... the Mysteries, Pompeii Many ealthy Romans invested in land, hich they used for agriculture as ell as recreation. Often the oners lived in the city and hired an overseer to manage their estates. Many also had lavish homes or villas hich included beautiful orks of art like this fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries outside of Pompeii, Italy.Bridgeman Art Library, LondonNe York Farming as the basis of the Roman economy. Republican senators traditionally invested their ealth in Italian land, but the imperial peace also encouraged them to invest abroad. The Romans began to cultivate more land hen they brought Mediterranean plants and more sophisticated farming methods farther north into Gaul, the Rhine River valley, and the Balkan Peninsula. Vineyards spread throughout Gaul, and olive groves ere planted in North Africa. The Romans learned ne techniques for farming in et climates that alloed them to open ne lands for agriculture in northern Gaul and Britain, here increasing demands for timber transformed native forests into agricultural estates. Rome imported heat from Egypt and Africa, ine from Gaul, and oil from Spain and Africa. Landoners lived in the cities or, in the case of the truly ealthy, in Rome itself. A foreman managed each estate separately. Some individual estates, called villas, ere huge operations. One villa, the Boscatrecase, hich as located near the Italian city of Pompeii, had 100,000 jugs of ine in storage. Large estates in the provinces had loer labor costs, hich gradually undermined traditional Italian agriculture. As a result, Rome imported heat from Egypt and Africa, ine from Gaul, and oil from Spain and Africa. C2 Industry Roman industry did not include mass production, and small orkshops manufactured pottery, metalork, and glass. A successful brickmaker might have oned dozens of orkshops rather than one large factory. Manufacturers dispersed or decentralized their production because it as expensive to transport goods. Bricks for construction ere made at the building site, or terra-cotta figurines ere fashioned at the temple here they ere sold. Unlike independent artisans ho had their on shops, age laborers ere treated ith contempt in the ancient orld and orked alongside slaves.The eastern Mediterranean as initially the manufacturing center of the Roman orld, but under the empire, Gaul also experienced great industrial groth. A number of factors combined to encourage manufacturing in Gaul, including the availability of ample ra materials, the Celtic tradition of exquisite metalorking, good river transportation, and the enormous market created by the military along the northern borders of the empire. The Roman soldiers needed eapons, pottery, boots, clothing, and building materials, and they bought them from local craftspeople. C3 Trade Roman Ship Most Roman ships designed for commerce or ar featured distinctive square sails. Long banks of oars propelled the ships siftly through the ater. arships often had additional protective coverings to shield the cre from fire and missiles. Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Land as the safest investment for the ealthy, but trade as the only legal ay to acquire a fortune quickly. Transport by sea as far cheaper than by land, but every voyage faced both financial risks and opportunities. Shiprecks occurred frequently during this period, and no provide archaeologists ith abundant information about Roman shipping routes and cargoes. The Romans shipped food and rare ra materials like colored marble throughout the Mediterranean, along ith Egyptian papyrus reeds for paper, purple dye from Syria, glass from Palestine, and Spanish ironork. Land as the safest investment for the ealthy, but trade as the only legal ay to acquire a fortune quickly. The frontiers of the empire did not hinder trade. German peddlers crossed the borders in both directions, bringing amber from the Baltic and exchanging it for Roman artifacts. Hoever, fe Romans actually took part in foreign commerce. They did not trade directly ith Arabia, Africa, India, and China, but received incense, ivory, pepper, and silk from these countries through intermediaries. Asian caravans crossed the steppe to China, and Parthians controlled the caravan route to India. From the 1st century ad, Egyptian sailors from Alexandria learned ho to use the monsoon, a ind that changed direction ith the seasons, to enable them to make frequent trips to India. A guidebook from ancient times for captains sailing through the Red Sea still survives. C4 Coinage and Taxes The deficit spending of later emperors nearly halved the silver value of the coinage. Merchants throughout the empire and as far aay as India used Roman coins, but the monetary system primarily served as a ay for the emperors to pay their troops, because the soldiers expected cash. hen an emperor had insufficient income, he as forced to raise taxes, seize property, or, as a final measure, melt don existing coins and mint ne ones that eighed less or contained smaller amounts of precious metals. Silver coins ere a basic medium of exchange during the empire, and one of the major Roman coins, a denarius plural, denarii, equaled four of the smaller silver coins called sesterces. During the reign of Augustus, a silver denarius eighed 5.7 gm .20 oz and as 99 percent pure. By ad 193 it had dropped to 4.3 gm .15 oz and as only 70 percent pure. The deficit spending of later emperors nearly halved the silver value of the coinage. The Roman Empire taxed the people under its control, and the taxes fell most heavily on conquered peoples in the empire. Roman citizens did not have to pay the individual or head tax required of each subject of the empire, and the empire exempted Italian land from tribute. Hoever Roman citizens did have to pay the 5 percent inheritance tax, a 1 percent sales tax, a customs or import duty, and a tax on freed slaves. Local magistrates, imperial officials, and professional tax collectors ere all employed to gather taxes, and the imperial census became an important tool to identify potential taxpayers. Total taxes amounted to about 10 percent of the empires gross national product. That percentage of tax may seem lo by modern standards, but the imperial government provided minimal services. For provincials ho could barely make a living, paying 10 percent of their income to the government as a considerable burden. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002. 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. iijMOMhrCJ0OJaQJaaJ0hrhrCJ0OJaQJaaJ0hrhrCJ aJ hrhrhrCJaJiLMZiij!fggdrHILMgdr 1h à!...
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