Money in Ptolemaic Egypt
From the Macedonian Conquest to the End of the Third Century BC

Explores the impact of the gradual adoption of coinage into Egypt by the early Ptolemies.

Sitta von Reden (Author)

9780521130547, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 February 2010

380 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.56 kg

'The information and interpretations that [von Reden] provides here will be a welcome reference to many historians, and her work will spark the interest of scholars to further our knowledge of this period as well as subsequent periods of the Ptolemaic economy.' The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists

This book explores the impact of Alexander the Great's introduction of coined money on the economy and society of Egypt and its political implications for the formation of the Ptolemaic state. It argues that the introduction of coinage happened slowly, spreading gradually from Alexandria into the chora. Under Ptolemy II, however, Egypt was aggressively monetised. Using both numismatic and papyrological evidence, the workings of a rural monetary economy are reconstructed where coinage was in high demand, but in short supply. It is argued that by the middle of the third century BC Egypt was much more thoroughly monetised than is usually assumed, but that the degree of monetisation was sustained only by an extensive credit economy as well as ad hoc commutation of monetary payments into kind. Contextualising the complexities of credit and banking in rural Egypt, the book offers a fresh picture of their function in the ancient economy.

Introduction
1. Questions and issues
2. The historical background
Part I. Money and Coinage: 1. The money of the King
2. Monetising the countryside
Part II. Cash and Kind: 3. Taxes
4. Bronze and silver
5. Rents
6. Wages
Part III. Debt and Credit: 7. Formal loans (List 1–2)
8. Extending the credit economy (Lists 3–5)
9. Leases and labour contracts
10. Credit in a social context
Part IV. Banking: 11. Banks and money supply
12. Banking and business
Conclusion
Appendices.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Egyptian archaeology / Egyptology [HDDG], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]