OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
The economy of Hellenistic Egypt has traditionally been characterized as a ‘royal economy’ dominated by the Ptolemaic kings and queens (305-30 BC). This paradigm is based mainly on two elements: the king as ultimate owner of all land, and ‘state’ or ‘royal monopolies’ in industry and trade. Over the last decades, significant advances have been made in the study of the land tenure regime, leading to more nuanced interpretations of the Ptolemaic state and economy. Similar arguments can be made for the so-called ‘royal monopolies’ as well. In this lecture, we will have a closer look at the oil, textile and beer industries, all traditionally considered to have been ‘monopolized’ by the state. The king and his administration certainly played a role, but it is increasingly clear that the ‘royal economy’ represented only part of economic activity in Hellenistic Egypt.
