Book Cover; Title; Contents; List of illustrations; Preface and acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; A note on the sources; Papyri and ostraka; Inscriptions; Archaeology; Summary of the evidence; Items of the eastern commerce; Goods of a religious nature; Goods used for medicinal purposes; An overview of the trade in the reign of Augustus; The routes of the north; The trade in eastern goods within the Roman Empire; The volume of the trade; The Red Sea Trade in Egypt; Routes and commodities of the Red Sea trade; Trade in the East beyond India; The trade with Arabia
Summary
Utilising new archaeological research the author questions the traditionally held view that the imperial government had a strong political interest in eastern trade. Instead, he argues that their primary motivation was the tax income
