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.
The book Wealth, Office and Rank in Roman Italy (CUP 2025) is the reworked version of my PhD dissertation completed at St Andrews University under the supervision of Myles Lavan. A free digital copy of the book is available here and for a paid physical copy, see e.g. here.
Reviews of the book: classicsforall.org.uk
