THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE HELLENISTIC WORLD

3 volumes. From the corrected sheets of the First Edition. Illustrated with 112 black and white plates and 11 figures in the text. Royal 8vo, publisher’s original dark green cloth, the spine lettered and ruled in gilt, in the rare printed dustjackets. xxiv, 602; viii, 603-1312; 1313-1779 pp. A fine set, some of the normal foxing to the end leaves from dustjacket offset, a bit of foxing to some page edges, dustjackets complete and well preserved with only a minimal bit of chipping at the tips or joints.

Edizione: the very scarce extensive work of hellenistic history. by the publication of this text, rostovtzeff had established himself as a consummate historian with his many historical works including the history of the ancient world and the social and economic history of the roman empire. in this comprehensive set, he sets out to explore the social and economic aspects of the history of the hellenistic world, which he specifically defines as the world created by alexander’s conquest of the east that existed as long as the states which comprised it retained their independence (approximately from the time of alexander to that of augustus). in his preface, he states that he finds the social and economic aspects of hellenistic life most key to understanding their society, as well as being the historical perspective that he feels “most competent” in presenting. as in his history on the roman empire, he utilizes not only written sources but also the most recent archaeological testimony to put together this text. a fine set of this seminal and all-encompassing work.