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The ''a rationibus'' was the secretary of finance in the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
and in charge of the imperial treasury, the ''
fiscus ''Fiscus'' (Latin for "basket") was the treasury of the Roman Empire. It was initially the personal wealth of the emperors, funded by taxation on the imperial provinces, assumption of estates and other privileges. By the third century it was unde ...
''. His responsibilities involved monitoring the state's revenues and expenditures and maintaining the accounts of the ''fiscus'', giving the ''a rationibus'' considerable influence. The role of the ''a rationibus'' was originally created by
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, who needed accurate and comprehensive accounts of the state's finances in order to exercise budgetary control, and was thus given to members of his household, probably
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
. This role was then institutionalized in the position of the ''a rationibus'', who was paid a salary by the ''
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 of ...
'' and given an office in the Palatine bureaus, under
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...
. Roman patrician families such as the Junii Silani may also have designated their accountants as "a rationibus", although this custom fell out of practice when the imperial office of the ''a rationibus'' became institutionalized and had vanished at the latest under
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
's reign.Brunt, P.A. (1966). "The 'Fiscus' and Its Development". ''Journal of Roman Studies'', 56, pp. 75-91. Within his role as accountant, the careful bookkeeping of military expenditures, the costs of the public distribution of grain, religious constructions and infrastructure projects, but also the embellishment of the imperial palace, and project public revenues, e.g. from the Empire's various mines, were among the ''a rationibus' '' most important tasks. Moreover, the ''a rationibus'' was also responsible for the behavior of the magistrates of the ''fiscus'' and public complaints were addressed to his office. The ''praepositus a rationibus'' was helped by his chief subordinate, the ''proximus a rationibus'', and strongly relied on the continuous confidence of the emperor, as evidenced by the consequences of Tiberius Iul. Aug. lib.'s dismissal. Sometimes, the offices of the ''a rationibus'' and ''
ab epistulis AB, Ab, or ab may refer to: Arts and media * ''American Bandstand'', a music-performance television show * '' Analecta Bollandiana'', an academic journal * Ancienne Belgique, a concert hall in Brussels, Belgium Business Business terminology * ...
'', the secretary in charge of the imperial correspondence, were joined, e.g. in the case of Tiberius Claudius Vibianus Tertullus. The office of ''a rationibus'' was initially held by freedmenWeaver, P.R.C. (1965). "Freedmen Procurators in the Imperial Administration." ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 14, pp. 460-469. such as
Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...
,
Phaon In Greek mythology, Phaon (Ancient Greek: Φάων; ''gen''.: Φάωνος) was a mythical boatman of Mytilene in Lesbos. He was old and ugly when Aphrodite came to his boat. She put on the guise of a crone. Phaon ferried her over to Asia Minor ...
, and the father of Claudius Etruscus. However, from the 2nd century AD on (i.e., around the reigns of
Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
and
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
), the position was occupied only by
Equestrians Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
(''
Equites The (; , though sometimes referred to as " knights" in English) constituted the second of the property/social-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian order was known as an (). Descript ...
'') after the reputation of freedmen had been blackened due to their undue influence at the imperial court and several corruption affairs. The office of the ''a rationibus'' was abolished through
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
's tetrarchic reforms, which put the management of the imperial finances during the 4th and 5th century AD under the purview of the ''
comes sacrarum largitionum The ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' ("Count of the Sacred Largesses"; in , ''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 342/3 ...
'' (master of the sacred largess).


See also

*
A cognitionibus A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
*
Comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...
*
Congiarium Of Ancient Roman containers, a congiarium, or congiary (Latin, from '' congius''), was a vessel containing one congius, a measure of volume equal to six sextarii. In the early times of the Roman Republic, the congius was the usual measure of oil ...
*
Rationalis A ''rationalis'' was a high-ranking fiscal officer in the Roman Empire. Until replaced by the ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' by Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, the ''rationalis summarum'' – comparable to a modern-day finance minis ...
* Roman finance


References

{{reflist Government of the Roman Empire Economy of ancient Rome Economic history of Italy Ancient Roman occupations