ROMA E LA VIA DELLE SPEZIE | I EDIZ. 1974 | J. INNES MILLER

In Roma e la via delle spezie, the author J. Innes Miller provides a meticulous exploration of the ancient spice trade that connected Rome to the East between 29 B.C. and 641 A.D. The book delves into the journey of countless exotic botanical commodities—from casia and pepper to nard and lotus—and their transformation into key elements of Roman cuisine, medicine and ritual. Miller reconstructs trade routes across Asia and Africa, merchant convoys, caravan stops, and maritime crossings, revealing how the Roman world was embedded in a vast economic and cultural network bridging Europe and Asia. His work stands out for its synthesis of literary, archaeological and botanical sources to show how the ‘spice roads’ underpinned Roman expansion, global exchange and intellectual curiosity.