page_title: Byzantine economy
section_title: State's role
hierarchical_section_title: Byzantine economy / State's role
caption_attribution_description: English: Law of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I (491-518 AD) regulating passage through Dardanelles' customs. Marble, found in Abydos, Canakkale, Turkey. Currently on display in the Istanbul Archaelogical Museum. The following translation to English is also displayed there: "... Whoever dares to violate these regulations shall no longer be regarded as a friend, and he shall be punished. Besides, the administrator of the Dardanelles must have the right to receive 50 golden Litrons, so that these rules, which we make out of piety, shall never ever be violated. We wish that the administrator never engage in any secret or evil activity, and that he will always be alert, efficient and hard-working. We have decreed that our orders be engraved on stone plaques and that these be erected as near as possible to the seashore, so that all men who want to may see them, and so that all other men we want to see them can see them... ... The distinguished governor and major of the capital, who already has both hands full of things to do, has turned to our lofty piety in order to reorganize the entry and exit of all ships through the Dardanelles, and change the rules which have been obeyed by sailors of the last 22 years. Starting from our day and also in the future, anybody who wants to pass through the Dardanelles must pay the following: - All wine merchants who bring wine to the capital (Constantinopolis), except Cilicians, have to pay the Dardanelles officials 6 follis and 2 sextarius of wine. - In the same manner, all merchants of olive-oil, vegetables and lard must pay the Dardanelles officials 6 follis. Cilician sea-merchants have to pay 3 follis and in addition to that, 1 keration (12 follis) to enter, and 2 keration to exit. - All wheat merchants have to pay the officials 3 follis per modius, and a further sum of 3 follis when leaving."
context_page_description: The Byzantine economy was among the most robust economies in the Mediterranean for many centuries. Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of Eurasia and North Africa. Some scholars argue that, up until the arrival of the Arabs in the 7th century, the Eastern Roman Empire had the most powerful economy in the world. The Arab conquests, however, would represent a substantial reversal of fortunes contributing to a period of decline and stagnation. Constantine V's reforms marked the beginning of a revival that continued until 1204. From the 10th century until the end of the 12th, the Byzantine Empire projected an image of luxury, and the travelers were impressed by the wealth accumulated in the capital. All this changed with the arrival of the Fourth Crusade, which was an economic catastrophe. The Palaiologoi tried to revive the economy, but the late Byzantine state would not gain full control of either the foreign or domestic economic forces.
  One of the economic foundations of the empire was trade. The state strictly controlled both the internal and the international trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing coinage.
context_section_description: The state retained the monopoly of issuing coinage, and had the power to intervene in other important sectors of the economy. It exercised formal control over interest rates, and set the parameters for the activity of the guilds and corporations in Constantinople, in which the state has a special interest (e.g. the sale of silk) or whose members exercised a profession that was of importance for trade. The emperor and his officials intervened at times of crisis to ensure the provisioning of the capital and to keep down the price of cereals. For this reason, the empire strictly controlled both the internal circulation of commodities, and the international trade (certainly in intent; to a considerable degree also in practice). Additionally, the state often collected part of the surplus in the form of tax, and put it back into circulation, through redistribution in the form of salaries to state officials of the army, or in the form of investment in public works, buildings, or works of art.
caption: Law of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I (491-518) regulating passage through Dardanelles' customs.
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