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· Introduction
0:11 · At a time when the average city held only a few thousand people, Rome had a million inhabitants.
0:17 · The entire empire at its height may have had 70 million, which likely represented about a third
0:22 · of the global total. For centuries, in other words, something like one in seventy Romans,
0:28 · and one in two hundred human beings, lived in the city of Rome.
0:34 · Rome was far too large to be fed by its hinterland, or even by Italy. From
0:39 · the middle Republic to the final years of the Western Roman Empire, produce from every part
0:44 · of the Mediterranean Basin poured into the imperial city: olive oil, wine, fish sauce,
0:51 · and luxuries ranging from Indian pepper to hibernating land snails. By one estimate,
0:57 · annual imports of staple foods alone may have exceeded 400,000 metric tons. Of that figure,
1:04 · around half came in the form of the one indispensable part of every Roman's diet: grain.
· Grain, glorious grain
1:12 · The Ancient Greeks had divided food into two categories: bread, and things eaten with it. For
1:19 · the Romans, likewise, bread was part of virtually every meal. It has been estimated that the average
1:25 · Roman received three-quarters of his calories in the form of bread, and consumed something
1:31 · like 200 kilograms of grain each year. Ancient doctors noted that Roman children often developed
1:38 · bowed legs – a symptom of rickets, brought on by a diet that consisted of little but bread.
1:45 · Whenever possible, the Romans ate bread made from wheat. Although wheat was grown widely,
1:51 · only a few regions around the Mediterranean consistently produced surpluses large enough
1:56 · for export. Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa – especially what are now Tunisia
2:03 · and eastern Algeria – all provided Rome with grain. But the great breadbasket,
2:09 · responsible for the majority of the wheat that fed the capital, was Egypt.
· Taxes and transport
2:14 · Most of the provincial grain shipped to Rome was collected as a tax. In Cicero's time, for example,
2:21 · a fifth of the Sicilian grain harvest was claimed by the government each year. Under the emperors,
2:27 · likewise, wheat farmers in Egypt and North Africa paid their rents in kind,
2:33 · as did the tenants of many imperial estates. Those who paid their taxes in
2:38 · wheat were responsible not only for threshing and winnowing it, but also for delivering it
2:43 · to a state-owned granary. From there, it was forwarded to the coast for transport to Italy.
2:50 · The barges that carried grain to Rome were the supertankers of the ancient world. At a time
2:56 · when the average freighter held about 100 tons of cargo, a large grain barge could carry 1,000
3:02 · tons or more. During the second century, the author Lucian saw one of these behemoths docked
3:07 · at Athens; it was, he says, 180 feet long and more than 45 feet at the beam – about the size,
3:16 · in other words, of a large ship of the line during the Napoleonic Wars.
· The voyage to Rome
3:22 · Although their cargoes were government property, grain barges were privately
3:26 · owned. To ensure a steady stream of deliveries, the emperors offered captains generous terms,
3:33 · especially if they were willing to sail in winter. St. Paul was on an
3:38 · Egyptian grain barge bound for Rome when an early winter gale shipwrecked him on Malta.
3:45 · Most of the Egyptian grain transports traveled together in a massive flotilla. The appearance
3:51 · of the fast mail ships in its vanguard was an annual cause for celebration at Puteoli,
3:57 · where the fleet docked through the first century.
4:00 · Later, after the emperors developed the vast artificial harbor at Portus,
4:04 · wheat from Egypt and the other grain-exporting provinces was landed at the mouth of the Tiber.
4:11 · When the grain arrived in Rome, it was stored in colossal warehouses.
4:15 · One of these, the imperially-owned Horrea Galbana,
4:19 · covered nearly 21,000 square meters. The Colosseum was only slightly larger.
4:25 · We'll discuss how this grain was distributed and the famous grain
4:28 · dole after a few words... [ad text redacted]
5:39 · Much of the wheat stored in Rome's warehouses would be dispensed through the famous grain
· The grain dole
5:44 · dole. The dole had been introduced in the last years of the Republic,
5:48 · when the radical tribune Clodius made grain – already subsidized by the government – free
5:53 · for many members of the Roman plebs. This policy was systematized and refined by
5:59 · Augustus and his successors. Eventually, olive oil, pork, and wine were added.
