September 21, 2017December 22, 2017comparison data, Viking Era What is a cow worth today? That provides a framework for valuation in ancient times. Comparing prices and values over a long period of time is tough to do. For example, how can we compare the cost […]
September 20, 2017October 24, 2017Viking Era What was the cost to hire an entire Viking army? A large contingent of trained, well armed warriors could hire themselves out as mercenaries for a nice wage during the Viking age. […]
August 27, 2017Viking Era Distribution of wealth at the end of the Viking Age How concentrated was wealth at the end of the Viking Age? In lecture 34 of his course The Vikings, from The Great […]
August 8, 2017Viking Era Guesses on how much loot the Vikings hauled out of Europe – #2 Here are some more guesses for how much gold and silver the Vikings extracted from Frankia and England during their plundering raids. […]
August 5, 2017Viking Era Guesses on how much loot the Vikings hauled out of Europe – #1 I’ve read a number of guesses on how much gold and silver the Vikings looted on various excursions around England and continental […]
July 18, 2017Roman Empire Roman currency debasement overlaid with cause of death for Roman Emperors. The Money Project, from The Visual Capitalist, has a great visualization comparing the debasement of Roman currency with the cause of death […]
July 13, 2017Roman Empire Contrast on the ability of the East and West parts of the Roman Empire to maintain a strong army and economic prosperity At the conclusion of The Complete Roman Army, Adrian Goldsworthy provides a very brief summary of the role the army at the […]
July 10, 2017Roman Empire Roman logistics The Complete Roman Army, by Adrian Goldsworthy, provides some background on logistics. Logistics The Romans had an equation on how far an […]
July 7, 2017Roman Empire The price paid for losing out to a Roman siege The Complete Roman Army, by Adrian Goldsworthy, explains the rule of war on sieges during the Roman reign. The cost of resisting […]
July 5, 2017Roman Empire Pay stub for one particular Roman soldier The Complete Roman Army, by Adrian Goldsworthy, provides a pay sheet for one soldier as an illustration of the pay structure for […]