«Pistorii muneris societas»: note a margine di CTh. 13.5.2

A frequent cause of popular discontent at Rome was food shortages. At best, prices rose, and, at worst, the city was brought to the brink of famine: when the situation became critical, a bread riot could break out. This paper is aimed at providing a conceptual and historical framework in which to contextualize further investigations concerning the relationships between famine, food problems, and imperial economic initiatives in the age of Constantine. I would like to talk specifically about the supply of grain, to add further perspective to the breadth of the system managed by the Roman administration to ensure political stability. Indeed, when Constantinople is founded as a new capital, Rome loses access to the Egyptian tax-grain and relies heavily on Africa for wheat and barley. The system of the Annona is enforced more strictly, and shippers involved in the food supply of Rome found themselves bound to their obligations to the Annona.