Roman commerce was a major sector of the Roman economy during the later generations of the Republic and throughout most of the imperial period. Fashions and trends in historiography and in popular culture have tended to neglect the economic basis of the empire in favor of the lingua franca of Latin and the exploits of the Roman legions. The language and the legions were supported by trade and were part of its backbone. The Romans were businessmen, and the longevity of their empire was caused by their commercial trade.
A Roman fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD, depicting a Maenad in silk dress, Naples National Archaeological Museum; silks came from the Han dynasty of China along the Silk Road, a valuable trade commodity in the Roman empire, whereas Roman glasswares made their way to Han China via land and sea.
Arcus Argentariorum in Rome, a private offering of the argentarii and negotiantes of the Forum Boarium
River vessel carrying barrels, assumed to be wine
A small coaster
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
The San Juan de Dios Market in Guadalajara, Jalisco
The Liberty to Trade as Buttressed by National Law (1909) by George Howard Earle, Jr.
A busy market in Mile 12. Lagos - Nigeria
Ancient Etruscan "aryballoi" terracota vessels unearthed in the 1860s at Bolshaya Bliznitsa tumulus near Phanagoria, South Russia (formerly part of the Bosporan Kingdom of Cimmerian Bosporus, present-day Taman Peninsula); on exhibit at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg
