The development of Roman maritime trade after the Second Punic war

This contribution describes the expansion of Roman maritime trade from the end of the 3rd century BC to the end of the 2nd century AD. It emphasizes the enormous transformations that took place in the scale and complexity of Roman maritime trade, and the associated infrastructures, as a result of Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean and the growth of the city of Rome. It includes a case study of the rapid rise of traders of Italian origin in the port of Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena) in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.