6:06 · Under the emperors, about 200,000 people – roughly a fifth of Rome's population – received free grain
6:13 · every month. Each recipient was given five modii (about 33 kg), enough to feed one adult. Far
6:21 · from being a sign of poverty, enrollment in the dole was seen as a status symbol,
6:26 · since only Roman citizens who were longtime residents of the capital were eligible. Some
6:31 · were so proud of being dole recipients that they inscribed the fact on their tombstones.
6:37 · An official list was kept of those on the dole. Everyone on the list received a token – the
6:43 · tessera frumentaria – which they had to present in order to receive their allotment of grain.
6:49 · Distribution took place at the Porticus Minucia on the Campus Martius. Dole recipients presented
6:55 · their token at one of 44 windows on a designated day of the month. The epitaph of one Roman boy,
7:03 · for example, records that he received grain on the tenth day at Window 39.
7:10 · Until the third century, those on the dole brought their grain to bakers to be milled
· Millers and bakers
7:15 · and baked. The tomb of Eurysaces, who grew rich turning state-supplied wheat into bread,
7:21 · can still be seen just outside the Porta Maggiore. Under Septimius Severus, the state assumed the
7:28 · tasks of milling and baking. Water-power grain mills were set up at strategic points in the
7:34 · aqueduct system, and daily distributions of bread replaced monthly handouts of grain.
· State subsidies
7:40 · Although only a minority of Rome's inhabitants were enrolled in the dole,
7:44 · all benefitted from government measures intended to keep grain cheap. In times of crisis,
7:50 · the emperors set maximum prices, limited the quantities that individuals could buy,
7:55 · and increased the amount dispensed by the dole. More generally,
7:59 · imperial officials tried to keep bread abundant and affordable by supervising the activities
8:04 · of shippers and bakers. They also released state grain onto the free market at subsidized prices.
8:12 · The government controlled the grain market so closely because it had to. Any increase in the
8:17 · price of grain threatened the hundreds of thousands who were not on the dole
8:21 · with deprivation, or even starvation. Bread riots were a chronic problem. In
8:27 · 75 BC, a hungry mob threatened to lynch the consuls. More than a century later,
8:33 · another mob pelted Claudius with stale crusts.
8:37 · Besides preventing unrest in their capital, the government subsidized the grain market as a way of
· Imperial ideology
8:42 · confirming Rome's status. Directing the surpluses of the whole Mediterranean world to feed a single
8:48 · city was a way of performing imperial power. It was also a way of demonstrating the special status
8:55 · of the Roman people. Under the Republic, and for three centuries after Augustus, Rome was the only
9:01 · conceivable center of the empire. Its inhabitants had a privileged place, and tradition obligated
9:08 · the emperors to show them special favor. Making bread cheap or free was the best way to do this.
9:15 · The goddess Annona, who personified the grain supply,
9:18 · appeared on imperial coins. Frequently, she was pictured with the prow of a ship,
9:23 · signifying the emperors' role in importing grain from distant provinces.
9:28 · Despite the massive expense of maintaining it, the grain dole survived well into late antiquity.
· Legacies
9:34 · At Constantinople – where a system modeled on Rome's was established by Constantine – the dole
9:40 · persisted until the Persians conquered Egypt. Rome's own dole, ended by the Vandal occupation
9:46 · of North Africa, was revived after the fall of the Western Empire by the Gothic king Theoderic,
9:52 · who understood that being a successor of the emperors meant feeding Rome.
9:59 · You can join me in Rome this June, when I'm leading a tour... [ad text redacted]
10:33 · ...Thanks for watching.
·

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
	·	Introduction
0:11	·	At a time when the average city held only a few thousand people, Rome had a million inhabitants.
