Part I continues with a chapter that introduces the reader to themes of Mediterranean ecology, the use of natural resources, and agricultural economy. These are key aspects for environmental history, which maintain an almost unchanging dynamic from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, particularly in the agricultural societies of the Mediterranean. Presented next are the main agricultural products of the Mediterranean, wheat, wine, olive oil, vegetables and fruit, as well as animal products from livestock and fish, based primarily on the material from the correspondence. In these sections there are also references to products with a reputation, as preserved in the letter texts. This chapter may serve the reader to understand how the Mediterranean landscape is formed, in which the Byzantine farming economy developed and how the natural resources were exploited, as well as the fundamental structure of rural productivity that was shaped through a long ancient heritage.