Domitian and the Roman economy: some notes

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

A comprehensive assessment of the state of the Roman economy during the reign of Emperor Domitian is difficult due to the unsatisfactory state of the sources, therefore it is necessary to proceed from the available information. In the field of finance, it allows us to conclude that the main source of state revenues were taxes, the receipt of which was under the strict control of the emperor. The tax policy of the last Flavius proved to be effective and ensured the balance of the State budget, despite the extraordinary expenses caused by wars and natural disasters. In the agricultural sector, the emperor secured his popularity among the Italian population by securing ownership of the “segments” that remained undivided after the withdrawal of the colonies to their actual owners. Domitian’s attempt to ensure an increase in grain production in Italy and the provinces by reducing urban plantations was rather advisory in nature and did not lead to significant results. In the capital of the Roman Empire, Domitian’s construction program, to which he attached great political importance, was successfully completed. Assessing the actions of the last Flavius in the field of economics, it should be concluded that he continued the economic policy of Vespasian and Titus, leaving his successors the Roman power in a state that ensured the last flourishing of ancient civilization.

About the authors

Victor N. Parfyonov

Saratov Orthodox Theological Seminary

Author for correspondence.
Email: vparfenov@list.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3612-0197
SPIN-code: 5162-6287

doctor of historical sciences, professor, professor of the Department of Church History

