Fire+and+Famine

Cassius Dio 55.24-27

Now Augustus lacked funds for all these troops, and therefore he introduced a proposal in the senate that revenues in sufficient amount and continuing from year to year should be set aside, in order that the soldiers might receive without stint from the taxes levied their maintenance and bonuses without any outside source being put to annoyance. The means for such a fund were accordingly sought. Now when no one showed a willingness to become aedile, some men from the ranks of the ex-quaestors and ex-tribunes were compelled by lot to take the office — a thing which happened on many other occasions. 25 After this, in the consulship of Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius, when no revenues for the military fund were being discovered that suited anybody, but absolutely everybody was vexed because such an attempt was even being made, 2 Augustus in the name of himself and of Tiberius placed money in the treasury which he called the military treasury, and commanded that three of the ex-praetors, to be chosen by lot, should administer it for three years, employing two lictors apiece and such further assistance as was fitting. 3 This method was followed with the successive incumbents of the office for many years; but at present they are chosen by the emperor and they go about without lictors. Now Augustus made contribution himself toward the fund and promised to do so annually, and he alsoaccepted voluntary contributions from kings and certain communities; but he took nothing from private citizens, although a considerable number made offers of their own free will, as they at least alleged. 4 But as all this proved very slight in comparison with the amount being spent and there was need of some permanent supply, he ordered each one of the senators to seek out sources of revenue, each independently of the others, to write them in books, and give them to him to consider. This was not because he had no plan of his own, but as the most certain means of persuading them to choose the plan he preferred. 5 At all events, when different men had proposed different schemes, he approved none of them, but established the tax of five per cent. on the inheritances and bequests which should be left by people at their death to any except very near relatives or very poor persons,[|b] representing that he had found this tax set down in Caesar's memoranda. 6 It was, in fact, a method which had been introduced once before, but had been abolished later, and was now revived. In this way, then, he increased the revenues; as for the expenditures, he employed three ex-consuls, chosen by lot, by whose help he reduced some of them and altogether abolished others.

26 This was not the only source of trouble to the Romans; for there was also a severe famine. In consequence of this, the gladiators, and the slaves who were for sale, were banished to a distance of one hundred miles, Augustus and the other officials dismissed the greater part of their retinues, a recess of the courts was taken, and senators were permitted to leave the city and to proceed wherever they pleased. 2 And in order that their absence might not prevent decrees from being passed, a ruling was made that all decisions reached by those in attendance at any meeting should be valid. Moreover, ex-consuls were appointed to have oversight over the grain and bread supplies, so that only a fixed quantity should be sold to each person. 3 Augustus, to be sure, gave free of cost to those who were receiving doles of corn as much again in every case as they were already receiving; but when even that did not suffice for their needs, he forbade even the holding of public banquets on his birthday.

4 When many parts of the city were at this time destroyed by fire, he organized a company of freedmen, in seven divisions, to render assistance on such occasions, and appointed a knight in command over them, expecting to disband them in a short time. 5 He did not do so, however; for he found by experience that the aid they gave was most valuable and necessary, and so retained them. These night-watchmen exist to the present day, as a special corps, one might say, recruited no longer from the freedmen only, but from the other classes as well. They have barracks in the city and draw pay from the public treasury.

27 Now the masses, distressed by the famine and the tax and the losses sustained in the fire, were ill at ease, and they not only openly discussed numerous plans for a revolution, but also posted at night even more numerous bulletins. 2 Word was given out that all this had been planned and managed by one Publius Rufus, but suspicion was directed to others; for as Rufus could neither have devised nor accomplished any of these things, it was believed that others, making use of his name, were planning a revolution. 3 Therefore an investigation of the affair was voted for and rewards for information were announced. Information began to be offered, and this also contributed to the commotion in the city. This lasted until the scarcity of grain was at an end and gladiatorial games in honour of Drusus were given by Germanicus Caesar and Tiberius Claudius Nero, his sons. 4 For this mark of honour to the memory of Drusus comforted the people, and also the dedication by Tiberius of the temple of Castor and Pollux, upon which he inserted not only his own name,— calling himself Claudianus instead of Claudius, because of his adoption into the family of Augustus,— but also that of Drusus. 5 Tiberius, it should be explained, continued to carry on the wars, and at the same time visited the city repeatedly whenever the opportunity offered; this was partly, to be sure, on account of various business, but chiefly because he was afraid that Augustus might take advantage of his absence to show preference to somebody else.

