996)

Harvey A (1997) Economic expansion in the Byzantine empire, 900–1200. MIET Publications, Athens

Komninos P (1965) Divine-built walls. Nea Estia 908, Athens (in Greek)

Kordatos Y (1928) The Thessalonika commune 1342–1449. Epikairotita Publications, Athens (in Greek)

Montesquieu (1968) Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence. Garnier-Flammarion, Paris

Papasotiriou C (2001) Byzantine high strategy: 6th–11th centuries. Poiotita Publications, Athens (in Greek)

Rosen W (2008) Justinian’s flea: the first great plague and the end of the Roman empire. Penguin, New York

Smith A (1986) The wealth of nations. Penguin, London

Spentzas S (1996) G. Plethon-Gemistus, philosopher of Mystra: his economic, social and fiscal views. Kardamitsas Publications, Athens (in Greek)

Stathakopoulos D (2004) Famine and pestilence in the late Roman and early Byzantine empire: a systematic survey of subsistence crises and epidemics. Ashgate, Aldershot

Tainter J (1988) The collapse of complex societies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Titel: Economic Crises and Practices in the Roman and Byzantine Era
verfasst von: Nicos Christodoulakis
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Buch: How Crises Shaped Economic Ideas and Policies
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16870-8

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-16871-5

Copyright-Jahr: 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16871-5_4