Price list established by Emperor Diocletian

One would not expect to find rules defining the maximum price for goods and services in the year 301 AD, but this is exactly what happened.

On the 1^st of September 301, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict to this purpose containing as many as 1,400 items for raw materials and manufacturing goods as well as for services in order to curb the high inflation. It was posted all over his empire, and so far, it is known that, for instance, in Anatolia, parts of the decree have been found in Pergamon, Aizonai, Aphrodias, Stratonikeia, and Halicarnassus.

The entire edict consists of 37 parts, and the Museum of Halicarnassus proudly exhibits part 9 and a bit of part 10. Today, Aphrodisias is claiming to have unearthed the complete list that was inscribed on the façade of the Civil Basilica. With restoration works in progress, archaeologists hope to reassemble the entire decree inside the building where future visitors will be able to see it. It is written in Greek, but authorities plan to make the text available in Latin, English, and Turkish translations.

This will certainly shed extra light on the social and economic life of Diocletian’s days. The list mentions such a range of items as the travel fee from Alexandria to Rome, the ostrich fee, or the price for a rabbit’s belly fur.

Moreover, I remember having seen this edict of Diocletian in Ptolemais (modern Libya). It was found on the Via Porticata, the Monument Street, which corresponded to the Decumanus. The panel that was retrieved here is slightly damaged and is now exhibited at the local Museum of Ptolemais. There must be many other such places, but it is not easy to track them down.

Finding such legislation all over the Roman Empire clearly shows their widespread organizational skills. It makes me wonder whether such a law existed before, maybe already in Hellenistic times.