The prefect was the supreme resident administrator and lawgiver. The entire population of Egypt, at least in theory, had the right to petition him, as it had the king or the queen in the Ptolemaic period. Hundreds such petitions and responses have survived, almost exclusively in the hands of the petitioners or the local offices. The prefect also communicated with the population through edicts and letters on a variety of issues. He held regular conventus (meetings with local officials and people) in a few designated population centers, carrying out inspections of public works, finances, etc. As in other provinces of the empire, the conventus in Egypt followed a fixed calendar: the prefect was in Pelusium in January (for the Eastern Delta) and in Memphis or Arsinoe from late January to mid April (for middle and upper Egypt); then he spent the rest of the year near Alexandria (Bowman 1976: 162-3, and J. D. Thomas 2001: 1244-5; for the conventus see Foti-Talamanca 1974 and Lewis 1981; for a list of edicts, rescripts and letters see Montevecchi 1988: 129-35 and 553-4).
The population was keen to express grievances during the annual conventus. The number of petitions that reached the prefect must have been overwhelming. One text (P. Yale I 61) informs us that during his visit to Arsinoe in 209 ce the prefect received 1,804 petitions in two and a half days, or about 700 to 750 per day (Lewis 1983: 189-90)!
Perhaps the most important responsibility for the prefect - and for the rest of the imperial administration - was land administration and tax collection. The Egyptian population was controlled through the fourteen-year cycle census and the land was registered in detailed cadastres, both of which provided the information for tax assessment on individuals as well as on the land and its products. The Romans instituted a vast array of taxes both in money and in kind through an intricate system that involved appointed officials working together with the strategos and a few private contractors. As the edict of Mettius Rufus (discussed earlier) demonstrates, upon acquisition of taxable - movable or immovable - property, all owners were required to file reports with the local record offices.
It is difficult to judge with certainty how burdensome this system was, but papyri show that farmers attempted to run away, and later that the government tried to bind them to their place of origin. Problems in the area of financial administration in Egypt appeared as early as the last years of Nero, when expenses increased in Rome and the state was almost bankrupt. Indeed, the edict of Tiberius Julius Alexander (68 ce), which deals with regulations on land administration and tax collection, stipulates penalties for officials evading rules, cancels immunities, and reveals extortion and corruption in the imperial administration in Egypt. Overall, the edict reflects the gloomy state of the Egyptian economy in that period and does not appear to be simply anti-Neronian propaganda (OGIS 669 = SB V 8444).
World History
