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Roman commerce was a major sector of the Roman economy during the later generations of the Republic and throughout most of the imperial period. Fashions and trends in historiography and in popular culture have tended to neglect the economic basis of the empire in favor of the lingua franca of Latin and the exploits of the Roman legions .
During the early centuries of the Roman Republic, it is conjectured that the economy was largely agrarian and centered on the trading of commodities such as grain and wine. [2] Financial markets were established through such trade, and financial institutions, which extended credit for personal use and public infrastructure, were established ...
The economy of Hispania, or Roman Iberia, experienced a strong revolution during and after the conquest of the peninsular territory by Rome, in such a way that, from an unknown but promising land, it came to be one of the most valuable acquisitions of both the Republic and Empire and a basic pillar that sustained the rise of Rome.
Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the Roman Republic in the 6th century BC, though not outside the Italian Peninsula until the 3rd century BC. Thus, it was an "empire" (a great power) long before it had an emperor. [22]
The wars of the early Republic led directly to the expansion of Roman territory, the acquisition of arable land, and land hunger for Rome's least powerful, impoverished citizens. Landholding was the material basis of male Roman citizenship, and land distribution remained a major issue throughout Rome's history.
The "Capitoline Brutus", a bust possibly depicting Lucius Junius Brutus, who led the revolt against Rome's last king and was a founder of the Republic. Animated overview of the Roman territorial history from the Roman Republic until the fall of its last remnant the Byzantine Empire in 1453 at the end of the post-classical era.
Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the Republic in the 6th century BC, though it did not expand outside the Italian Peninsula until the 3rd century BC, during the Punic Wars, after which the Republic expanded across the Mediterranean.
Taxation in ancient Rome was decentralized, with the government preferring to leave the task of collecting taxes to local elected magistrates. [9] Typically these magistrates were wealthy landowners. During the Roman Republic finances were stored inside the temple of Saturn. Under the reign of Augustus a new institution was created: the fiscus.