Census (Rome)
The census ( Latin census , ' appraisal , estimate , census ', Pl. Censūs ) was used to record the total number of Roman citizens of both sexes for direct taxation based on wealth, the draft (conscription) for military service and the revision of the previous census.
There were two types of census in the Roman Empire :
- the Imperial Census ( lustrum ), the estimate of Roman citizens throughout the Imperium Romanum made by the censor ;
- the provincial census , the estimate for the inhabitants of the province who did not have Roman citizenship ( Civitas Romana ).
The most well-known Roman census is the provincial census mentioned by the Evangelist Luke , which was carried out in 6/7 AD under Publius Sulpicius Quirinius in the province of Syria .
procedure
The citizen directory was updated during the census. For this purpose, all adults who were sui iuris , i.e. were legally independent, were called up on one day. They had to appear in person on the Marsfeld and, under oath , give their full names to the censors and that of their father or, in the case of freedmen , the names of their family members, their place of origin, the tribus and their taxable assets, especially their land ownership. For persons who were under patria potestas or guardianship, the pater familias or guardian had to provide this information. Although women were also obliged to present their financial situation, they were always represented by a guardian. Anyone who withdrew from the census could be sold as a slave .
Based on this information, the censors divided the citizens into Centuries . From a certain fortune - in the 1st century over 400,000 sesterces - a citizen could be accepted into the knighthood . On the other hand, the censors had the right to exclude impoverished knights and senators or those who by their way of life proved to be unworthy of their class. The census thus determined which type of weapon a citizen was called up to and which political influence he could exert. Since the census and thus the term of office of the censors was concluded and confirmed by a solemn purification sacrifice, the lustrum , the term lustrum became commonplace for the census itself and also for the five-year period.
history
Since the introduction of the census and the creation of the censorship office in 443 BC. Chr. Was this held at irregular intervals. 435 BC The first public building on the Field of Mars, the Villa publica , was built as the seat of the censors . From the 3rd century BC Ch. The interval was then about 5 years.
After following the Social War the full Roman citizenship was also granted the inhabitants of the Italian cities, one guided by local officials census took place there at the same time.
Even in the late republic , the census was only held irregularly. The army reform of Marius , a changed tax law and the devaluation of the Comitia by Sulla made him superfluous. The emperors from Augustus onwards carried out individual censuses, mainly to get an overview of the financial situation of new provinces and to record their military capacity, but there was neither an imperial census nor did the census take place regularly. Under Vespasian there was the last lustrum in Rome.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cicero : per Caecina 34
- ↑ Titus Livius 4:22 ; Villa publica
Web links
- Article census on the website Novaesium, alias Neuss. History and archeology of Roman Neuss [1]