This book by the author of The Economy of the Roman Empire: Quantitative Studies considers important interlocking themes. Did the Roman Empire have a single 'national' economy, or was its economy localised and fragmented? Can coin and pottery survivals demonstrate the importance of long-distance trade? How fast did essential news travel by sea, and what does that imply about Mediterranean sailing-patterns? Further subjects considered include taxation, commodity-prices, demography, and army pay and manpower. The book is very wide-ranging in its geographical coverage and in the evidence that it explores. By analysing specific features of the economy the contrasting discussions examine important questions about its character and limitations, and about how surviving evidence should be interpreted. The book throws new and significant light on the economic life of Europe and the Mediterranean in antiquity, and will be valuable to ancient historians and students of European economic history.