Secondly, the famed Roman roads facilitated communications and the transportation of light merchandise.

Figure 2. The Roman roads, such as the famous Appian Way, allowed faster and easier travel and army movement.

Thirdly, the Mediterranean, being the major artery of transportation on water, served as a highway for commercial traffic.

FYI: Did you know that the name of the Roman currency was a “sesterce”? We have estimated that 1 pound of gold was worth approximately 6666 secterces.

Figure 3. Faustina, declared a goddess by the Senate of Rome, is depicted here from a scene from a triumph or is somehow connected to the funeral of her husband, Antonius Pius.

Romans rarely traded with anyone outside their Empire – “an enormous and almost closed economic entity” – though “an exchange of certain goods did exist at the borders.” Nevertheless the balance of trade was in favor of the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century.

“The countries largely benefit from trade. It is, therefore, important for a nation to maintain a favorable trade balance, in order to achieve wealth and prosperity”.

In the third century, the Roman Empire experienced an economic decline. There was a “general disorder when the State – attacked by barbarians from all sides – had interrupted the routes of communication, made transportation difficult, caused crises in the cities and shrunk the markets.” In spite of the crisis, the Empire managed to recover due to “the measures carried out by the Emperors of the Illyrian dynasty”. A new phase of economic expansion took place.

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