The Seleukid Royal Economy
The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire

Explores the economy of the Seleukid Empire and provides a quantified model of the royal economy.

G. G. Aperghis (Author)

9780521117760, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 July 2009

380 pages, 1 map 5 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.56 kg

Review of the hardback: '… the book succeeds in raising fundamental questions about the economy in imperial states. Aperghis' study is therefore relevant for more than economic history alone. Offering valuable insights into, and raising fundamental questions about, the finances of the Seleukid Empire, it is also of interest for political historians working on Greco-Macedonian imperialism in the East, perhaps even for those interested in the functioning of empires in general.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

The Seleukid empire, the principal successor-state of the empire of Alexander the Great, endured for over 200 years and stretched, at its peak, from the Mediterranean to the borders of India. This book provides a wide-ranging study of the empire's economy and the methods used by the Seleukid kings to monetise and manage it so as to extract tribute, rent and taxes as efficiently as possible. It uses a variety of Greek literary sources and inscriptions, cuneiform texts, archaeological, numismatic and comparative evidence to explore in detail the manner of exploitation of their lands and subjects by the Seleukid kings, their city-building activity, the financing of their armies and administration, the use they made of coinage and their methods of financial management. The book adopts a highly original, numerical approach throughout, which leads to a quantified model of the economy of an ancient state.

Part I. Preliminaries: 1. Sources and methods
2. Historical summary
3. The posing of a problem
Part II. The Underlying Economy: 4. Geography and population
5. Production and exchange
6. The granting of land
Part III. The Royal Economy: 7. Ps-Aristotle's Oikonomika, book II
8. Revenue
9. The handling of surpluses
10. Expenditure
11. Coinage
12. A model of the Seleukid economy
13. Financial administration
General conclusions.

Subject Areas: History [HB]