Scriba (ancient Rome)

Bust from the grave altar of Marcus Natronius Rusticus , who was chairman of the Scribae quaestorii and a curator of the college of Scribae from the 1st century AD

The scribe ( Latin scriba , plural scribae ) was a person who was in the paid service of the Roman state or was employed as a secretary in private households. The state clerks belonged to the permanent staff of the magistrate and were assigned as permanent auxiliary officers to the magistrates and promagistrates in the Roman Republic, which changes annually, as well as to the higher office holders in the following principate . Because of their special duty of loyalty to their employers who held an office, the private secretaries were often entrusted with the handling of official affairs - thereby ignoring the official statutes.

Organizational structure

The stone tablet of the funerary monument of Marcus Claudius , who had been the princeps of the association of scribes who were in the service of the quaestors and the aediles towards the end of the 1st century AD

The state clerks belonged to a profession ( ordo scribarum ) in Roman society, which was divided into three decuria , which also included the heralds ( praecones ) and messengers ( viators ), according to the respective magistrate (see cursus honorum ) was. The individual departments had a board of directors ( curatores ), to which a first chairman ( princeps ) was superordinate. The number of state clerks available varied at the respective office. The quaestoric scribes were most numerous , due to the additional provinces to be administered . Decreasing in number followed the scribes of the aediles ( scribae aedilicii ), who together with the quaestoric scribes also formed the staff contingent for the higher offices.

Scribae libraii

The simple recorders were mostly freedmen , which are predominantly in the quaestorship ( scribae quaestorii ) found their use. The core areas of activity consisted of financial accounting, which, in addition to recording the income and expenditure of the Roman treasury with its provinces, also concerned the administration of the State Archives in Rome. Upon request, the scribes were also responsible for the preparation and provision of copies, such as inventory lists, financial statements, and the recording of Senate consultants .

Scribae

The higher scribes ( scribae ), who were in front of the scribae libraii, were recruited from Roman citizens , some of whom belonged to the knighthood ( eques ). In addition to the official and technical supervision of the subordinate clerks, the higher-ranking officials assisted the magistrates in their official duties by supporting them in the administration of justice in public, whereby, in addition to administrative tasks, they assisted their employers in carrying out investigative procedures. The simple scribae libraii rarely succeeded in advancing to the respected and highly endowed office of scriba . A Roman citizen, on the other hand, had the opportunity to ascend to the knighthood if he had shown suitability and performance.

literature

• Wolfgang Kunkel : State order and state practice of the Roman Republic . Second part. The Magistratur (= Handbook of Classical Studies . Volume 10,3,2,2). CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-33827-5 , IV. The administration, 2. The auxiliary staff of the magistrates, b) The clerks , pp. 116–119.
• Helmut Gugel : Scriba. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 5, Stuttgart 1975, Col. 52 f.

Remarks

1. ^ Wolfgang Kunkel : State order and state practice of the Roman Republic . Second part. The Magistratur (= Handbook of Classical Studies . Volume 10,3,2,2). CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-33827-5 , IV. The administration, 2. The auxiliary staff of the magistrates, b) The clerks , p. 119.
2. ↑ AE 1939, 0153
3. ↑ Cicero , Orationes in Verrem 2, 3, 182 f. (on-line)