The Ancient Library

Scanned text contains errors.



saris in the Senatorian provinces, who collected certain dues of the Fiscus, which were independent of what was due to the Aerarium. The regular taxes, as in the Republican period, were the poll-tax and land-tax. The taxation was founded on a census of persons and property, which was esta­blished by Augustus. The Portoria and other dues were farmed by the Publicani, as in the Repub­lican period.

The governors of the Senatorial provinces and the legati of the Caesar received their instructions from him, and in all cases not thus provided for they had to apply to the Caesar for special direc­tions. The Rescripta of the Emperors to the pro­vincial governors are numerous. Justice was ad­ministered in the provinces according to the laws of the Provinces, and such Roman laws as were specially enacted for them, and according to Im­perial Constitutions, Senatusconsulta and the Edict of the governors. In some instances the provisions of Roman laws were extended to the provinces. (Gains, i. 47 ; -Ulp. Frag. xi. 20,)

The organization of the Italian towns under the Empire has been already explained in the article colonia ; and the same observations apply in general to the Senates of Provincial towns which have been made with respect to the functions of the Senates of Italian towns. Even in the pro­vinces the names Senate and Senator occur in the sense respectively of Curia and Decuriones, But there was a great distinction between the Magis-tratus of Provincial and those of Italian towns. The functions of these personages in the Provincial towns were generally Munera (burdens} and not Honores. [honores.] Such Honores as have reference to religious functions they certainly had, and probably others also ; but they had nothing corresponding to the Duumviri Juri dicundo of the Italian towns, that is, no functionary " qui jus dicebat." The only exception were such towns as had received the Jus Italicum, the effect of which, as elsewhere explained, appears to have been, in brief, to give to a certaim city and district the same character that it would have had, if it had been a part of the Italic soil'; but only so far as affected the whole district; it did not affect the status of individuals. Freedom from the land-tax, and a free constitution in Italian form, with Duumviri J. D., Quinquennales, Aediles, and Juris-dictio were essential ingredients of this Jus Italicum, Sicily received the Civitas after the death of C. Julius Caesar, and from the occurrence of the men­tion of Duumviri in the inscriptions of a Sicilian town, Savigny draws the probable inference that the Sicilian towns received the Jus Italicum also : at least if in any case, we can show that any pro­vincial city had Duumviri, we may conclude that such city had the Jus Italicum and consequently Magistratus with Jurisdictio. The regular Juris-dictio in all the provinces was vested in the governor, who exercised it personally and by his legati: with reference to his circuits in the provincia the governor in the later ages of the Empire was called Judex Ordinarius and sometimes simply Judex. The towns which had the Jus Italicum were, as already observed, not under his immediate Juris­dictio, though a right of appeal to the governor from the judgment of the Duumviri must be con­sidered as always existing. The provincial towns had the management of their own revenue ; and. some of the principal towns could coin money. It


does not appear that the religion of the provincials was ever interfered with, nor had it been put under any restraint in the Republican period.

The constitution of Caracalla, which gave the Civitas to all the provinces and towns of the Empire, merel3r affected the personal status of the people. The land remained Provincial land, when the Jus Italicum had not been communicated to it»and the cities which had not received the Jus Italicum, were immediately under the Jurisdictio of the governors. This constitution however must have made considerable changes in the condition of the provincials, for when they all became Roman citi­zens, the Roman incidents of marriage, such as the Patria Potestas, and the Roman Law of succession in case of intestacy would seem to be inseparable consequents of this change, at least so far as the want of the Jus Italicum did not render it in­applicable.

The constitution of the provincial towns was materially affected by the establishment of De-fensores, whose complete title is " Defensores Civi-tatis Plebis Loci." Until about the time of Con-stantine, so far as the Pandect shows, Defensor was the title of persons who were merely em­ployed in certain municipal matters of a temporary kind. In the year a. d. 365, the Defensores ap­pear as regularly established functionaries. (Cod. 1. tit. .55. De Defensoribus.} They were elected by the Decuriones and all the city ; but, unlike the magistrate, they could not be elected out of the body of Decuriones. The office was originally for five years, but after the time of Justinian only for two years. The principal business of the De­fensor was to protect his town against the op-, pression of the Governor. (Cod. 1. tit. 55. s. 4.) He had a limited Jurisdictio in civil matters, which Justinian extended from matters to the amount of .60 solidi to matters to the amount of 300 solidi. There was an appeal from him to the Governor. (Nov. 15. c. 5.) He could not impose a Multa ; but he could appoint a Tutor. In cri­minal matters, he had only Jurisdictio in some of the less important cases.

The number of Senators both in the Italic and provincial towns seems to have been generally one hundred ; and this was the number in Capua. (Cic. in Riill. ii. 35.) But the number was not in all places the same. Besides the actual members, the Album Deciirionum comprised others who were merely honorary members. The Album of the town of Canusium, of the year a. d. 223, which has been preserved, consists of 148 members, of whom 30 were Patroni, Roman Senators, and 2 were Patroni, Roman Equites ; the remainder were 7 quinquen-nalicii, a term which is easily explained by re­ferring to the meaning, of the term Quinquennales [colonia], 4 allecti inter quinquennales, 22 duum-viralicii, 19 aedilicii, 21 pedani, 34 praetextati. The distinction between Pedani and Praetextati Savigny professes himself unable to explain. In many towns the first persons in the list of actual senators were distinguished from the rest, and generally the first Ten, as Decemprimi ; of which there is an example in Livy (xxix. 15. magistratns denosque principes) ; and in the case of Ameria, and of Centuripae in Sicily (Cic. pro. Ros. Amer. c. 9, In Verrem, ii. 67).

It has been previously shown that at the time when the Roman Respublica had attained its com­plete developement, Italia and the Provinciae were




page #  
Search this site
Ancient Library was developed and hosted by Tim Spalding of