Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 The Roman Republic

Itiscertainthat,inprincipleatleast,thesumsannuallycollectedincashin
theprovincesastaxationwerealsosupposedtobesentphysicallytoRome.^82
ButatthesametimesubstantialsumsweresentoutfromRome,beingissued
toquaestorsorproconsulsforexpenditureintheprovinces:forinstancethe
millionsestercesgiventoVerresforpurchasesofcorninSicily;^83 or,better,
thepatternrevealedearlierbyVerres’convenientlybriefaccountsasquaestor
in..:‘‘received,,sesterces;givenoutforstipendium[pay],corn,
the legates, the proquaestor, the praetorian cohort, ,, sesterces; de-
positedatAriminum,sesterces.’’^84 Inthiscasesometwo-thirdsofthe
totalsumwasspentlocallyandtherestdepositedlocally,itssubsequentfate
beingunknown;thesameprocedurecouldhavetakenplaceinaprovince—
notethemillionsestercesgrantedtoPisoasproconsulof Macedoniain
..^85 —and could therefore have involved the redistribution of at least
someofRome’staxrevenueinadifferentpartoftheMediterranean.Wesee
aneatexampleofsucharedistribution,forinstance,inAsiniusPollio’sre-
porttoCiceroofaneventinSpainin..:‘‘Balbusthequaestor,having
accumulatedalargesumofmoney,andalargequantityofgold,andhaving
gathered in more money from public exactions, and without even giving
thepaytothesoldiers,hassetofffromGadesandcrossedtothekingdomof
BogudinMorocco.’’^86
WecannotcompileanythinglikeabalancesheetofRomanpublicfinance
inthelateRepublic.^87 Buteventhemostscepticalwouldhavetoagreethat
therewasaverylargenetinflowofspoils,tributecash,andcornintoItaly,
andprimarilytoRome.ButRomansoldiers,whowerepaidincoin,were
nearlyallstationedintheprovinces,andcornwasalsoboughtinsomeprov-
inces by the state.^88 Vast amounts of moveablewealth were also displaced
fromoneregiontoanotherbytheeffortsoftheRomanstate,andaboveall
whenitsenergiesweremaximizedbyitsbeingdividedagainstitself.Itisalso
clearthatthevolumeofRomanmintingatsuccessiveperiodscorresponded

. See,e.g.,Velleius,,:‘‘themoneys...whichwerebeingtransportedtoRome
bythequaestors’’;Cicero,Fam.,–(ShackletonBailey,nos.–);NicolausofDa-
mascus,inFGrHno.,frag.,XVIII/.
. Cicero,Verr. II,.
.Verr. II,.
. Cicero,Pis.,.
. Cicero,Fam.,(ShackletonBailey,no.).
. Forseriousattemptstodoso,seeesp.TenneyFrank,Economic Surveyof Ancient Rome
I(),–;M.H.Crawford,Roman Republican Coinage(),–.
. FortheoutflowofexpenditurefromRome,seeM.H.Crawford,‘‘Romeandthe
GreekWorld:EconomicRelationships,’’Econ. Hist. Rev.,ndser.,():–.