Resumen de Late Antiquity, Early Islam, and the Emergence of a “Precocious Capitalism”: A Review Essay

Paolo Tedesco

• Economic history has enjoyed a revival in the study of LateAntiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In the last two decades,ground-breaking interpretations have emerged from the writingsof Michael McCormick, Brian Ward-Perkins, Chris Wickham, PeterSarris, Kyle Harper, and, recently, John Haldon.1In this context,Jairus Banaji’s Exploring the Economy of Late Antiquityoffers theprospect of further intellectual renewal.2In both range and depth,this book, covering in detail the economic life of the Mediter-ranean, Middle East, and Indian Ocean, has few parallels in con-temporary literature. Banaji’s aim in these essays is to argue forthe sophistication of ancient economic organization, against a min-imalism that downgrades it irremediably.