ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

, (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

plural; singular ) were

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

and entertainments provided for the benefit of the

Roman people grc, Ῥωμαῖοι, , native_name_lang = , image = Pompeii family feast painting Naples.jpg , image_caption = 1st century AD wall painting from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet , languages = , relig ...

by individuals of high status and wealth. means "duty, obligation" (cf. English " munificence"), expressing the individual's responsibility to provide a service or contribution to his community. The word was often a synonym for

gladiatorial combat A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

, which was originally sponsored as a funeral tribute at the tomb of a deceased Roman

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

by his heir. depended on the private

largesse Generosity (also called largess) is the virtue of being liberal in giving, often as gifts. Generosity is regarded as a virtue by various world religions and philosophies, and is often celebrated in cultural and religious ceremonies. Scientific ...

of individuals, in contrast to , which were games, athletic contests or spectacles sponsored by the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Types and evolution

The most famous ''munera'' were the gladiatorial contests, which began as a service or gift rendered by the heirs of the deceased at

funeral games Funeral games are athletic competitions held in honor of a recently deceased person. The celebration of funeral games was common to a number of ancient civilizations. Athletics and games such as wrestling are depicted on Sumerian statues dating ...

. ''Munera'' could refer to the provision of such public services, or to the services themselves. In describing Rome's provision of water to the public,

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...

describes certain lavishly decorated terminal fountains as ''munera''. During the

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

and from 27 BC, many rich persons lavished funds on civic amenities, entertainments and banquets for citizens to gain their favor and enhance their own reputation. The crises of the Empire post-235 caused a rapid decrease in voluntary, private expenditures as evidenced by a dramatic drop in inscriptional attestations, for example of building works within cities credited to the governor and his representatives rather than the municipal aristocracies. From the time of the

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares'' ...

(293–305), the ''munera'' of the '' curiales'' (city councilors) became subject to imperial regulation, apportionment and enforcement so that formerly voluntary "gifts" to the people became firstly civic obligations, then a form of taxation tied to a person's official status and social privilege, and finally a range of obligatory services rendered to the Roman State. ''Munera patrimonialia'' (the compulsory rendering of property) or ''personalia'' (service rendered in person) included the quartering of soldiers and members of the imperial household, the provision of various raw materials for imperial use, services and supplies for the public post, the production of horses and recruits, services connected with the supplies for the army and transport of troops. ''Munera corporalia'' (bodily works) or ''munera sordida'' ("dirty" works) required physical labor such as making charcoal, lime-burning and breadmaking. In addition, the lower classes had to furnish labor (''

corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...

'') in the state factories, mines and quarries, and in the construction and repair of public buildings, highways, bridges and other public works ('' opera publica''). During the Later Empire these compulsory services, an integral part of the tax system, fell increasingly on the middle and lower classes. Other ''personalia'' included the production of garments, buying flour and oil for the city, monitoring the sale of bread and other food stuffs, collection and distribution of the Cura Annonae, collection in money of the ''capitatio'', collection of civic revenues, police duties, the erection of palaces, docks, post stations, and the heating of the baths. ''Munera'' (known as liturgies in Greek) were but one of many monetary taxes. Increasingly, taxes in kind made up ''munera''/liturgies and burdens (''functiones'') and other charges that made up the tax liability of individuals and their municipality, expressed as abstract units of assessment, or ''iuga'' (originally a unit pertaining to agricultural land and estimations of its likely yield). The term '' origo'' denotes and identifies the legal residence, region, village or estate of the registered taxpayer and/or liturgist. The unified fiscal system devised by

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

gave the Roman Empire a budget in the modern sense for the first time.Jones, LRE Vol. I, 1964, p. 66 The performance of compulsory services was resented. The government made the obligation hereditary. The richest city councilors, ''principales,'' and others subject to the performance of ''munera'' or liturgies shifted the burden to their less wealthy colleagues, thereby weakening municipal government. Many tried to escape if they could, in particular, by rising to senatorial rank or by being granted exemptions.

References

{{Reflist Ancient Roman culture