 Questions:  1. Who was Cassius Dio and when did he write this? How do we know that this source is possibly somewhat reliable?  2. Who was Publius Rufus? (Unanswered)  3. What wars did Tiberius continue to carry on?  4. Who were Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius?

 This document discusses the Roman people very well. It shows how they felt towards their military and how they felt about taxes imposed upon them for the military. The hardships they encountered under Augustus are depicted, as well as how they handled the situation. The document also shows how Augustus worked towards helping reduce the fire and famine in the city of Rome in turn helping the people. The document shows how the everyday people were affected by wars, military cost, lack of food, and the ravishing of the city with fire. The military costs were an important part of the problem for Cassius. The search for more sources of income was a hard search. Not only did the everyday people disapprove of taxes, the government also did not prefer that mean of revenue. This could be put into a modern day setting as well. Most Americans disagree with all of the taxes paid on everything from sales tax to income taxes. While the Romans paid less variety in taxes, their malcontent with taxes was just as strong. The final decision to put a five percent tax on inheritances that did not go to close relatives was not a harsh bequest but all the same more taxes made life harder. The famine that began under Augustus was what made hardship all the more problematic. Lack of food made the people even more susceptible to ideas of revolution. This is not to say that Augustus did nothing to help the people. He controlled the food and grain allotted to the people to make sure everyone got a fair amount. His decision to end banquets on his birthday showed how he cared for the people. He found their well being to be more important than his birthday, which other leaders would have held to a higher regard. The fires that spread through the city were another problem for the everyday people. Their livelihoods were being destroyed. Many lost everything, and of course when you have nothing to lose, revolution does not seem so undesirable. Augustus again helped the people by the creation of what might be considered modern day firefighters. Still the people were downtrodden and talked of revolution. The everyday people thought that they were being used as a means, that the government was only worried about power and a larger empire. This was not true, of course, because later they revered Augustus. During the famine gladiators and slaves for sale were moved from the city. As soon as the grain shortage was over however, things went back to normal. The people overcame the hardships, with the help of the government, and they blamed a commoner for the talk of revolution, when he could not have been the only one involved. The people had become desperate and while the thought of revolution arose they conquered the problem without the use of revolution, showing how strong the Roman people truly were. This is the importance of this document, the way it shapes our idea of the strength and survival skills of the Roman Empire and its everyday people.  Alexandra Watkins

Works Cited

Your summary of the document was good, the comparisons of some topics to modern equivalents helps with comprehension and connecting to the reasons of why the common peoples would have wanted to revolt during such times. You provide a fair amount of links, but there are a few things that I feel the average reader might be confused about when reading over the document such as what it means to be compelled or chosen by lot. You might also want to add the …penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer… source to your works cited page. Overall, though the format is easy to read and your summary makes for straightforward comprehension. -JaimeLM <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: georgia,palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: georgia,palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Hey, pretty much like Jaime said your summary of the article is fabulous. I especially liked your comparison of the dislike of taxes back then to the modern response to taxes. There were a few things in the text that still slightly confused me as well as a couple of words that I had to look up, but that could just be me. The links are great, however, possibly including a picture for Lucius if it can be found would be great. Your discussion of the article is well written and explaining the survival skills of Rome and its strength helps add to the article. - Jenny Long <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: georgia,palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: georgia,palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">I agree with Jamie and Jenny that your summary is the strongest part if this presentation. As much as comparing the taxes to modern age is great I do feel it could take away from the whole thought of Ancient Romans struggle. A visual would be very nice to see to add. This article is well written and tightly focused which helps keep readers focused on the roman struggle for survival.- Noah King