The Roman Republic
theRomanstateintheCaesarianandAugustanperiodshouldhavehadsome
marginaleffectonlong-distancetrade.
Theideathattheempirewasexpandedintheinterestsoftrade—thatis,
forsecuringprofitablemarketsforexports—issurelywhollyanachronistic.
CicerodoeshoweverfirmlyassertinhisspeechFor the Manilian Law,deliv-
eredin..,somethingwhichisrelated,butfundamentallydifferent:that
Romehadoftengonetowartoprotectitsowntradersorshipownersover-
seas.^63 Atthelevelofconsciousexpressionitisonlyintheimperialperiod
that we find (say) Pliny the Elder pointing to the relevance of the univer-
sal domination of Rome to the availabilityof all the different varieties of
plantsortheexpansionoftrade:‘‘Whowouldnotadmitthat,nowthatinter-
communication has been established throughout the world, life has been
advancedbytheinterchangeofcommoditiesandbypartnershipinthebless-
ingsofpeace,andthateventhingsthathadpreviouslylainconcealedhaveall
nowbeenestablishedingeneraluse?’’^64 Butfortheperiodconcernedallthat
isclearisthatinter-regionalshippingwasanacceptedpartofthesocialand
economicscene.Itsimportanceinthetotaleconomymayhavebeensmall.
Butwecannotknowhowitsvolumeoritsdirectionalteredintheperiod.
InanycasethegeneraldirectruleofthewholeoftheMediterraneanarea
andsouthernEuropewhichpromptedPliny’scomplacentobservationswas
nowherenearbeingattainedevenbytheendoftheperiodofthecivilwars.
AtthemomentofthevictoryofActiumin..,whichsecuredaperiodof
unchallengedruleforAugustus,lastinguntilhisdeathin..,theAlpsand
Illyricumwerestillunsubduedmilitaryareas,Thrace(roughlyBulgariaand
EuropeanTurkey)wasaclientkingdom,andmostofAsiaMinor(present-
dayTurkey) was divided between the client kingdoms of Galatia, Cappa-
docia,andPontus.Judaeahadrevertedfrombeingaprovincialareatobeing
aclientkingdomunderHerodtheGreat,whileMauretaniawastobecome
akingdomagainin..undertheruleofJubaII.Ouroverallconception
oftheeffectsofstateactivityonMediterraneansocietyinthisperiodthus
hastoallowforthefactthatRomanrulewasbothincompleteand,atcertain
periods,liabletocontract.
However, if we look at the broad lines of the Roman state’s impact on
socialandeconomiclifeinthelateRepublic,anumberofverygeneralpoints
canbeestablished.Firstly,evenintheestablishedEmpireofthesecondcen-
tury..Romanprovincialgovernmentneversucceededinextractingtaxa-
. Cicero,Leg. Man.,and.
. Pliny,NH,(Loebtrans.);cf.,.