0:17	·	The entire empire at its height may have had 70 million, which likely represented about a third
0:22	·	of the global total. For centuries, in other words, something like one in seventy Romans,
0:28	·	and one in two hundred human beings, lived in the city of Rome.
0:34	·	Rome was far too large to be fed by its hinterland, or even by Italy. From
0:39	·	the middle Republic to the final years of the Western Roman Empire, produce from every part
0:44	·	of the Mediterranean Basin poured into the imperial city: olive oil, wine, fish sauce,
0:51	·	and luxuries ranging from Indian pepper to hibernating land snails. By one estimate,
0:57	·	annual imports of staple foods alone may have exceeded 400,000 metric tons. Of that figure,
1:04	·	around half came in the form of the one indispensable part of every Roman's diet: grain.
	·	Grain, glorious grain
1:12	·	The Ancient Greeks had divided food into two categories: bread, and things eaten with it. For
1:19	·	the Romans, likewise, bread was part of virtually every meal. It has been estimated that the average
1:25	·	Roman received three-quarters of his calories in the form of bread, and consumed something
1:31	·	like 200 kilograms of grain each year. Ancient doctors noted that Roman children often developed
1:38	·	bowed legs – a symptom of rickets, brought on by a diet that consisted of little but bread.
1:45	·	Whenever possible, the Romans ate bread made from wheat. Although wheat was grown widely,
1:51	·	only a few regions around the Mediterranean consistently produced surpluses large enough
1:56	·	for export. Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa – especially what are now Tunisia
2:03	·	and eastern Algeria – all provided Rome with grain. But the great breadbasket,
2:09	·	responsible for the majority of the wheat that fed the capital, was Egypt.
	·	Taxes and transport
2:14	·	Most of the provincial grain shipped to Rome was collected as a tax. In Cicero's time, for example,
2:21	·	a fifth of the Sicilian grain harvest was claimed by the government each year. Under the emperors,
2:27	·	likewise, wheat farmers in Egypt and North Africa paid their rents in kind,
2:33	·	as did the tenants of many imperial estates. Those who paid their taxes in
2:38	·	wheat were responsible not only for threshing and winnowing it, but also for delivering it
2:43	·	to a state-owned granary. From there, it was forwarded to the coast for transport to Italy.
2:50	·	The barges that carried grain to Rome were the supertankers of the ancient world. At a time
2:56	·	when the average freighter held about 100 tons of cargo, a large grain barge could carry 1,000
3:02	·	tons or more. During the second century, the author Lucian saw one of these behemoths docked
3:07	·	at Athens; it was, he says, 180 feet long and more than 45 feet at the beam – about the size,
3:16	·	in other words, of a large ship of the line during the Napoleonic Wars.
	·	The voyage to Rome
3:22	·	Although their cargoes were government property, grain barges were privately
3:26	·	owned. To ensure a steady stream of deliveries, the emperors offered captains generous terms,
3:33	·	especially if they were willing to sail in winter. St. Paul was on an
3:38	·	Egyptian grain barge bound for Rome when an early winter gale shipwrecked him on Malta.
3:45	·	Most of the Egyptian grain transports traveled together in a massive flotilla. The appearance
3:51	·	of the fast mail ships in its vanguard was an annual cause for celebration at Puteoli,
3:57	·	where the fleet docked through the first century.
4:00	·	Later, after the emperors developed the vast artificial harbor at Portus,
4:04	·	wheat from Egypt and the other grain-exporting provinces was landed at the mouth of the Tiber.
4:11	·	When the grain arrived in Rome, it was stored in colossal warehouses.
4:15	·	One of these, the imperially-owned Horrea Galbana,
4:19	·	covered nearly 21,000 square meters. The Colosseum was only slightly larger.
