Publicani in the Principate

Abstract

Taxes were the lifeblood of the Roman Empire, and publicani, the private contractors who were responsible for collecting much of Rome’s tax revenue, were essential to the proper functioning of the Empire. This thesis examines the role of publicani in the collection of taxes during the imperial period. The introduction provides an overview of the various roles which publicani played in the Roman economy, as well as the structure and organization of tax-farming companies. Chapter 1 examines the role of publicani in tax-farming during the Republican period, while Chapter 2 examines the role of publicani during the imperial period (both chapters include a regional survey of tax-farming procedures across the Empire). Chapter 3 presents an analysis of the evidence for corrupt behaviour by publicani and assesses whether corrupt behaviour by publicani would have been less common during the Principate.