Economy · Roman Empire Daily
In 301 AD an emperor tried to stop inflation by capping the prices of about a thousand goods and services.
Deep dive
Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices set ceilings on everything from grain to wages, with harsh penalties. It largely failed, as goods vanished from legal markets, but it left a remarkable record of the ancient economy.
Source: Diocletian, 'Edict on Maximum Prices' (301 AD); Lactantius, 'On the Deaths of the Persecutors,' 7.
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