Chrysargyron
Encyclopedia
The collatio lustralis was a tax on "traders in the widest sense in the Roman Empire. It was instituted by Constantine
, although there are some indications that such a tax existed during the reign of Caligula
(see Suetonius
, Lives of the Twelve Caesars
). It applied to both the Western and Eastern Empire, It was originally collected in both gold and silver, but only in gold beginning in the late 4th century. Like many Roman taxes, it was collected not annually, but (originally) every four years.
It applied to all merchants, money-lenders, craftsmen, and others who received fees for their work, including prostitutes. The only initial exemptions were physicians, teachers, and farmers selling their own produce,
ic and Visigoth
ic kingdoms that succeeded the Empire.
, this tax was known as the chrysargyron , also called chrysargyrum. The term originated from the Greek
words for gold
(χρυσός) and silver
, which initially were the required forms of payment.
According to the early Byzantine writer Zosimus
, Emperor Constantine I
first initiated this tax, perhaps as early as 325, . Also there are hints that the tax existed during the rule of Severus Alexander (see Augustan History
). The ecclesiastical historian Evagrius
says that Constantine found the tax already established in the Eastern Empire, and considered abolishing it.
Early in the 5th century, the tax had to be paid every four years. In some areas it was collected by indiction
year, every month. Each city chose individuals to collect the taxes from the community, which were then paid into the sacrae largitiones.
Libanius
, Zosimus and Evagrius
list examples of the hardships caused by this tax, probably because it was collected in one lump sum every four years. Parents were forced to sell their children into slavery or prostitution to meet the required levy.
The tax was abolished by Anastasius I
throughout the Eastern Roman Empire in the year 498 as part of his fiscal and monetary reforms. In the Italian peninsula, then ruled by the Ostrogoths, the tax was continued for some years, until they were conquered by Belisarius
. According to Joshua the Stylite
, when the tax was ended, the people of the city of Edessa
, which was relieved of a tax of 140 pounds of gold every 4 years (2,520 solidi
annually), celebrated with a week of festivities.
The Emperor Anastasius compensated for this lost revenue by placing income earned from certain estates into a separate fund.
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
, although there are some indications that such a tax existed during the reign of Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
(see Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
, Lives of the Twelve Caesars
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius,...
). It applied to both the Western and Eastern Empire, It was originally collected in both gold and silver, but only in gold beginning in the late 4th century. Like many Roman taxes, it was collected not annually, but (originally) every four years.
It applied to all merchants, money-lenders, craftsmen, and others who received fees for their work, including prostitutes. The only initial exemptions were physicians, teachers, and farmers selling their own produce,
Western Empire
The tax continued in the West in the OstrogothOstrogoth
The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths , a Germanic tribe who developed a vast empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD and, in the late 5th century, under Theodoric the Great, established a Kingdom in Italy....
ic and Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
ic kingdoms that succeeded the Empire.
Eastern Roman empire
In the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, this tax was known as the chrysargyron , also called chrysargyrum. The term originated from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words for gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
(χρυσός) and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, which initially were the required forms of payment.
According to the early Byzantine writer Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
, Emperor Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
first initiated this tax, perhaps as early as 325, . Also there are hints that the tax existed during the rule of Severus Alexander (see Augustan History
Augustan History
The Augustan History is a late Roman collection of biographies, in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues and usurpers of the period 117 to 284...
). The ecclesiastical historian Evagrius
Evagrius Scholasticus
Evagrius Scholasticus was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, Ecclesiastical History, comprises a six-volume collection concerning the Church's history from the First Council of Ephesus to Maurice’s...
says that Constantine found the tax already established in the Eastern Empire, and considered abolishing it.
Early in the 5th century, the tax had to be paid every four years. In some areas it was collected by indiction
Indiction
An indiction is any of the years in a 15-year cycle used to date medieval documents throughout Europe, both East and West. Each year of a cycle was numbered: first indiction, second indiction, etc...
year, every month. Each city chose individuals to collect the taxes from the community, which were then paid into the sacrae largitiones.
Libanius
Libanius
Libanius was a Greek-speaking teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school. During the rise of Christian hegemony in the later Roman Empire, he remained unconverted and regarded himself as a Hellene in religious matters.-Life:...
, Zosimus and Evagrius
Evagrius
Evagrius or Euagrius may refer to:*Evagrius of Constantinople , bishop of Constantinople *Evagrius of Antioch, bishop of Antioch *Evagrius Ponticus , Christian mystic...
list examples of the hardships caused by this tax, probably because it was collected in one lump sum every four years. Parents were forced to sell their children into slavery or prostitution to meet the required levy.
The tax was abolished by Anastasius I
Anastasius I (emperor)
Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518. During his reign the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, a stronghold intended to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis....
throughout the Eastern Roman Empire in the year 498 as part of his fiscal and monetary reforms. In the Italian peninsula, then ruled by the Ostrogoths, the tax was continued for some years, until they were conquered by Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
. According to Joshua the Stylite
Joshua the Stylite
Joshua the Stylite is the attributed author of a chronicle which narrates the history of the war between the Later Roman Empire and Persians in 502 - 506, and which is one of the earliest and best historical documents preserved in Syriac.The work owes its preservation to having been incorporated...
, when the tax was ended, the people of the city of Edessa
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa is the Greek name of an Aramaic town in northern Mesopotamia, as refounded by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.-Names:...
, which was relieved of a tax of 140 pounds of gold every 4 years (2,520 solidi
Solidus (coin)
The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans, and a weight measure for gold more generally, corresponding to 4.5 grams.-Roman and Byzantine coinage:...
annually), celebrated with a week of festivities.
The Emperor Anastasius compensated for this lost revenue by placing income earned from certain estates into a separate fund.