How Did Trade Affect The Roman Empire

Trade was an important source of income for the roman empire and contributed to its stability. Trade conducted before the Roman Empire was relatively localized within certain geographic regions. Culturally Romans thought trading as a lowly pursuit that sought to profit off the misfortune of others. Trade began to become prominent as the Empire as the City began to require more resources than it could produce. With the rise of the Roman Empire the City of Rome was exposed to new regions that offered many unique goods. New faraway trade route exposed the Romans to strange cultures that opened new possibilities for the Romans. The new trade systems that would develop would become an important source of taxation for the Roman Emperors. The Roman

Domestically the Empire’s trade networks were centered on the capital of Rome, and through the numerous infrastructure and conquest additions Rome, both the empire and city, was able progress. Soon Rome’s expansion opened new trade routes with faraway lands that Rome would rely on for valuable resources. Indirect trade with the Chinese Empire exposed the Romans to exotic goods like silk. Eventually silk would become the most important trade product that was passed between the Roman Empire and China. Most of the trade that performed by the romans was done between the Romans and the Kingdoms of India. Numerous spices were traded to the Roman Empire and that connection that was established between the two regions would continue to be an important source of luxury goods until the collapse of the post-roman scion The Byzantine Empire. Rome’s connection with the Germanic Peoples of Northern Europe was very tenuous as periods of trade might be randomly interrupted by conflict. Still while trade existed important resources like amber flourished, enrichening Romans and Barbarians alike. The Africa that many Romans saw was a vast desert that contained little life, but the trade with Africa was some of the most important trade in the entire empire. Trade is a type of international movement that typically benefits both sides, the vast amount of trade networks showed how beneficial such networks were for the vast