Political control of ports, roads and chokepoints could produce fees and strategic advantage. A map of imperial trade routes makes power look almost effortless.
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Trade also depended on local knowledge, merchant networks and demand beyond any imperial administrator's direct control. Merchants often supplied the expertise rulers didn't have.
Security for a favored merchant could mean coercion for somebody else. A heavily defended route might be secure for some groups and dangerous or costly for others.
Imperial revenues and regional prosperity may move differently if coercive extraction rises. A richer treasury doesn't prove ordinary traders were better off.
What evidence would establish that controlling a trade route improved the economy rather than merely the treasury?