3,257
edits
Changes
→The Role of Money and Coinage in the Economy
[[File:Achaemenid_coin_daric_420BC_front.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 4. Achaemenid coin (Daric) 420 BC.]]
Coinage, therefore, was a convenient representation of what can be exchanged easily across vast areas under the aegis of a unifying state. This allowed money to flow at much greater quantities in later periods and made banking and investments a fixed feature of the economic landscape. In essence, capital in the form of coinage becomes of great utility with the rise of empires in the Near East, as it was able to flow across distances with far less hindrances from numerous political actors disrupting trade flow, such as that seen in the Bronze Age. This also allowed a range of commodities to be traded in far away regions, including silk from China arriving in the Near East and reaching Rome, all the while forms of investment banking was beginning to flourish.<ref>For information on the trade in silk and the Silk Road establishment, see: ''The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes The Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia and Han China''. 2015. Pen & Sword.</ref> Financial investments began to facilitate the trade of luxury goods at an international scale, covering the known world and linking people who had never been previously linked. <ref>For more information on financial investments in the role of trade, see: McLaughlin, Raoul. 2010. Rome and the Distant East: Trade Routes to the Ancient Lands of Arabia, India and China. London ; New York: Continuum.</ref>
Trade now also was accessible to different cultures and levels of society. As it became easier to move goods across vast distances, more people became involved in international trade. With greater international trade, luxury items became more accessible. <ref>For more information on luxury goods and how they became widespread and accessible as international trade became more prominent, see: Young, Gary. 2011. Romes Eastern Trade. [Place of publication not identified]: Routledge.</ref> It also meant that multiple ethnic and cultural groups were involved in this trade, helping to spread different messages, such as religions, and knowledge that shaped the ancient and subsequent modern world.
