The Seleukid Royal Economy : The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire

This book examines the royal economy of the Seleukid Empire, the principal successor-state to the empire of Alexander the Greek. This wide-ranging economic study shows how rulers exploited resources to finance their administrations. Adopting a highly original numerical approach, the book presents a quantified model of the Seleukid royal economy.

The Seleukid empire, the principal successor-state of the empire of Alexander the Great, endured for over 200 years and stretched, at its peak, from the Mediterranean to the borders of India. This book provides a wide-ranging study of the empire's economy and the methods used by the Seleukid kings to monetise and manage it so as to extract tribute, rent and taxes as efficiently as possible. It uses a variety of Greek literary sources and inscriptions, cuneiform texts, archaeological, numismatic and comparative evidence to explore in detail the manner of exploitation of their lands and subjects by the Seleukid kings, their city-building activity, the financing of their armies and administration, the use they made of coinage and their methods of financial management. The book adopts a highly original, numerical approach throughout, which leads to a quantified model of the economy of an ancient state.