4:25	·	We'll discuss how this grain was distributed and the famous grain
4:28	·	dole after a few words... [ad text redacted]
5:39	·	Much of the wheat stored in Rome's warehouses would be dispensed through the famous grain
	·	The grain dole
5:44	·	dole. The dole had been introduced in the last years of the Republic,
5:48	·	when the radical tribune Clodius made grain – already subsidized by the government – free
5:53	·	for many members of the Roman plebs. This policy was systematized and refined by
5:59	·	Augustus and his successors. Eventually, olive oil, pork, and wine were added.
6:06	·	Under the emperors, about 200,000 people – roughly a fifth of Rome's population – received free grain
6:13	·	every month. Each recipient was given five modii (about 33 kg), enough to feed one adult. Far
6:21	·	from being a sign of poverty, enrollment in the dole was seen as a status symbol,
6:26	·	since only Roman citizens who were longtime residents of the capital were eligible. Some
6:31	·	were so proud of being dole recipients that they inscribed the fact on their tombstones.
6:37	·	An official list was kept of those on the dole. Everyone on the list received a token – the
6:43	·	tessera frumentaria – which they had to present in order to receive their allotment of grain.
6:49	·	Distribution took place at the Porticus Minucia on the Campus Martius. Dole recipients presented
6:55	·	their token at one of 44 windows on a designated day of the month. The epitaph of one Roman boy,
7:03	·	for example, records that he received grain on the tenth day at Window 39.
7:10	·	Until the third century, those on the dole brought their grain to bakers to be milled
	·	Millers and bakers
7:15	·	and baked. The tomb of Eurysaces, who grew rich turning state-supplied wheat into bread,
7:21	·	can still be seen just outside the Porta Maggiore. Under Septimius Severus, the state assumed the
7:28	·	tasks of milling and baking. Water-power grain mills were set up at strategic points in the
7:34	·	aqueduct system, and daily distributions of bread replaced monthly handouts of grain.
	·	State subsidies
7:40	·	Although only a minority of Rome's inhabitants were enrolled in the dole,
7:44	·	all benefitted from government measures intended to keep grain cheap. In times of crisis,
7:50	·	the emperors set maximum prices, limited the quantities that individuals could buy,
7:55	·	and increased the amount dispensed by the dole. More generally,
7:59	·	imperial officials tried to keep bread abundant and affordable by supervising the activities
8:04	·	of shippers and bakers. They also released state grain onto the free market at subsidized prices.
8:12	·	The government controlled the grain market so closely because it had to. Any increase in the
8:17	·	price of grain threatened the hundreds of thousands who were not on the dole
8:21	·	with deprivation, or even starvation. Bread riots were a chronic problem. In
8:27	·	75 BC, a hungry mob threatened to lynch the consuls. More than a century later,
8:33	·	another mob pelted Claudius with stale crusts.
8:37	·	Besides preventing unrest in their capital, the government subsidized the grain market as a way of
	·	Imperial ideology
8:42	·	confirming Rome's status. Directing the surpluses of the whole Mediterranean world to feed a single
8:48	·	city was a way of performing imperial power. It was also a way of demonstrating the special status
8:55	·	of the Roman people. Under the Republic, and for three centuries after Augustus, Rome was the only
9:01	·	conceivable center of the empire. Its inhabitants had a privileged place, and tradition obligated
9:08	·	the emperors to show them special favor. Making bread cheap or free was the best way to do this.
9:15	·	The goddess Annona, who personified the grain supply,
9:18	·	appeared on imperial coins. Frequently, she was pictured with the prow of a ship,
9:23	·	signifying the emperors' role in importing grain from distant provinces.
9:28	·	Despite the massive expense of maintaining it, the grain dole survived well into late antiquity.
	·	Legacies
9:34	·	At Constantinople – where a system modeled on Rome's was established by Constantine – the dole
9:40	·	persisted until the Persians conquered Egypt. Rome's own dole, ended by the Vandal occupation
9:46	·	of North Africa, was revived after the fall of the Western Empire by the Gothic king Theoderic,
9:52	·	who understood that being a successor of the emperors meant feeding Rome.
9:59	·	You can join me in Rome this June, when I'm leading a tour... [ad text redacted]
10:33	·	...Thanks for watching.
	·