Were taxes from senatorial provinces and imperial provinces sent to their respective treasuries in the Roman Empire? (Under the rule of Augustus)
Upvote:5
During the time of Augustus, there were initially two treasuries until 6 AD when a third one was created. Extensive changes were made to the operations of state finances during the time of Augustus, but the picture is often not clear, especially in the details. What follows is a summary of (sometimes conflicting) academic sources.
THE ‘TREASURIES’
Aerarium Saturni (sometimes referred to as the Senatorial Treasury). This was the main state treasury of Rome and was based at the Temple of Saturn, below the Capitol. Under Augustus, it was administered by two praetors (magistrates). Financial records were kept at the nearby Tabularium.
Fiscus (originally meaning ‘money-bag’ or ‘basket’) or Privy-Purse. This is also referred to as the Imperial Treasury in some sources but was not, strictly speaking, a treasury in the the time of Augustus. Rather, it denoted the private funds of Augustus (and subsequent emperors) as well as the financial administration controlled by him. The emperor’s Fiscus was not formally established until the reign of Nero. The term ‘Fiscus’ was also used to refer the funds of provincial governors, though at what point these formally became treasuries is unclear.
- Aerarium Militare (Military Treasury). Located on the Capitol, this was established by Augustus in 6 AD. Three senators, effectively dependent upon Augustus, served as prefects of the military fund.
INCOME
The sources of the funds of these three financial ‘bodies’ is either not entirely clear and / or varied at different times.
Funds for the Aerarium Saturni came from taxes, tributes, customs and various other sources. It certainly included revenue from senatorial provinces and was supposed to have included revenue from imperial provinces. Werner Eck, in The Age of Augustus, says
...the state treasury (aerarium Saturni), into which all state income, including taxes from Augustus’ own provinces, was declared to flow for legal and accounting purposes.
However, The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy states
...imperial estates in North Africa and public lands in Egypt. All of these lands formed part of a widespread network of properties under the control of the imperial treasury, or fiscus..
This would appear to directly contradict Eck, but we should probably interpret it thus: Eck is saying what should have happened (and maybe did at times) while the Cambridge Companion is saying what actually did happen (at least usually).
For the Fiscus, Augustus inherited a vast fortune and this was the foundation of his wealth, but he also ‘diverted’ unknown amounts from imperial provinces into his own accounts, money which should (technically at least) have gone to the Aerarium Saturni.
As Augustus would also sometimes transfer amounts to Aerarium Saturni from his personal fortune when funds ran low, Anthony Everitt’s overall assessment, in Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor, seems appropriate:
In practice, it was difficult to distinguish between the treasury and the privy purse.
The Aerarium Militare was given a ‘starting’ fund of 170,000,000 sesterces from Augustus’ Fiscus. Otherwise, it was financed by two new taxes: an inheritance and large bequests tax of 5% (vicesima hereditatium) and a sales tax of 1%. There were also donations from cities and client kings.
EXPENSES
The Aerarium Saturni was supposed to cover all state expenses: roads, salaries for the legions, military pensions (up to 6 AD), public buildings etc, and even those of the emperor, but Augustus had to step in at times, either transferring money or meeting certain expenses himself. In 20 BC, for example, he effectively took over responsibility for roads (the cura viarum) by transferring money to the Aerarium Saturni. He also paid soldiers pensions out of his personal fortune as the Aerarium Saturni did not have sufficient funds. When the Aerarium Militare was set up in 6 AD, it took over soldiers’ pensions. It appears that Augustus also covered most, if not all, expenses, in the imperial provinces.
As Augustus left considerably less in his will (150,000,000 sesterces) than he had inherited (1,400,000,000 sesterces) we can surmize that, although he apparently diverted income from imperial provinces into the fiscus, these amounts were greatly exceeded by the expenses he covered for the Aerarium Saturni – the military pensions alone were a huge drain on his resources.
PROVINCIAL TREASURIES
David Shotter, in Augustus Caesar, summarizes their role as
not so much a deposit of cash as a statement of income and outgoings relating to each province; these accounts were supplemented, where necessary, with grants from the aerarium.
Thus, as Anthony Everitt states,
...it is unlikely that large sums of money moved to and from Rome. Each province had its own treasury, from which the princeps would draw for local military and administrative purposes, and in many cases there would not have been a large surplus to send to Rome.
Other Sources
Pat Southern – Augustus
Pat Southern – The Roman Army
G.W. Bowersock - Augustus and the Greek World
More post
- 📝 What are Kublai Khan's contributions to culture?
- 📝 Are there any records of Turks settling in Anatolia before the 11th century?
- 📝 Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?
- 📝 When did the Portuguese decide to extend their West African exploration to finding a sea passage to India?
- 📝 How did the increase in the birthrate and marriage impact on US homefront during WW2 (1939-1945)?
