Agrarian change in late antiquity : gold, labour, and aristocratic dominance /
The papyrological evidence is scrutinized in detail to show that a key development entailed the rise of a new aristocracy whose estates were immune to the devastating fragmentation of partible inheritance, extensively irrigated, and responsive to market opportunities. The study offers a new perspect...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford, [U.K.] ; New York :
Oxford University Press,
2001.
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| Series: | Oxford classical monographs.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Publisher description |
| Summary: | The papyrological evidence is scrutinized in detail to show that a key development entailed the rise of a new aristocracy whose estates were immune to the devastating fragmentation of partible inheritance, extensively irrigated, and responsive to market opportunities. The study offers a new perspective on the still largely contested issues of the use and control of labour, arguing that the East Mediterranean saw a considerable expansion of wage employment. A concluding chapter defines the more general issue raised by the aristocracy's involvement in the monetary and business economy of the period.". "Exploiting a wide range of sources, Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity weaves together different strands of historiography into a fascinating interpretation that challenges the minimalist orthodoxies about late antiquity and the ancient economy."--BOOK JACKET. |
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| Physical Description: | xvii, 286 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages [257]-278) and index. |
| ISBN: | 0199244405 9780199244409 |