A Study On The Governance Of Ostia In The Roman Empire

Ostia,located at the mouth of the Tiber River in central Italy,is an important port in Rome.It plays an important role in maintaining the supply of materials in Rome and connecting the economic operations of the Mediterranean region.Ostia was settled at the beginning of the Roman city in the 8th century BC,and it was used as a salt field and a naval port in Rome before the Roman Empire.From the end of the Republic,Ostia’s economic value as the closest material transshipment port to Rome began to appear.In the early days of the Empire,it became an important transit point for bulk commodities represented by food to reach Rome by water.However,due to the war in the last years of the Roman Republic and its own natural conditions,Ostia’s port fell into disrepair and urban construction was lagging behind.As a port city,Ostia’s capacity was very limited.At the same time,the city size and population of Rome increased sharply from the 1st century AD,coupled with the policy of free distribution of rations promoted by successive Roman heads of state,caused huge material supply pressure on Rome.In order to solve the pressure of material supply in Rome,especially the pressure of food supply,the Roman heads of state represented by Claudius and Trajan took a series of governance measures against Ostia,making Ostia become one of the largest port cities in the Mediterranean at that time.This article studies the governance measures taken by the Roman government to Ostia during the Roman Empire.It is divided into three parts: The first part studies the historical background and reasons for the governance of Ostia.Through exploring the macro-historical background of the early days of the Roman Empire,the actual needs of the Roman heads of state and the Roman Empire government for material transportation,the development and existing problems of Ostia in this historical period,it reveals the necessity of governing Ostia;The second part studies the specific policies governing Ostia.Regarding Ostia,the Roman Empire government adopted three policies: First,improve the construction of urban infrastructure,especially the construction of the port.Secondly,the construction of the city system was improved.During the empire,Ostia gradually established and improved the municipal system,the city council,the patron system,and the city’s fire protection functions.The third is to manage Ostia’s grain transportation system.The government,by signing contracts with shipping owners and guilds,launches commercial cooperation to ensure Ostia’s function as a grain transit port;the third part studies the effectiveness of the empire’s governance of Ostia.The governance of Ostia first achieved the immediate goal of the Roman Empire government,that is,to improve the food supply situation in Rome,so that the transit of food supplied to Rome by sea at the mouth of the Tiber would no longer be a problem,and at the same time it was formed in Ostia.A certain amount of material storage capacity has been improved,and the stability of Rome’s material supply has been improved.The governance of Ostia also directly promoted the development of Ostia.In addition,objectively,the Roman Empire’s governance of Ostia also made the Mediterranean region an attractive maritime gathering place.Merchant ships,resources,and manpower from all over the Mediterranean gathered in Ostia,strengthening economic and cultural exchanges in the entire Mediterranean region.Through the study of Ostia,it is helpful to further understand the urban development situation during the Roman Empire,and it is also helpful to deepen the understanding of the relationship between government governance and urban development in ancient Western society.