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

Cash Distributions in Rome 103

eachofthe200,000recipientsofthefrumentum publicum.Forotherwisethe
payment,ifmadeintheformof250denariiperhead,wouldhaveinvolved
aweightofjustunderakilogramforeachperson.
Butevenintheformercase,theuseofaurei,weneedtotrytoenvisage
justwhatwillhavebeeninvolvedinpreparingastockof2millionaureifor
distribution.First,ifnewlymintedcoinsweretobeused,itmayhavebeen
necessarytotriplethesizeofthenormaloutputofaurei:foracongiariumwas
aspecialoccasion,overandabovethenormalusestowhichaureiwereput,
whatever thesewere. Alternatively, if the distribution were to depend on
thestockofaureicurrentlyincirculation,itwouldhavebeennecessaryto
takestepstocollectasufficientquantity,perhapsstartingseveralyearsinad-
vance,totransportthemtoRome,andtostockpilethem.Severuswasabsent
fromRomefrom197tomid-202,^45 sothisprocess,if itwereneeded,may
havetakenplacelargelyinhisabsence,withreservesbuildingupasagainst
hisreturn,andtheplannedliberalitas.Alternatively,theremayhavebeenvast
stocksofcoinalreadytohandinRome.Butwhere?Possiblyinthetempleof
Saturn—but,asindicatedabove,theliberalitaswassupposedtobeaprivate
giftfromtheemperor.Alternatively,itispossiblethatthecoinswerestored
intheapothekai(magazines)forEgyptianandArabianproductswhich,ac-
cordingtoCassiusDio,weresituatedbetweenthetempleofPeaceandthe
Palatine.^46 UnfortunatelythisisoneoftheareasofthecentreofRomewhose
characterand function in the imperial period remains particularly myste-
rious.^47 Or,asDenisvanBerchemoncesuggested,werethestocksofcoin
keptsomewhereintheForumofTrajan?^48 Quitestrongsupportforthishy-
pothesisisofferedbythereferenceintheFragmentaVaticanato‘‘theimperial
treasurers who have their positions in the Forum of Trajan’’;^49 it is surely
relevantthat,accordingtoascholiononJuvenal(10,24),senatorshadarcae
(chests)thereforthesafe-keepingofsilverandcoin.Moreover,theHistoria
AugustarecordsthatCommodus,whenhegaveacongiariumasaboy,presided
atthedistributionwhiletakinghisseatinthe‘‘basilicaofTrajan,’’whichcer-
tainly means the basilica of Trajan’s Forum.^50 It would then be possible to

45. SeeH.Halfmann,Itinera Principum(1986),217–18.


46. CassiusDio72,24,1.Forthestoresofvaluablesandedibleproductsinthepossession
    oftheemperor,seeMillar(n.25),144–53.


47. SeenowE.M.Steinby,ed.,LexiconTopographicumUrbisRomaeIII(1996),s.v.‘‘Horrea
    piperateria’’and‘‘HorreaVespasiana.’’


48. VanBerchem(n.10),165.


49. Ulpian,Frag.Vat.134:Arcari Caesariani, qui in foro Traiani habent stationes.
    50.HA,V.Commodi2,1:adhucinpraetextapuerilicongiariumdeditatqueipseinbasilicaTraiani
    praesedit.