Social and Economical Situation of Countryside in the Roman Province of Dalmatia and in the Histria in the 1st Century BC - 5th Century AD

The focus of this thesis is on the social and economic conditions prevailing in the countryside of Histria and the Roman province of Dalmatia from the 1st century BC till the 5th century AD. The thesis' chapters are dealing with specific issues of the provincial rural areas (villae rusticae, vici), legal matters (such as civic status of inhabitants or land ownership) and the general economic situation, particularly the role of agriculture within the system of production, distribution and consumption. The analysis of preserved epigraphic monuments is a crucial part of the chapter on agriculture, whose main focus is on the agricultural production - especially cultivation of olive trees and vines. The production of olive oil and wine was shown to having been far more extensive than previously thought. Other forms of production were also pointed out: figlinae (ceramics workshops), fullonicae (textile workshops) as well as salt production. Distribution and consumption were closely connected to agricultural production, and traces of trade may be followed both on land and at sea. Key words countryside, villae rusticae, Roman Province of Dalmatia, Histria, agriculture, wine, olive oi