From Rome to Byzantium provides a detailed overview of trading activity in the Roman and Byzantine Mediterranean, grounded in recent archaeological research. It is argued in what follows that while state-sponsored trading was undoubtedly important in both eras, 'free trading' led by consumer tastes and competition over prices must have played a significant role too. It is also contended that the so-called 'Dark Ages' of the seventh and eighth centuries saw more continuity with the Roman past in terms of both commercial activity and urban life than is often admitted. As such, the Byzantine economic and urban revival of the ninth century needs to be at.
