ABSTRACT
Cities were recognised in the classical world as the principal demonstrations of public wealth and sophistication. They were, unlike most modern cities, expressions of wealth rather than the source of it, and reflected the economic background and aspirations of their regions. The standard administrative unit of the empire, the civitas, was a territory administered by an urban centre. There were, of course, many other population centres such as small towns, market centres, villages, vici which formed around military bases, and so on. 1
