Roman provincial administration till the age of the Antonines PDF
Preview Roman provincial administration till the age of the Antonines
ROMAN PROVINCIAL AD~1INISTRATION ROMAN PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION TILL THE AGE OF THE 1\NTONINES G. H. STEVENSON Fellow and P.raelector in Ancient History, University College, Oxford WITH A MAP rn GREENWOOD PRESS, PUBLISHERS WESTPORT, CONNr.CTIClJT Library or f'ongrf'S'i C'alaloging in Publil"ation Data Stevenson, George Hope, 1880- Roman provincial administration ~ill the a;-e of 7he Antonines. Reprint of the l'.139 ed. published b:r G. F. ~ +:echer•, New York. Includes index. 1. Rome--Provinces--Administration. Rome-- Politics and government--265-30 B.C. ·i and government--30 B.C.-284 A.D. :'itle. DG87.S7 1975 354'.~: "· -l'l3b4 ISBN 0-8371-8321-9 Originally published in 1939 by G. E. Stechert & Co., New York Reprinted in 1975 by Greenwood Press, a division of Williamhousc-Regency Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-18364 ISBN 0-8371-8321-9 Printed in the United States of America PREFACE IT is hoped that students of Roman history and institutions will find in this little book a not inadequate substitute for \V. T. Arnold's Roman Provincial Administration, which first appeared in 1879, was revised in 1906 and 1914, and is now out of print. My debt to Arnold \vill be clear to every reader, but I have allowed myself to alter considerably his method and arrangement. In particular I have given in the :first chapter a brief historical summary of the growth of the Roman Empire, and have refrained from discussing certain other questions which seemed to belong rather to the general history of Rome. I have thought it best not to attempt to deal with the obscure period which follows the age of the Antonines nor with the problems raised by the Roman administration of Egypt, the complexity of which is shown in the recent works of A. C. Johnson and S. L. Wallace. I do not profess to have done more than give an account of the main features of Roman Provincial Administration in the hope that readers may be encouraged to pursue their study of the subject in more detailed works. It has not been considered necessary to compile a bibli ography, as the most important English books and articles dealing with the subject have been referred to in the foot notes, and detailed bibliographies are appended to the relevant chapters in the CatnbridgeA ncient History. The late Professor Tenney Frank, to whose published writings I owe much, was good enough to read my book in V J I , . Vl PREFACE proof a fe\v \vceks before his lan1ented death and to n1ake some useful suggestions. I should like to thank my colleague ;-,lr. J\. . F. \\'ells, for invaluable help in the matter of style and composition. G. I-I. STEYE:--.;SO:\I. University College, Oxford. 1\pril, 1939. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. The character and growth of the Roman Empire r II. The Client Princes 36 III. Provincial Administration under the Republic 53 IV. Provincial Administration under the Early Principate 94 V. Provincial Taxation 133 VI. The 11unicipal System in the Provinces r 56 Index 181 11ap CHAPTER I THE CHARACTER AND GROWTH OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Ir it is still possible to speak of European culture as embody ing a set of ideas and ideals shared by men whose roots are planted in Europe even if their homes may be across the Atlantic or in the Antipodes, the study of the institutions of Rome must be of more than academic interest. For Rome ·was the instrument which enabled the two forces which have done most to mould ,vestern civilization, Christianity and Greek thought, to extend their influence beyond quite narrow limits. 1 Though the Romans themselves contributed comparatively little to religious, philosophical, or political speculation, their creation of an empire and their enforce ment of the 'Roman Peace' rendered possible the spread of ideas to an extent which ·would have been impossible had the civilized world remained an aggregate of mutually hostile units. In his most famous lines Virgil2 asserts that the task of Rome was simply to govern the world and to foster the love of peace. The subjects of Rome were free to speak and think as they would, provided that they respected her author ity and paid their due share of the cost of administration. The Romans, like the British, were individualists and had no love of rigid uniformity. They recognized and respected the differing traditions of the different parts of their empire. In the eastern provinces Rome allowed Greek to remain the official language and interfered little with the J. 1This point is eloquently worked out by Carcopino in his Points de v11es ur l'Impiria/isme romain (Paris 1934), pp. 259 sqq. 2Aen. VI, 851-2. I 2 ROMAN TOLERANCE Hellenic civilization which the conquests of £\lexander had spread to the eastern .\fediterranean and beyond. In the \vest the situation \Vas some\vhat different. 1\t the time of their subjugation Gaul, Spain, and Britain \Vere back\,·ard and disunited, and in these provinces the task of Rome \Vas to provide the conditions which might facilitate the extension to them of a Latin culture which itself O\\·ed n1uch to Greece .1 But she interfered as little as possible \Vith native institutions and made no attempt to i1npose hon1ogeneity. Gauls, Span iards, and Britons continued to \,·orship their o\,·n gods, speak their own languages, and in son1e measure to preser,e their local loyalties and political divisions. Rome had dis covered the secret \Vhich is still hid from n1any go\·erning peoples, that an alien ruler can \,·in the respect and e\·en the affection of his subjects if in the affairs of e ;erydJ.y life he re 1 frains from unnecessary interference and is content \,·ith the n1aintenance of peace, Lnv and order. C nder these conditions taxes arc paid \,-ithout cornpL1int, and n1cn are ,,·illing even to risk their lives in the service of a po\Yer ,,·hich has con ferred on then1 the blessings of a peaceful and order! y civilization. If in philosophy and rdigion Ro111cd id little n1ore than enable the ideas of 1nore highly gifted peoples to be \\·idely dissenunatc<l, she 111adc a contribution of the greatest possible value to posterity in the invention and application of a systen1 of b.,v \vhich is still the foundation of the legal systen1 of soinc Eu ropcan countries. Ron1an La ,v evolved :-;Jo\vlya nd \Vas based on trial and cxpcri111cnt. Jn its con1pleted fonn it sunm1arized the experience of a people possessing an innate sense of justice, and its extension through the en1pirc \Vas the greatest benefit conferred by Rome on her subjects.
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