Rome, a sophisticated and a world super power in its time has built the world’s
first empire that is systematized around money. Since the minting of the first
coins in the ancient city of Lydia, the Romans have since then, became the vessels
of the coin system. It was able to distribute it with ease across its vast empire.
The prosperity of Rome can be credited to its revolutionary concepts based on
a market economy, money, technological advancements and military might. The
success of the empire is the result of numerous military conquests, sacking
a conquered nation and taking the riches back to its capital city Rome. This
continuous flow of funds from the conquests spurred a barrage of government
spending on public works which in turn stimulated growth economically.
Rome saw its economic apogee during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. This is a time when most of the Mediterranean and its surrounding lands are united under a Roman emperor. During this stage, the Roman Empire is virtually self sufficient. Grains coming from Egypt and wine from the Iberia, present day Spain. This era also marked a peak in security which resulted in more commerce. This increased the quality of money available in the market therefore improving the quality of life for most of its citizens.
All of these economic growth
started way before the rise of Julius Caesar which belonged to the republican
line of emperors. They are all well aware of the benefits of a free market system
that further improved most of their Republican agenda and achievements. This
system of prosperity would not last despite its attained success in the early
imperial era. Later emperors such as Claudius, Caligula, Nero and Augustus believed
that acquisition of new kingdoms and land would bring Rome more wealth than
focusing only on improving their market systems. This idea proved to be beneficial
as huge sums of new wealth coming in from newly conquered lands entered Rome’s
treasury. In the long run, as an ever expanding Rome continued its military
conquests, its spending was also expanding and getting bigger than ever. The
conquest of Egypt, Judea, Gaul and the surrounding areas cost Rome an estimated
400 million Sesterces.