- 📝 Which epidemic involved children passing notes window to window?
- 📝 Increment of workers in agriculture during periods of economical crisis
- 📝 How was money transferred before digital transactions?
- 📝 How did knights in full suits of armor eventually die in combat? What were the most common causes of death for soldiers in full-body plate armor?
- 📝 UK involvement in Yugoslavia during WW2
- 📝 Who is the most ancient Indo-European who is known by name?
- 📝 Was it ever possible to join the US military instead of going to prison for a crime?
- 📝 Did any prominent Romans openly question the crucifixion of 6,000 slaves along the Appian Way following the defeat of Spartacus?
- 📝 Did a capital ship ever hit anything with a torpedo?
- 📝 What is the object moving across the ceiling in this stock footage?
- 📝 Can anyone identify the military branch and rank of the man in the front row? This is from Germany @1932
- 📝 Exactly how much of what did General Benjamin Butler seize from the Netherlands Consulate in New Orleans on May 10th, 1862?
- 📝 How have European microstates survived?
- 📝 Did the Allies' attacks on Germany's heavy water supply lead to any reevaluation of its nuclear goals?
- 📝 What education path had to be followed to study law in 17th century Europe?
- 📝 What was the impact of race in the French Foreign Legion in the 20th century?
- 📝 Who proclaimed separation of science from philosophy?
- 📝 Why did the British have so few destroyers going into World War II?
- 📝 Will coronavirus go down the history as a disease of biblical proportions?
- 📝 Why are early submarines faster on the surface, while later types are faster when submerged?
- 📝 Of which countries was Ludwig von Mises a citizen?
- 📝 What is the origin of Jataka tales?
- 📝 What were the laws on suicide in the Third Reich?
- 📝 About competition an Capitalism
- 📝 How was the Urnfield culture represented around 1300 BC in the area the Romans called Gallia Belgica?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Were taxes from senatorial provinces and imperial provinces sent to their respective treasuries in the Roman Empire? (Under the rule of Augustus)
- 📝 How were Mercy Dogs of WWI and WWII trained to know which soldier is from their side and which one isn't?
- 📝 Did people from the cities of Uruk, Ur and Sumer have knowledge/recollection of how old their cities were (say, recollection after 2000 BCE)?
- 📝 How were diplomats and their staffs treated when World War II was declared?
- 📝 Where were ancient Romans supposed to dispose of their waste and garbage?
- 📝 Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
- 📝 How were servants to the Kaiser of Imperial Germany treated and where may I find more information on them?
- 📝 What were the thoughts of the Celts, Romans and other ancient European people about the standing stones which survive from prehistoric times?
- 📝 Why and how were east Brandenburg, Pomerania and Silesia taken away from Germany after WW2?
- 📝 Why were gravediggers, actors and former gladiators (but not slaves) banned from the Colosseum?
- 📝 Did anyone warn about the potential for stock market crashes in 1929, and if so why were their warnings ignored?
- 📝 How were the Morisco refugees from Europe received in North Africa, given that they were foreigners and Christian?
- 📝 Why were Muslims in Western Thrace and Christians in Constantinople excluded from the population exchange?
- 📝 What were the major imports and exports of Germany and France from 1850-1915?
- 📝 Were the Roman Empire provinces Alpes Poeninae and Alpes Graiae different provinces or the same?
- 📝 What Land Runs were there in the U.S., and were the Indians paid for their land?
- 📝 What were the advantages and disadvantages to the creation of Vichy France, from the Nazi point of view?
- 📝 Were Egyptian monarchs referred to by the title "pharaoh" alone, without using their proper names, from around 1500 BCE until the 10th century BCE?
- 📝 Who were some of the specific people in the Renaissance who wrote about their period being different from the Middle Ages?
- 📝 How were the bodies of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette identified in their unmarked graves?
- 📝 How were provincial Roman accounting and taxes handled under Hadrian?
- 📝 Where were Racka sheep brought to Europe from and when?
- 📝 Why were the continuity states of Imperial and Royal Austria-Hungary disunited, while the continuity states of Imperial Russia were united?
- 📝 When were confederate veterans barred from office and voting after the civil war?
- 📝 Why were Sri Lanka and Myanmar separated from India under the British Empire?
- 📝 When were public tariffs and taxes for water supply introduced for the first time?
- 📝 Did China's life expectancy at birth rise 30.5 years from 1960 to 1980? If so, what were the particular changes made to their society's structure?
- 📝 What proportion of US government revenue came from taxes on slaves, between 1790 and 1846?
- 📝 Were wealthy people and royals of medieval time able to distinguish real diamond/pearl/gold from fake?
- 📝 Why were the Istein and Schliengen enclaves transferred from Switzerland to Baden?