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Durham E-Theses Durham E-Theses The Crisis of the 3rd Century A.D.: Wage Increases and Ination in Roman Egypt ROBERTSON, STUART How to cite: ROBERTSON, STUART (2015) The Crisis of the 3rd Century A.D.: Wage Increases and Ination in Roman Egypt, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11323/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The Crisis of the 3rd Century A.D.: Wage Increases and Inflation in Roman Egypt Stuart Robertson Material Abstract This thesis reconsiders the 3rd century A.D. in Egypt using labour contracts to determine if there is any evidence to demonstrate how low-status wage agreements responded to the currency changes between A.D. 235 and 305. The importance of this research is that this is a period that is typically described as a time of crisis and inflation. This research therefore explores how private wage agreements and rates responded to the debasement of the Alexandrian tetradrachm between A.D. 235 and the reforms of Aurelian in 274/5; it then examines private viticulture-labour and general labour agreements to determine how wage agreements responded to the reforms of Aurelian in A.D. 274/5, and the changes to currency that occurred between A.D. 274/5 and A.D. 299. Private labour agreements between A.D. 300 and 305 are then examined to determine if there is any evidence for inflation, and to establish how wages responded to the A.D. Edict of Maximum Prices. Finally the research examines wheat prices between A.D. 235 and 305 to determine how these prices responded to the changes in the currency and the buying power of labourer wages during the study period. The results will demonstrate that between A.D. 235 and A.D. 274/5 private wage agreements did not increase in response to the debasement of the Alexandrian tetradrachm. They will also demonstrate that between A.D. 274/5 and A.D. 299 the reforms of Aurelian saw a doubling in value of the tetradrachm, and that wages remained stable reflecting this doubling until c.A.D 286. The results will then show that the introduction of the nummus saw the continued use of older debased tetradrachms, and that this necessitated the upward revaluation of the nummus to ensure its use as a replacement to the tetradrachm. Moreover the revaluation reduced the number of nummi paid in wage agreements to mid 3rd century rates both in terms of the coins, and the amount of silver exchanged. Finally the research will demonstrate that wheat prices per artaba reflected the revaluation of the currency, and not inflation; and that prices remained stable until A.D. 305. The Crisis of the 3rd Century A.D. Wage Increases and Inflation in Roman Egypt Stuart Robertson This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Archaeology University of Durham 2014 Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... 7 Table of Figures ................................................................................................................... 11 Statement of Copyright ........................................................................................................ 13 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................ 14 Dedication ............................................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 15 Section 1.1. Methodology ............................................................................................. 21 Section 1.2. The Significance of the Research .............................................................. 25 Section 1.3. Inflation ..................................................................................................... 27 Section 1.4. Definitions and Calculations ..................................................................... 27 Section 1.5. Historical Comparison............................................................................... 32 Chapter 2. The 3rd Century Crisis ....................................................................................... 37 Chapter 3. Revisionist Views .............................................................................................. 42 Chapter 4. Egypt in the 3rd Century A.D. ........................................................................... 49 Chapter 5. Factors Affecting Wage Stability (A.D. 235 – 274/5) ....................................... 60 Section 5.1. Silver Currency during the 3rd Century in Egypt ..................................... 60 Section 5.2. The Currency Reforms of the 3rd Century A.D. ....................................... 62 Section 5.3. Factors limiting wage increase in Egypt: 3rd century A.D. ...................... 66 Section 5.4. Economic Factors: Available Employment............................................... 68 Section 5.5. Geographical Limits .................................................................................. 72 Section 5.6. Guilds ........................................................................................................ 73 Section 5.7. Tradition .................................................................................................... 76 Section 5.8. Government and Taxation ......................................................................... 77 Section 5.9. Conclusion ................................................................................................. 79 Chapter 6. Evidence of Wage Stability until A.D. 274/5 .................................................... 82 Section 6.1. Wages: Potters ........................................................................................... 82 Section 6.2. Potters’ Wages in Silver ............................................................................ 86 Section 6.3. Wages: Ass and Ox-Drivers ..................................................................... 87 Section 6.4. Wages: Apprentices................................................................................... 92 Section 6.5. Maintenance .............................................................................................. 96 Section 6.6. Apprentices: Fines ..................................................................................... 97 2 Section 6.7. Conclusion ................................................................................................. 99 Chapter 7. Currency Reforms A.D. 275 - 299 ................................................................... 101 Section 7.1. The A.D. 274/5 Reform of Aurelian ....................................................... 102 Section 7.2. Analysis of hoard evidence for the A.D. 274/5 currency reforms .......... 107 Section 7.3. Price increases in the papyri .................................................................... 110 Section 7.4. The Reform of A.D. 279 – 80 ................................................................. 113 Section 7.5. The Reforms of A.D. 294 – 96 ................................................................ 115 Chapter 8. Evidence for Wage Stability A.D. 275 - 299 ................................................... 119 Section 8.1. P. Oxy. XLVII, 3354: a viticulture labour contract from A.D. 257 ........ 123 Section 8.2. P. Col. 10, 280: a viticulture labour from A.D. 269/277 ......................... 126 Section 8.3. Papyrus P. Col. 10. 280: Analysis of Estiot ............................................ 130 Section 8.4. Papyrus P. Col. 10, 280: Analysis of Harl .............................................. 132 Section 8.5. Papyrus P. Col. 10, 280: Conclusion ....................................................... 133 Section 8.6. P. Oxy. XIV, 1631: a viticulture labour contract from A.D. 280 ............ 134 Section 8.7. Analysis ................................................................................................... 135 Section 8.8. P. Oxy. XIV, 1631. The analysis of Estiot .............................................. 136 Section 8.9. P. Oxy. XIV, 1631. The analysis of Harl ................................................ 137 Section 8.10. Silver content: Analysis ........................................................................ 138 Section 8.11. Maintenance Payments P.Oxy. XIV. 1631 ........................................... 140 Section 8.12. Papyrus P.Laur 4.166 ............................................................................ 141 Section 8.13. Papyrus P.Laur 4.166: Analysis ........................................................... 143 Section 8.14. PSI XIII, 1338: a vineyard contract from A.D. 299 .............................
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