Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

chapterfour

The Aerarium and Its Officials

under the Empire

*

ImagineifourownChancelloroftheExchequerwerechosenbylot

outoftheyounggentlemenwhohadmostrecentlypassedtheCivil

Serviceexamination!

—G.G.RamsayonTacitus,Annals13,29

NoanalysisofthepoliticalcharacteroftheEmpirecanavoidthequestionof
finance.Thevarioussourcesofrevenueoftheemperorandtherespublica,the
roleoftheprivatewealthoftheemperor,thenatureofhiscontroloverpub-
licfunds,thequestionofhowandwhenvariouspublicrevenuesweretaken
byhim—asatisfactorypoliticalinterpretationoftheearlyEmpiremusttake
accountofallthese.
Thischapterattemptsmerelytotakeasecondpreliminarysteptowards
such an interpretation.^1 Its aim is to set out as clearly as possible the evi-
denceastothenatureoftheAerariumandthefunctionsofitsofficials,and,
aboveall,toavoidtheanachronisticapproachwhichourlanguageitselfso
readilyinvites.Notallanachronisticviewsofthesubjecthavehadthebeauti-
fulobviousnessofRamsay’scontribution:eventospeakofthe‘‘world-wide
financialadministration’’^2 oftheAerariumwillprovetobemisleading.

*FirstpublishedinJRS54(1964):33–44.IshouldliketothankProfessorSirR.Symefor
informationonthestatusofPraefectiaerarii,Dr.J.M.Kellyfordiscussingwithmethejuris-
dictionofthePraefecti,andDr.MiriamGriffinforreadingthischapterintypescriptand
suggestingvariouscorrectionsandimprovements.Theerrorswhichremainaremyown.

1. See‘‘TheFiscusintheFirstTwoCenturies,’’JRS53(1963):29(chapter3inthisvol-
   ume).


2. C.H.V.Sutherland,‘‘AerariumandFiscusduringtheEarlyEmpire,’’AJPh66(1945):
   151ff.,onp.154.

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