Origins of Business, Money, and Markets

Keith Roberts is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Business School's Program in Venture Capital. He has served as president of the Preservation Group, a San Francisco-based real estate firm; Roberts Proprietaries, Inc., a manufacturing and distribution company; and other firms. He is an arbitrator for the Financial Industries Regulatory Authority and in the New York court system. William H. McNeill is a noted world historian and professor emeritus of history at the University of Chicago. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal, he is the author of many books, including The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, which won a National Book Award for history.

Keith Roberts knows his history and is highly informed on the nature of today's comparable instruments and institutions. By placing his story within changing political, social, and cultural settings and by presenting it in a fascinating, well-written way unencumbered by technical jargon, he opens a new field in the discipline of business history. -- Alfred D. Chandler, emeritus, Harvard Business School, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize for history Business history has largely ignored the ancient world, while in fact there is considerable evidence that business played an important in it. This book provides an accessible, well written validation of this argument. -- Karl Moore, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University An excellent book. Booklist Roberts's well-documented, readable book provides valuable insight into the past and lessons for the present...highly recommended. Choice

• Foreword, by William H. McNeill Preface List of Terms Introduction 1 Business in the Ancient Middle East 1. The Beginning 2. Middle Eastern Empires, 1600-323 B.C.E. 2 Business in Ancient Greece 3. Markets and Greece 4. Business in Athens 5. Hellenistic History: Prologue to Revolution 6. The Hellenistic Business Environment 7. Hellenistic Business 3 Business in Ancient Rome 8. The Early Roman Republic 9. The Late Roman Republic, 201-31 B.C.E. 10. The Principate, 31 B.C.E.-192 C.E. 11. Roman Society 12. Roman Businesses 13. The Downfall of Ancient Business Concluding Note Notes Bibliography Index