Epigraphy ability.FordidtheyremainpermanentlyinRomeoraccompanytheemper-
orsontheirincreasinglyfrequenttravelsandcampaigns?Ifnot,inwhatsense
couldtheybeusedbyanemperorwhomightbeathousandmilesaway?The
listofimperialamici,firstconsularsinorderofseniorityandthentheleading
equites,alsoseemstogiveaperfectrepresentationoftheemperors’advisers
astheywerein.Thesedistinguishedgentlemenarelistedaswitnessesto
a document which, seen from Rome, must have been of very minor local
importance.Iftheyreallydidattendinpersontoaffixtheirseals,thatisquite
astrikingfact.Butdidtheyalsodiscussthecontentof Imperialwrittende-
cisionsandletters?Ifnot,sincesomuchoftheemperor’sworkconcerned
theissueofwrittendecisionsinvariousforms,thesignificanceoftheroleof
advisersoramicimusthavebeenmuchlessthanoftensupposed.
Thedocumentalsoraisesimportantquestionsaboutthecitizenshipitself,
asitdoesaboutthenatureofthetaxesandrevenuesofthepeopleandthe
fiscus(theemperor’streasury).Butperhapsmoresignificantisthefactthat
thebronzetablet,withalltheinformationandproblemswhichitpresents
tous,isonlyavailable,firstly,bytheaccidentofsurvival(andbronzeisfor
obviousreasonshighlyvulnerable)andofdiscoveryand,secondly,because
itwasoriginallyintheinterestofsomeone—presumablyJulianus,theprin-
cepsoftheZegrenses—tohaveitinscribedandputup.Itisthefundamental
limitationandproblemofepigraphythatinreadinganinscriptionweare
alwaysreadingwhatsomeonewishedtotellnotusbuthiscontemporaries.
TheverynotionofputtingupaninscriptioninLatinwillhavebeenacul-
tural import which came to Banasa with the extension of Graeco-Roman
culture.Buttheoccasionwouldonlyarise,firstly,whensomesuccess,suchas
afavourablereplytoapetition,hadbeensecuredand,secondly,whenthere
wassomeneedtorecordthisinalocalcontext.Nonetheless,inspiteofall
theproblemsofcontextandbackground,thisisabeautifullyexplicitdocu-
ment which has almost infinite lessons to give us about the nature of the
RomanEmpire.
.TheTetrarchicEdictonMaximumPrices.Thetwoimperiallettersin
theTabulaofBanasaarehighlytypicaloftheworkingsofimperialgovern-
mentinthefirstthreecenturiesinbeingrepliestorequestsfrominterested
parties.IntheperiodoftheTetrarchyanimportantchangeseemstoappear
intheaspirationsofgovernment,thelevelof innovationwhichitsought,
andthedegreeofsocialandeconomicinterventionatwhichitaimed.^48 This
. ForabriefindicationofthenoveltyandimportanceoftheTetrarchicedicts,seeMil-
lar(n.),–.SeenowS.Corcoran,The Empire of theTetrarchs: Imperial Pronouncements
and Government(Oxford,).