NORTH ITALIC SETTLERS ALONG THE "AMBER ROUTE".

During the late Republic and the early Principate, the area under the direct control of Rome expanded considerably beyond the Alps, including a large portion of the north-werstern Danube basin. The situation offered the Aquileian trading families new opportunities to extend their sphere of activity. In this period, Italic merchants, most of them coming from Aquileian families, settled in the Roman centres along the "Amber Route", establishing trade relationships with their hometown. The study of epigraphic evidence provides relevant elements in order to define the economic role of these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]