Alexandros Psalidios

Alexandros Psalidios ( German about "Alexander the scissor artist ", named after his skills in the art of cutting coins) was an Eastern Roman tax officer. After the reconquest of Ravenna by General Belisarius and his recall (540 AD), his career under Emperor Justinian I , who recognized his abilities, brought him to Italy, where he was supposed to organize the finances of the new province. His measures for this purpose made him unpopular with the people: He canceled the tax breaks for the Roman city population and the state grain supply and drove in alleged tax arrears from the time of the Gothic occupation.

The historian Prokop blames Alexandros for complicity in the inadequate support of the Italian population for Byzantine rule. He counts him among the participants in an unsuccessful campaign against the Ostrogoths near Verona . His further life is unknown.

literature

• Ludo Moritz Hartmann : Alexandros 80 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 2, Stuttgart 1894, Col. 1446.