InAncient Rome,Tributum was atax imposed on the citizenry to fund the costs of war.[1] TheTributum was one of the central reasons for the conducting of thecensus on assets, as it rose with wealth. It included cash assets, land, property and moveable goods (i.e.slaves).[2] Several types oftributum have been attested to, includingtributum in capita, tributum temerarium (emergency levy), andtributum ex censu (amount proportional to citizen's census financial rating).[3]
With money as the mainstay of theRoman Republic’s military success, the collection and use oftributum allowed Rome and its allies to pay their soldiers and bestow their armies with food, transport, equipment and support personnel, which effectively enabled Rome’slegions to remain in the field for lengths at a time.[3] Long service, alongside the training undertaken during wartime, allowed legions to cultivate skill at arms and unit cohesion.[4] The development of these skills and not being required to send soldiers home to attend to the agricultural needs of the state ensured many successful military campaigns.[4]
Thetributum can not be fully considered a 'tax', as there was an underlying idea that it could be paid back once military pressure was relieved.[2] There was often an assumption that the military was supported by the monetary gains made in wartime conquests.[5] However, it was very rare that spoils from an army’s victories equaled the money it took to win them – in fact, only half of the campaigns resulting intriumphs produced riches greater than the payments of the involved soldiers.[5]
The origins oftributum are traditionally linked to theSiege of Veii (406 – 398), in which the fund was used to pay soldiers.[3] The siege was described as a campaign in which the army served for a time longer than usual, which prompted theSenate to decree
'...that the soldiers should receive pay out of the public treasury, whereas up to that period every one had discharged that duty at his own expense.'
— Livy, 4.59
Dionysius also comments on the origins oftributum, however,Mersing (2007, pp. 251) notes that “due to a lack of reliable sources, it is impossible to describe or date with any degree of certainty either the genesis of the system or its subsequent development into the complex structure which Livy and Dionysius describe”. Furthermore, both Dionysius and Livy argue that tributum was an element of theServian system, with its introduction occurring in the sixth century under Servian reign.[6] This view is not supported, with warfare in Rome's early city-state military service was considered an obligation without remuneration (stipendium) for soldiers.[7] However,tributum andstipendium appear inextricably linked, withMersing (2007, pp. 231) stating “theoretically,tributum could have existed prior to the war against Veii… the two institutions were so closely connected that imagining the one without the other is hardly feasible”.
The introduction and the enforcement oftributum relied on decisions made by the Senate. Unlike other Roman taxes,tributum was not established under a binding law but required a senatorial decree to be enforced.[2] Throughout the history of the tax, it had been opposed byplebeians, and incited bytribunes,[8] yet it was the authority of the Senate which saw it enforced, repaid when circumstances changed, and determined depending on the number of soldiers deployed and the material goods they demanded.[9]
Tributum was not technically a tax in the true sense and was seen as a loan that must be paid by theadsidui to fund Rome's military expansion.[10] The assidui were Roman citizens who were eligible for military servicebecause of their wealth but were not conscripted to serve in any particular year. The loan was not usually expected to be repaid, but there were instances of reimbursement after victories, as was the case following thedefeat of the Samnites around 293 BCE.[11] Thetributum was paid proportionate to an individual's wealth established by their census group. It was not a flat rate of taxation but was instead determined by Rome's annual military needs.[12] Some years' estimated military costs could be higher than others based on what military operations were to be undertaken in that given year, therefore a fluctuating rate of taxation was needed. This cost would have been divided by the total wealth of theadsidui to establish a rate of taxation for that year. This rate was multiplied by the wealth of eachadsiduus to establish the amount oftributum owed by each group respectively.[13] There is little evidence as to who physically collectedtributum, but it is believed that thetribuni aerarii were responsible for its collection.[14] Recent attempts to reconstruct thetributum owed in a particular year have been met with difficulty because of the impossibility of accurately calculating the estimated military expenditure for that year, as the cost of the logistical aspects of warfare are too difficult to ascertain.
Whiletributum, as with any form of taxation was largely applicable to all, there were some cases in which the collection oftributum was suspended and of citizens being granted immunity and therefore exempt from collection. The collection oftributum was steady and an accepted aspect of civic life, where a brief period of suspension sparked by a significant acquisition of funds renderedtributum superfluous for the following century.[15] After the defeat ofMacedon in 167 BCE, Rome began to function without theTributum because of booty accumulated through battle and the decrease in legions which needed material support.[16] After the death ofJulius Caesar, the state demanded increased funds for the civil war and so reintroduced thetributum.[17]
Citizens in the provinces had continued to pay unless they were subject to immunity, as was seen in the case of Egypt,[18] but that did not free them from their obligation to hand in a declaration for the census.[19]
The Roman citizens who qualified to paytributum were known asassidui; essentially, those who were not serving as legionaries paid for the benefit of those who were. The latter therefore paid notributum as they effectively would have been paying double tax on both money and military service .[20] In terms of exemptions, “those of the last century” (a kind of sixth class below the five property ratings), theproletarii orcapite censi, were neither taxed nor liable for military service.[21] This also extended to individuals who did not own property if their lack of contribution to revenue exempted them from payingtributum .[2]
According toLivy (1857, 24.18.13-15), while women were usually excluded, they voluntarily contributed totributum during theSecond Punic War. TheTriumvirs later demanded woman paid the tax.Hortensia then argued that woman had never paid tax before that point and were not obliged, which resulted in the exemption of most of the 1,400 women who were requested to pay.[22]