Latest / Marcus Aurelius: Rome's Philosopher King — Fexingo History
Marcus Aurelius and the Salt of the Earth
In episode 216, Lucas and Luna explore Marcus Aurelius's often-overlooked economic policy: his salt monopoly and its role in funding the Marcomannic Wars. Rome had long controlled salt through the public salt pans at Ostia, but Marcus overhauled the system, creating a state monopoly that pushed prices up and squeezed the poor. The episode digs into the salt pans' archaeology, the legal wrangles recorded on the Heraia Tablets, and the brutal logic that made salt both a necessity and a weapon. Lucas explains how the monopoly's revenues helped pay for the Danube legions, while…
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