A ''rationalis'' was a high-ranking
fiscal
Fiscal usually refers to government finance. In this context, it may refer to:
Economics
* Fiscal policy, use of government expenditure to influence economic development
* Fiscal policy debate
* Fiscal adjustment, a reduction in the government ...
officer in the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. Until replaced by the ''
comes sacrarum largitionum
The ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' ("Count of the Sacred Largesses"; in el, , ''kómes tōn theíon thesaurōn'') was one of the senior fiscal officials of the late Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire.
Although it is first attested in ...
'' by
Emperor Constantine
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterrane ...
in the early 4th century, the ''rationalis summarum'' – comparable to a modern-day
finance minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
– was one of two state officials who had authority over the
imperial treasury, the other one being the ''rationalis rei privatae'' (manager of imperial estates and city properties). Examples for tasks that were performed by a ''rationalis'' are "the
collection of all normal
tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
es and
duties
A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...
, the control of
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general ...
and the administration of
mines and
mints
A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach given their association with natural byproducts ...
".
Each
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
also had various classes of ''rationales'', and Emperor
Diocletian's administrative reforms had mirrored the dual structure on the
diocesis–level, instituting the local positions ''rationalis summarum'' and ''magister rei privatae'' above the ''
procuratores''. The former continued to exist after the reforms, one example are the ''
comes
''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count".
Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...
et rationalis summarum
Aegypti''. In the 6th century, the post was increasingly rendered into its Greek equivalent, ''
logothete Logothete ( el, λογοθέτης, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. la, logotheta, pl. ''logothetae''; bg, логотет; it, logoteta; ro, logofăt; sr, логотет, ''logotet'') was an administrative title ...
'', which later was given to the senior fiscal secretaries of the middle
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
(7th–12th centuries).
See also
*
Aerarium
Aerarium, from ''aes'' (“bronze, money”) + -''ārium'' (“place for”), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances.
''Aerarium populi Romani''
The main ''aerarium'', that ...
*
Congiarium Of Ancient Roman containers, a congiarium, or congiary (Latin, from ''congius''), was a vessel containing one congius
In Ancient Roman measurement, ''congius'' (pl. ''congii'', from Greek ''konkhion'', diminutive of ''konkhē'', ''konkhos'', "shel ...
*
fiscus
''Fiscus'', from which comes the English term "fiscal", was the name of the personal chest of the List of Roman emperors, emperors of Rome.
The word is literally translated as "basket" or "purse" and was used to describe those forms of revenue col ...
*
rationibus The ''a rationibus'' was the secretary of finance in the Roman Empire and in charge of the imperial treasury, the ''fiscus''. His responsibilities involved monitoring the state's revenues and expenditures and maintaining the accounts of the ''fiscus ...
*
Roman finance
The practices of ancient Roman finance, while originally rooted in Greek models, evolved in the second century BC with the expansion of Roman monetization. Roman elites engaged in private lending for various purposes, and various banking models a ...
Notes
Citations
References
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Ancient Roman titles
Economy of ancient Rome
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