THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD IN LATE ANTIQUITYThe gold solidus introduced in the early fourth century remained standard for
centuries henceforth, but later emperors were unsuccessful in their attempts
to reintroduce silver coinage on a stable basis. Infl ation also continued, as can
be seen from prices given in papyri, probably because the government mint-
ed too much of the small base-metal coinage. By the fi fth century, however,
there was effectively nothing between the gold solidus and the tiny copper
denominations, whose rate, valued against the solidus, was constantly chang-
ing. The later fi fth-century emperors, in particular Anastasius (491–518), who
introduced a new large follis (498), were more successful in introducing some
stability; here it is interesting to fi nd that Anastasius’ reform of the coinage
continued trends already to be seen in the Vandalic and Ostrogothic coinages
of the west.^57 The circulation and issuing of coinage was highly regionalized,
with a system of local mints, and the gold and bronze currencies operated
separately; nevertheless the economy was still highly monetized, and money
changers became common, with banking also a signifi cant element. The sixth-
century church of San Vitale in Ravenna was built by a rich banker, Julius
Argentarius, at a cost of 26,000 solidi.
Thus, as we have seen, the late Roman taxation system was highly
complex and had many problems. Its most important part, the supplies for
the army, was also the most diffi cult to organize. The regular censuses neces-
sary to keep the registers of land and population accurate tended not to be
held, and great discrepancies could arise. Once collected, fi nally, the goods
had to be transmitted to the necessary unit – a further process requiring
complicated organization. Commutation of tax in kind into gold, especially
in the west, at varying rates of commutation which at times had to be
regulated by the government, was a further factor, and in the sixth centu-
ry payment in gold (pounds or solidi) was the norm. It is extremely diffi cult
to assess the economic consequences of this state of affairs. On a priori
grounds alone, the collection and distribution of taxes in kind, which con-
tinued in part well into the fi fth century, and the constant fl uctuation of
value against the solidus of the base-metal/copper coinage (pecunia) would
seem likely to have had a depressive effect on the existence of a market
economy.
The economics of urban changeThere was, however, urban change at varying rates in different parts of the
empire, and the degree of continuity or decline in urban contexts is one of the
most contentious issues in current scholarship. This will be discussed further
in Chapter 7; for now, it is enough to say that while there was great variety
between east and west and within individual provinces, evidence from sites all
over the empire suggests that the typical late Roman urban life, with peristyle
houses and open public spaces, was by some time in the sixth century (the
exact date postulated varies and is often a matter of controversy – the change
came much earlier in the western provinces) giving way to an urban fabric