Officium a Rationibus: The Office and Officials Responsible for the Imperial Treasury (Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplements, 46)

Interest in the great empires, including the early Roman Empire, never wanes. And yet, to this day, it is not fully understood how the Roman Empire was administered. Successive generations of researchers must address questions about how the administrative structures of such a vast empire were organised, how it was managed, who the imperial officials were, and what their duties and responsibilities were. This book is devoted to the office a rationibus, the main central institution responsible for imperial finances, and to the officials who staffed the office. The study not only presents one of the most important elements of the administration of the early Empire but also provides valuable insight into the functioning of that administration as a whole. Despite having been described by scholars since the 19th century, the officium a rationibus has never been the subject of a monograph unto itself. The publication almost every year of epigraphic sources and the need to reinterpret the well-known sources (mainly narrative) and opinions from historiography both warrant a new look at how this office functioned. TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 FOREWORD 12 ABBREVIATIONS MODERN WORKS AND COLLECTIONS 14 LISTOF ILLUSTRATIONS 17 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 60 CHAPTER ONE THE PATRIMONIUM 62 CHAPTER TWO THE RATIO PRIVATA, THERES PRIVATA, AND THE CONTROVERSIAL STATUS OF THE RATIO PATRIMONII 68 CHAPTER THREE THEFISCUS CAESARIS 80 CHAPTER FOUR DID THE OFFICIUMA RATIO NIB US EXIST DURING THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS? 88 CHAPTER FIVE THE OFFICIUMA RATIONIBUS FROM ANTHEMUS TOM. ANTONIUS PALLAS 94 CHAPTER SIX INTERPRETATION OF STAT. SILV. 3, 3, 85-105 AND ASSOCIATED TEXTS 108 CHAPTER SEVEN THE OFFICIUMA RATIONIBUS AS A MAJOR PART OF THE ACCOUNTING MACHINERY 158 CHAPTER EIGHT A RATIONIBUS/RATIONALIS CONSIDERATIONS ONTHETITULATURE OF OFFICIALS AND REFORM OF THE OFFICE 172 CHAPTER NINE 'UNEQUAL COLLEGIALITY' IN THE OFFICIUMA RATION/BUS CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDINGTHE STATUS AND ACTIVITIES OF FREEDMAN PROCURATORS 190 CHAPTER TEN CAREERS OF EQUESTRIANARATIONIBUS OFFICIALS THE ISSUE OF 'SPECIALISM'* 206 CHAPTER ELEVEN FREEDMAN A RATIONIBUS OFFICIALS FROM AUGUSTUS TO DOMITIAN 242 CHAPTER TWELVE EQUESTRIAN A RATIONIBUS OFFICIALS FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA 260 CHAPTER THIRTEEN FREEDMAN A RATIONIBUS OFFICIALS IN THE SECOND CENTURY 322 CONCLUSION 340 BIBLIOGRAPHY 350 INDICES 400