Contacts between Egypt and Rome began as early as the second century bce, when some of the Ptolemies sought help from Rome in moments of crisis and internal strife. Thus the Romans must have acquired some familiarity with the country and its administration before their arrival there. In annexing Egypt, Augustus retained several Ptolemaic administrative structures virtually unchanged, including the division of the country into some forty nomes (districts into which Egypt was divided for the purpose of regional government). This system was retained during the first century of Roman rule. However, the Romans maintained or introduced certain peculiarities in Egypt’s administration, which lasted through the end of the third century ce, almost all caused by the perception that Egypt was a powerful - hence, dangerous - country for the emperor in Rome. More specifically:
A The prefect and the procurators, unlike those of the other provinces, were from the equestrian rather than the senatorial class;
B Roman senators and equestrians were not allowed to visit Egypt, except with permission from the emperor;
C The Romans, following Ptolemaic practice, retained a closed monetary system in Egypt until Diocletian abolished it in 296 ce (for early Roman Egypt, see Bowman 1996).
The degree of Egypt’s ‘‘Romanization’’ has been much debated in the past, but it has been convincingly shown that although the Romans retained much of the Ptol-
Emaic terminology, they introduced new institutions and adapted old ones (Lewis 1970). In particular, the Romans introduced several innovations in the areas of administration of metropolitan cities (councils), land tenure (widespread private ownership), public services (city - and village-level liturgies), and legislation (Roman law).
It is impossible to discuss the papyrological documentation for every level of Roman administration in Egypt. The system was too complex and changed constantly over time. Table 3.1 gives a somewhat idealized picture of the system, summarizing offices that existed nearly throughout the Roman period. Overall, Egypt had a threetiered system of administration: at the top stood the emperor’s representative, the prefect (= provincial governor), and his immediate subordinates (iuridicus = legal advisor; archiereus = administrator of temples; dioiketes = finance officer; idios logos = official in charge of the imperial ‘‘private account;’’ procurators = financial officials; military commanders; and epistrategoi = four regional officials). They were all of equestrian rank, had no experience with Egypt (only broad training in Roman administration), and held their positions for three to four years. Beneath them was the strategos, the key figure in the administration of the nome (perhaps also a salaried official). Originally (in the Ptolemaic period) an officer with mainly military duties, the strategos gradually became a civil official with mainly financial and judicial responsibilities whose power declined during the middle of the third century ce, before being replaced by the exactor in the first quarter of the fourth century. The strategos with his assistant, the basilikosgrammateus (royal scribe = secretary of the nome) was the mediator between the central government and the lower levels of administration in the cities (the magistrates and town councilors, especially after the widespread introduction of the boulai under Septimius Severus in 200/1) and in the villages (the secretary and the elders). The system involved a wide range of liturgists (performing compulsory public services) at the local level (J. D. Thomas 2001: 1245-8).
In order to illustrate the structure and functionality of the Roman administration in Egypt, the remainder of this chapter will provide brief overviews of select officials at each tier. Starting with the emperor in Rome, the discussion will move all the way down to the village scribe and will highlight areas that are critical for our understanding of Roman innovations and the nature of imperial rule in Egypt. Some representative documents will be introduced as a means of illustrating each tier or office.
World History
