Between Puteoli' Gentes and Alexandrian Elite: the Actors of Long-Distance Trade in Roman Egypt

This study focuses on the actors of long-distance trade between Rome and Egypt, questioning the pertinence of "trader elite" as a concept for the merchants milieu of the Roman world during Republican and Imperial periods. It is based on a wide range of evidence, including Greek and Latin inscriptions, papyri, ostraka and literary testimonies, available from Egyptian and Campanian contexts from the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century AD. In a first place, the author studies the geographical origins and the juridical status of trade actors. Then, she focuses on the functions of these actors in commercial transactions and on professional titles related to them, according to three functional categories, which are conceived as not immutable categories. Finally, she pays attention to the different forms of merchants' self-representations in municipal as in provincial contexts, aiming to shed light on merchant's social mobility