While each civic community in the Roman west was in theory autonomous, this autonomy was compromised by the reality that all these cities were politically subject to Rome, even those municipia libera like Singili(a) Barba whose titles suggested they were ‘‘independent.’’ Plutarch, in discussing how best the Greeks might conduct themselves under Roman rule, talked about the senatorial shoes (calcei) of the proconsul of Asia ‘‘looming over the heads of the Greeks’’ (Mor. 813e). Even if this emotive image is somewhat exaggerated for the Greek east and mutatis mutandis for the Roman west too, the potential ofRome to intrude can never have been too far from the minds of its provincial subjects. Firstly, jurisdiction: the municipal charter from Irni makes it clear that the scope of local jurisdiction was quite limited. When a case involved property worth more than 1,000 sesterces, it lay beyond the jurisdictional powers of the local II viri and had to be referred to the Roman provincial governor for settlement (Lex Irnitana 84). Furthermore, the governor, as part of the provincial edict that he published on taking up his post, had the right to determine his own rules regarding the functioning of local jurisdiction (Lex Irnitana 85). Any Roman citizen (and hence certain members ofthe local elite) could choose to bypass a local court and take any lawsuit directly to the governor’s tribunal. How practical this was, however, given that the governor held assizes only periodically and in a limited number of cities in his province, must remain an open question. Social ties with the governor, however, would improve an individual’s chances of gaining a hearing.
Secondly, it was a Roman governor’s duty to step in when he felt that local finances were not being handled judiciously by a city’s magistrates. The limited administrative staff at his disposal and often large number of cities for which he was responsible meant that it was difficult to perform this function thoroughly and effectively, but he still had the power, and responsibility, to intervene. Some rules were established centrally to govern the expenditure of local elites. In 58, for example, the Sicilian city of Syracuse petitioned the Roman Senate to exempt it from the rules limiting the number of gladiators that could be put on at local presentations ( munera) (Tac. Ann.
13.49). Although in this case the exemption was granted, there was clearly a sense, even under Nero, that excessive spending by local elites could threaten the economic viability of provincial cities. This was indeed prescient, for from the later first century onwards the emperor had to send out from Rome officials of senatorial or equestrian rank known as curatores rei publicae to deal with the financial problems of a number of provincial cities. Especially revealing is the mission of the younger Pliny, dispatched by Trajan to Bithynia as provincial governor to scrutinize the financial affairs of all the cities of that province. His letters sent back to the emperor between 109 and 111 (or perhaps 110 and 112) reveal a chaotic picture of maladministration (Pliny Ep. 10.15-121, with Millar 2000). Although we lack such vivid testimony for the Roman west, a number of curatores are attested epigraphically for various cities and were clearly dealing with many of the same problems. The patchy nature of our evidence, however, makes it difficult to gauge how frequent and widespread were the interventions of such officials (Burton 1979; Jacques 1984).
Individual provincials could appeal to the provincial governor or even the Roman emperor against the authorities of their cities if they felt they had a valid grievance. This occurred, for example, in Baetica in the late 70s in the case of one Servilius Pollio, who had leased the right to collect some of the local revenues (vectigalia) of the municipium of Munigua (Mulva, 30 km northeast of Seville). Left out of pocket by the refusal of the city to pay him what he was owed, he had appealed to the proconsul of Baetica, who adjudged in his favor. The magistrates and decurions of Munigua in turn felt aggrieved and sent an embassy to the emperor Titus to appeal the proconsul’s decision. On September 7, 79 Titus dismissed their appeal, admonishing the ambassadors and pointing out that their city should have been fined for its improper appeal. However, preferring to demonstrate his ‘‘customary indulgence’’ ( indulgentia), he provided the city with 50,000 sesterces to help them pay off Pollio (AE 1962, no. 288, tr. Sherk 1988, no. 92 = LR3 II, p. 242).
Finally, members of the local elite, as we have seen, were expected to provide services and funding (munera) to sustain the sort of civic activities that a city’s limited revenues could never support unaided. However, individuals could, and increasingly did, appeal to the emperor for exemptions from such munera. In addition, rules of exemption for certain categories of individuals gradually evolved during the second century (Millar 1983). Such appeals and the evolution of rules of exemption, determined centrally but applicable across all cities of the empire, also led to the erosion of local autonomy. They reduced the ability of cities to put social pressure on their elites to undertake these much needed civic contributions.
World History
