Wealth, Office and Rank in Roman Italy

By Bart Danon

Dismantling the simplistic equation of wealth, political power and social rank in the Roman empire, this study presents a new reconstruction of the distribution of elite wealth in Roman Italy based on an innovative combination of economic modelling and archaeological and epigraphic evidence. Bart Danon follows a quantitative approach to show that the Roman economic elite was in fact much larger than the political and social elites. The many wealthy households outside the socio-political orders fuelled intense competition for junior political offices, while paradoxically strengthening the resilience of the Roman political system. By challenging long-held assumptions, this book offers fresh perspectives on the complexities of wealth and power in ancient Rome. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1009496964
• ISBN13: 9781009496964
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.7" x 9.6"