Ostrogothic Cities 109
the disturbance caused by illegal practices against important members of the
urban population could endanger the health of the whole body of the state.
As stressed by Lepelley, problems of this kind had been quite common since
at least the 4th century and were the effect of changes to the organization of the
fiscal levy introduced by Diocletian and Constantine. By the 6th century more
than two centuries had passed since the municipal (and fiscal) system of the
earlier empire had been replaced. The various problems caused by the imple-
mentation of the new system in the late 3rd and early 4th century had never
been completely resolved. Ostrogothic Italy used essentially the same system
and it is somewhat surprising, at least in view of the encumbrances associated
with this system, that municipal councils could be found functioning at all in
the second quarter of the 6th century. Of course, as Lepelley reminds us, city
councils were not comprised of people of equal social position and the tasks
required of them would not have been equally burdensome for each member.
Those who could count on influential ties with the central government, such
as honorati, would inevitably find ways to manage and even profit from the
obligations expected of them.29
The structural inequality among the various actors paradoxically helped
the system to survive and cope with its contradictions. But the price paid was
exactly what Cassiodorus stressed in the two letters mentioned above: cities
generally lacked the power to negotiate their relationship with central gov-
ernment within a flexible and open political, institutional, and fiscal frame-
work. A tightly hierarchical and centralized state structure imposed conditions
from above, making demands mainly to meet the needs of the army and
bureaucracy, and room for negotiation was limited to individual interactions
dependent on personal prestige. With reduced local funds and little room for
collective bargaining with the central government, it is unsurprising that elites
would be hard pressed to view cities as attractive environments in which to
spend time and invest efforts and resources. More than anything, these factors
explain why municipal life declined throughout Late Antiquity, especially in
the West where general economic conditions worsened visibly from the first
half of the 5th century. But this was not enough to suppress completely the
existence of cities. Central administration relied upon cities, and effective
propaganda was necessary in order to show that, despite what one could see
in everyday life, the state went to great lengths to preserve the wellfare and
spirit of urban communities.30 As Cassiodorus recalled, cities incarnated the
very essence of civilized Roman life and to advertise programmes that could
29 Bjornlie, “Law, ethnicity and taxes”, pp. 150–3.
30 Dubouloz, “Acception et défense”, pp. 53–74.