Institutional Framework of the Food Supply System

Abstract

The study of the institutional framework of the food supply system in ancient Italy extends beyond simply analyzing supply mechanisms. It delves into the very nature of the Roman state: the limits of its intervention in the economy, its legal and administrative instruments, its relationship to the social structure, and its mechanisms for resource redistribution. This study also opens the door to a comparative approach to forms of economic organization in ancient societies, highlighting how food security contributed to shaping and reproducing the Roman power structure over the centuries.