{"product_id":"roman-corinth-an-alternative-model-for-the-classical-city-9780226208701","title":"Roman Corinth: An Alternative Model for the Classical City","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the second century A.D.  Corinth was the largest city in Roman Greece. A center of learning  culture  and commerce  it served as the capital of the senatorial province of Achaea and was the focus of apostle Pauls missionary activity. Donald Engelss important revisionist study of this ancient urban area is at once a detailed history of the Roman colony and a provocative socioeconomic analysis. With Corinth as an exemplar  Engels challenges the widely held view that large classical cities were consumer cities  innocent of the market forces that shape modern economies. Instead  he presents an alternative modelthe \"service city.\"  Examining a wealth of archaelogical and literary evidence in light of central place theory  and using sound statistical techniques  Engels reconstructs the human geography of the Corinthia  including an estimate of the population. He shows thatgiven the amount of cultivatable landrents and taxes levied onthe countryside could not have supported a highly populated city like Corinth. Neither could its inhabitants have supported themselves directly by farming.  Rather  the city constituted a thriving market for domestic  regional  and overseas raw materials  agricultural products  and manufactured goods  at the same time satisfying the needs of those who plied the various land and sea routes that converged there. Corinth provided key governmental and judicial services to the province of Achaea  and its religious festivals  temples  and monuments attracted numerous visitors from all corners of the Roman world. In accounting for the large portion of residents who participated in these various areas outside of the traditional consumer model  Engels reveals the depth and sophistication of the economics of ancient cities.  Roman Corinth is a much-needed critique of the currently dominant approach of ancient urbanism. It will be of crucial interest to scholars and students in classics  ancient history  and urban studies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45276558000181,"sku":"ByrdShop_0226208702","price":239.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780226208701.jpg?v=1780555450","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/roman-corinth-an-alternative-model-for-the-classical-city-9780226208701","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}