In the little book under review here, Ward takes the evidence of the Petra papyri, especially its fifth and final volume, alongside a wide variety of other material, like the Nessana papyri and amphora from Aqaba and across the region, to evaluate the economy in this late antique Roman province of Third Palestine.[1] Along the way, he makes a valuable contribution to wider discussions of the character of the late antique economy.
The book is divided into seven chapters. It also includes several maps and illustrations, some in colour, as well as a detailed and extensive bibliography. In the first chapter, the introduction, Ward notes that the settled population of the towns and the pastoralists as a whole prospered in late antiquity. He then sets out the framework for the book, which includes its two primary aims: first, to gather material connected to the economy in Third Palestine; second, to evaluate how effectively scholarship has used the evidence of Third Palestine to understand the ancient economy. Ward provides an overview of the geography and administration of the province before offering a succinct overview of the competing approaches to interpreting the ancient economy.[2]
Chapter two focuses on agriculture and pastoralism in Third Palestine. Ward notes that agriculture in the Negev was based on a system of wadi terraces. The Nessana papyri shed light on the organization of farmsteads; less so the yields, and for this Ward draws upon other material, like the archaeological remains of the wadi irrigation systems. He sets out the various products produced by all these properties and notes that the inhabitants had a varied diet. The Petra papyri are less useful for agricultural matters than those from Nessana. Nevertheless, there seems to have been a great deal of overlap in output and materials between the Negev and southern Jordan. Ward brings in the Babatha papyri as a point of comparison. The last part of the chapter focuses on the pastoralists, whose economy was based primarily on animal products. Ward notes some of the relationships between the pastoralists and the residents of the province’s settlements, which likely consisted, in no small part, of the exchange of animals. Ward wraps things up by bringing in some archaeobotanical evidence to discuss the increase of viticulture from the fourth century before it eventually declined from the middle of the sixth.
In chapter three Ward turns to the urban economy, for which there is limited archaeological evidence. Economic activity continued in late antiquity after the 363 earthquake, though it was hampered, even if there was more economic output in Petra, say, than in some other regional cities. Ward devotes a lot of space to ceramic production noting that Petra was the most important centre of such, with Aila sitting at number two. In the process, he covers the wide range of ceramic vessels produced, like Nabataean Fine Painted Ware, unpainted ware, and Aqaba ware, as well as the known kilns associated with this industry, like the twelve kilns found at ez-Zurrabah, and the little-known production centre at Elusa. Ward also covers copper mining and smelting. Ward shifts to regional exchange in chapter four using, primarily, the evidence of four amphora types (Gaza amphorae, the Palestinian Bag Jar, Egyptian amphorae, and Aila amphorae). Ward highlights the wide-ranging market for maritime products, which could be found across the province, so providing a strong indication for regional trade. Ward also touches on the date trade, and the limited evidence (primarily from two papyri, P.Ness. 3.90, 91) for caravan activities. In the conclusion, Ward notes that the Peutinger Table corroborates the evidence he presented for amphora distribution. The routes set out include one from Aila through the Negev to Judaea; the well-established Via Nova Traiana; and one between Egypt and Aila, which seems to have been less well travelled. Among the important conclusions Ward draws from this chapter are that the abundant trade throughout the province evinced from the amphorae and fish remains, the many fluctuations in price for assorted goods, and the important role played by personal connections. For Ward, this shows that the late antique economy here best resembles the views espoused by Bang in his Roman Bazaar. Chapter four is followed by an appendix that sets out those different amphora types.
In chapter five, Ward broadens the scope to look at exchange with the wider region, especially in the Red Sea and down to Mecca, focusing on some key sites, like Aila (modern Aqaba), and the more mysterious (if only because its location has not been determined) Iotabe. Meccan trade—and the caravans that traversed the routes from Syria south to Mecca and Medina—feature prominently. From the origins of this trade, Ward shifts to the commodities, and the role played by the Roman Empire and its inhabitants in sending supplies south along these routes. While this exchange, for some, led to significant prosperity in the Hijaz, the impact on Third Palestine is harder to quantify. Chapter six concentrates on the connections between pilgrimage and monasticism on Third Palestine’s economy. Ward covers a range of topics including the existence of monasticism, which had a direct impact on the region’s economy owing in large part to the need to supply pilgrims with food and drink. He also describes the attendant transportation infrastructure, and the various means of supplying the clearcut upsurge in demand, engendered by the burgeoning pilgrimage industry.
In the seventh and final chapter Ward describes the relationship between the urban and rural economies in Third Palestine as reciprocal. The province produced a variety of crops despite the limited rainfall. Prices seem to have been market-driven, products moved around the province, and its inhabitants do not seem to have been overburdened by taxes. Third Palestine has the markings of both a modern and a primitive economy. Indeed, following Bang, Ward argues that being fixated on the modernist-vs-primitivist debate does not aid our understanding of the ancient economy, here (Third Palestine) or in general (Mediterranean-wide).
Overall, this is a good book that provides a valuable account of the region’s economy as well as the place of Third Palestine in late antiquity in general. Ward makes full use of the diverse evidence, especially the papyri and amphorae, and brings to life many of the daily rhythms of its inhabitants. Ward’s Third Palestine is full of vitality, with significant trade and manufacturing. He has also included an extensive bibliography (twenty-six pages). If there is a quibble, it is that although he touches on the province’s relationship to the imperial centre, I think there was scope for a fuller discussion of taxation and the law.
Still, the breadth of coverage is significant, and Ward has managed to squeeze as much insight as possible from what evidence we have. To that end, Ward has managed to collect all the material we have for the province’s economy, so fulfilling his first goal. Regarding Ward’s second goal, although he has revealed the limited role the province has played in wider discussions of the economy, I hazard that this book would be valuable to others interested in the economy of other Roman provinces, whether of the high or late empire. Indeed, Third Palestine might have seemed a surprisingly limited choice for a study like this, but Ward has done the province a valuable service. He has shown the way forward on how to integrate the varied evidence (amphorae, environmental, papyrological) to uncover details of wider import for the Mediterranean economy. My hope too is that this book will engender more research on this fascinating if somewhat unappreciated corner of the Roman Empire.
Notes
[1] C. J. Kraemer C. J., Excavations at Nessana, Vol. 3: The Non-Literary Papyri (Princeton, NJ, 1958); S. T. Parker, The Roman Aqaba Project Final Report. Volume I: The Regional Environment and the Regional Survey (Boston, 2014).
[2] He starts with the approaches of primitivists and modernists, and then introduces New Institutional Economics and cliometrics, best exemplified by the Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy, edited by W. Scheidel (Cambridge, 2012). See the BMCR review here: https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2014/2014.01.35/. Ward also covers the question of whether the Roman economy was a market or bazaar economy, following the work of Temin and Bang: P. Temin, The Roman Market Economy (Princeton, 2013); P. Bang, The Roman Bazaar: a comparative study of trade and markets in a tributary empire (Cambridge, 2008).