Saratov, Russian Federation

References

  1. Galimberti A. The Emperor Domitian. In: Zissos A., editor. A Companion to the Flavian Age of Imperial Rome. Malden — Oxford — Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 98–108.
  2. Taveira Baptista NH, Ribeiro Leite L. Revising Domitian. Epideictic Portraits of a Controversial Emperor. In: Devillers O., Sebastiani B.B. (editors). Sources et modèles des historiens ancien, 2. Bordeaux : AUSONIUS, 2021, p. 263–283.
  3. Carradice I. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian. Oxford: B.A.R., 1983.
  4. Griffin M. The Flavians. In: The Cambridge Ancient History. Second Edition. Vol. XI. The High Empire, A.D. 70–192. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 1–83.
  5. Launaro A. The Economic Impact of Flavian Rule. In: Zissos A., editor. A Companion to the Flavian Age of Imperial Rome Malden — Oxford — Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2016, p. 189–208.
  6. Smirnova EL. Finansovaya politika Domitsiana [The Financial Policy of Domitian]. Mnemon. 2011;(10):293–308. (In Russ.).
  7. Wolters R. Imperial Finances. In: Von Reden S., Ruffing K. (eds). Handbuch Antike Wirtschaft. Berlin — Boston: De Gruyter, 2023, S. 583–606.
  8. Southern P. Domitian. Tragic Tyrant. London-New York: Routledge, 1997.
  9. Jones B.W. The Emperor Domitian. London-New York: Routledge, 2002.
  10. Susplugas M. Les monnaies de Domitien, témoins de sa politique. Latomus. 2003;(62.1):78–109.
  11. Campbell B. The Emperor and the Roman Army. 31 B.C. – A.D. 235. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
  12. Parfyonov VN. Rim I Germaniya pri Domitsiane. Problemy I poisk ikh resheniya [Rome and Germany under Domitian. Problems and the search for their solutions]. Vostok, Evropa i Amerika v drevnosti. Sbornik nauchnykh trudov в XVI Sergeevskikh chtenij. 2010: 238–247. (In Russ.).
  13. Seelentag G. Taten und Tugenden Traians. Herrschaftsdarstellung im Principat. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004.
  14. Stoll O. Wirtschaft und Militär. In: Von Reden S., K. Ruffing K. (eds). Handbuch Antike Wirtschaft. Berlin — Boston: De Gruyter, 2023, S. 629–664.
  15. Waters KH. The character of Domitian. Phoenix. 1964;(18):49–77.
  16. Sutherland CHV. Aerarium and Fiscus during the Early Empire. American Journal of Philology. 1945;(66.2.):151–170.
  17. Kubitschek W. Aerarium. Pauly’s Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. 1894;(1): Sp. 667–674.
  18. Eck W. Provincial Administration and Finance. In: The Cambridge Ancient History. Second Edition. Vol. XI. The High Empire, A.D. 70–192. Cambridge: University Press, 2000, p. 266–292.
  19. Neesen L. Untersuchungen zu den direkten Staatsangaben der römischen Kaiserzeit (27 v. Chr. — 284 n. Chr.). Bonn: Habelt, 1980.
  20. Gvozdeva IA. Pertica i praefectura v sostave rimskogo kadastra [Pertica and praefectura within the Roman cadastre]. Ekonomika, pravo i vlast’ v drevnem mire. Posvyashchayetsya pamyati V.I. Kusishchina. Otv. red. S.Yu. Saprykin, I.A. Gvozdeva. SPb.: Aleteya, 2021, s. 162–192. (In Russ.).
  21. Kusishchin VI. Genesis rabovladelcheskikh latifundij v Italii (II v. Do n.e. – I v. n.e.) [The genesis of slaveholding latifundia in Italy (II BC — I AD). M.: Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1976. (In Russ.).
  22. Cagnat R., Besnier M. (eds). L’ Année Épigraphique. Année 1925. Paris: Éditions Ernest Leroux, 1925. P. 33–35.
  23. Rostovtzeff MI. Obshchestvo i khosyaistvo v Rimskoj imperii [Society and economy in the Roman Empire]. Perevod s nemetskogo. SPb.: Nauka, 2000. Т. I.
  24. Flavij Filostrat.Zizni sofistov [The Lives of the Sophists]. Pod obshchim rukovodstvom E.G. Rabinovich. M.: Russkij fond sodeystviya obrazovaniyu i nauke, 2017.
  25. Bartošek M. Rimskoe pravo (Ponyatija, termimy, opredeleniya) [Roman law: (Concepts, terms, definitions). Perevod s cheshskogo M.: Yuridicheskaya literatura, 1989. (In Russ.).
  26. Dvoretskij IKh. Drevnegrechesko-russkij slovar’ [Ancient Greek-Russian dictionary]. Pod redaktsiej S.I. Sobolevskogo. M.: Gosudarstvennoe izdatelstvo inostrannykh i natsionalnykh slovarei, 1958. T. I.
  27. Liddell HG, Scott R., Jones H.S. A Greek-English Lexicon. With a revised supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
  28. Hawkins C. Manufacturing. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy. Scheidel W., editor. Cambridge: University Press, 2012, p. 175–196.
  29. Parfyonov VN. Sallyustij Lukull, legat Britanii: zagovorshchik ili nevinnaya zhertva? [Sallustius Lucullus, Legate of Britain: conspirator or innocent victim?]. Mnemon. 2017;(17.1):125–144.
  30. Darwall-Smith RH. Emperors and Architecture: A Study of Flavian Rome. Bruxelles: Latomus, 1996.
  31. Aspholm LM. Domitian and the City of Rome: Imperial Self-Portrayal in Monuments and Buildings. Diss. Oslo, 2021.
  32. Moormann EM. Domitian’s Reshaping of Rome. In: Cominesi AR, de Haan N., Moormann EM, Stocks Cl. editors. God on Earth: Emperor Domitian. The re-invention of Rome at the end of the 1st century AD. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2021; 43–49.
  33. Liverani P. Historical Reliefs and Architecture. In: Cominesi AR, de Haan N., Moormann EM, Stocks Cl, editors. God on Earth: Emperor Domitian. The re-invention of Rome at the end of the 1st century AD. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2021; 83–90.
  34. Conlin DA. Master and God: Domitian’s Art and Architecture in Rome. In: Cominesi AR, de Haan N., Moormann EM, Stocks Cl., editors. God on Earth: Emperor Domitian. The reinvention of Rome at the end of the 1st century AD. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2021; 153–158.
  35. Cominesi AR. Flavian Architecture on the Palatine: Continuity or Break In: Heerink M., Meijer E., editors. Flavian Responses to Nero’s Rome. Amsterdam: University Press, 2022; 89–127.

Copyright (c) 2024 Parfyonov V.N.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies