Misplaced Pages

#403596

125-529: The main source for the provisions of the Lex Hieronica comes from Cicero 's In Verrem . Other primary sources, such as Appian , Polybius and Livy , claim that there was an agricultural tithe in Sicily. These authors contribute to the debate concerning when the Lex Hieronica was established. However, In Verrem is the only primary source which gives a detailed account of the provisions or refers to

250-429: A pactio , concerning the total produce and hence the amount of produce which the farmer had to pay. The edict of Verres required that this must take place on the threshing floor. It is likely that this edict did not differ from the requirements of the Lex Hieronica as Cicero charges Verres with only abusing this practise. The determination of the total produce would be too difficult in the field itself due to thickness of

375-471: A tyrant , which allowed the Caesarians to have lawful support and kept Caesar's reforms and policies intact. In April 43 BC, "diehard republicans" may have revived the ancient position of princeps senatus (leader of the senate) for Cicero. This position had been very prestigious until the constitutional reforms of Sulla in 82–80 BC, which removed most of its importance. On the other side, Antony

500-462: A Parthian invasion, causing unrest in Syria and Cilicia. Cicero restored calm by his mild system of government. He discovered that a great amount of public property had been embezzled by corrupt previous governors and members of their staff, and did his utmost to restore it. Thus he greatly improved the condition of the cities. He retained the civil rights of, and exempted from penalties, the men who gave

625-522: A Roman citizen without a trial. Cicero, having executed members of the Catiline conspiracy four years previously without formal trial, was clearly the intended target. Furthermore, many believed that Clodius acted in concert with the triumvirate who feared that Cicero would seek to abolish many of Caesar's accomplishments while consul the year before. Cicero argued that the senatus consultum ultimum indemnified him from punishment, and he attempted to gain

750-462: A cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. The famous family names of Fabius , Lentulus , and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils, and peas, respectively. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this deprecatory name when he entered politics, but refused, saying that he would make Cicero more glorious than Scaurus ("Swollen-ankled") and Catulus ("Puppy"). At

875-628: A comprehensive account of Greek philosophy for a Roman audience, including creating a philosophical vocabulary in Latin. In 87 BC, Philo of Larissa , the head of the Platonic Academy that had been founded by Plato in Athens about 300 years earlier, arrived in Rome. Cicero, "inspired by an extraordinary zeal for philosophy", sat enthusiastically at his feet and absorbed Carneades ' Academic Skeptic philosophy. According to Plutarch, Cicero

1000-688: A conspiracy led by Lucius Sergius Catilina to overthrow the Roman Republic with the help of foreign armed forces. Cicero procured a senatus consultum ultimum (a recommendation from the senate attempting to legitimise the use of force) and drove Catiline from the city with four vehement speeches (the Catilinarian orations ), which remain outstanding examples of his rhetorical style. The Orations listed Catiline and his followers' debaucheries, and denounced Catiline's senatorial sympathizers as roguish and dissolute debtors clinging to Catiline as

1125-469: A consul in 30 BC, avenged his father's death, to a certain extent, when he announced to the Senate Mark Antony's naval defeat at Actium in 31 BC by Octavian. Octavian is reported to have praised Cicero as a patriot and a scholar of meaning in later times, within the circle of his family. However, it was Octavian's acquiescence that had allowed Cicero to be killed, as Cicero was condemned by

1250-607: A cowed Cicero concentrated on his literary works. It is uncertain whether he was directly involved in politics for the following few years. His legal work largely consisted of defending allies of the ruling triumvirs and his own personal friends and allies; he defended his former pupil Marcus Caelius Rufus against a charge of murder in 56. Under the influence of the triumvirs, he had also defended his former enemies Publius Vatinius (in August 54 BCE), Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (between July and September) and Gnaeus Plancius (with

1375-441: A delivery. On the other hand, the language with which Cicero describes Septicus, a mistreated farmer in Sicily, suggests that the farmer was responsible. Once at the waterside the tithe would then be distributed to the army, to the garrison in Sicily or to Rome for private sale. Transport contractors were responsible for shipping. Whether or not transport contractors were the tax collectors is unclear. Strict penalties applied to both

SECTION 10

#1732772241404

1500-544: A final and desperate hope. Cicero demanded that Catiline and his followers leave the city. At the conclusion of Cicero's first speech (which was made in the Temple of Jupiter Stator ), Catiline hurriedly left the Senate. In his following speeches, Cicero did not directly address Catiline. He delivered the second and third orations before the people, and the last one again before the Senate. By these speeches, Cicero wanted to prepare

1625-569: A legislative requirement enacted by Pompey in 52 BC specifying an interval of five years between a consulship or praetorship and a provincial command . He served as proconsul of Cilicia from May 51 BC, arriving in the provinces three months later around August. In 53 BC Marcus Licinius Crassus had been defeated by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae . This opened the Roman East for

1750-451: A long trip spanning most of 79 through 77 BC. Returning to Rome in 77 BC, Cicero again busied himself with legal defence. In 76 BC, at the quaestorian elections, Cicero was elected at the minimum age required – 30 years – in the first returns from the comitia tributa , to the post of quaestor . Ex officio, he also became a member of the Senate . In the quaestorian lot, he

1875-452: A monetary equivalent. Finally, Cicero suggests that the collector received an additional 6 percent of the produce which he was responsible for collecting. The price of the collection rights was determined based on records of previous harvest and the professiones of the farmers. A professio was a declaration concerning the amount of seed which had been sown. The collector and the farmer were required to come to an informal personal agreement,

2000-487: A pamphlet titled On Invention relating to rhetorical argumentation and studying philosophy with Greek academics who had fled the ongoing First Mithridatic War . During this period in Roman history, Greek language and cultural studies were highly valued by the elite classes. Cicero was therefore educated in the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers , poets and historians ; as he obtained much of his understanding of

2125-465: A part of the property in order to extend his own house. After demolishing Cicero's house, Clodius had the land consecrated and symbolically erected a temple of Liberty ( aedes Libertatis ) on the vacant land. Cicero's exile caused him to fall into depression. He wrote to Atticus: "Your pleas have prevented me from committing suicide. But what is there to live for? Don't blame me for complaining. My afflictions surpass any you ever heard of earlier". After

2250-548: A public building of the sort discovered at Morgantina. The Roman senate sold the rights to collect the Sicilian tithe to contractors. The tithe collectors were known as decumani. Usually, only Sicilians could purchase the rights to become decumani . However, occasionally there were Italian decumani in Sicily. The rights to collect were sold annually at an auction. Prior to 75 BCE the auctions were held in Syracuse. In 75 BCE

2375-469: A recognised area where taxation agreements were discussed and formed between the farmer and collector. In Egypt this took place around the wine press, a practice that is embodied in Syracuse, as discussions took place on the threshing room floor. Further, both systems employ a degree of civic regulation and had mechanisms of referring disputes to civic actors such as the city magistrates in Syracuse, and in Egypt

2500-402: A semi-invalid, he could not enter public life and studied extensively to compensate. Little is known about Cicero's mother Helvia, but Cicero's brother Quintus wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife. Cicero's cognomen , a hereditary nickname, comes from the Latin for chickpea , cicer . Plutarch explains that the name was originally given to one of Cicero's ancestors who had

2625-552: A senior senator, courted Cicero's favor, but even so Cicero slipped out of Italy and traveled to Dyrrhachium where Pompey's staff was situated. Cicero traveled with the Pompeian forces to Pharsalus in Macedonia in 48 BC, though he was quickly losing faith in the competence and righteousness of the Pompeian side. Eventually, he provoked the hostility of his fellow senator Cato, who told him that he would have been of more use to

SECTION 20

#1732772241404

2750-497: A time of civil unrest and war. Sulla's victory in the first of a series of civil wars led to a new constitutional framework that undermined libertas (liberty), the fundamental value of the Roman Republic. Nonetheless, Sulla's reforms strengthened the position of the equestrian class, contributing to that class's growing political power. Cicero was both an Italian eques and a novus homo , but more importantly he

2875-558: A unique volatility in Sicily that required special attention. The descriptions of the Sicilians in Cicero's In Verrem portray the unusually close alliance that formed out of Rome's new provincial administration. Cicero describes Sicily as "a valuable assistant both in war and peace" and praises his ancestors for "defending the Sicilians and retaining their allegiance." In describing the crimes of Verres, Cicero expands further, speaking of

3000-411: Is apparent that he characterises this creation of law under respect of heritage and culture. However historians have also countered that this must be considered against the backdrop of the benefits this held for Rome, in acting as a stabilising and self serving tool. The Sicilian provincial taxation system was in many ways unique and differs from taxation methods employed in other provinces. For instance,

3125-413: Is difficult to determine whether or not a provision pertaining to tax collection from the edict of Verres is a continuation of the Lex Hieronica or a new regulation. This is due to the fact that one of Cicero's charges against Verres was that he interfered with the taxation practises. For this reason, further evidence must be sought if a provision from the edict of Verres is to be treated as a provision of

3250-460: Is likely that the tithe also applied to wine, oil, and other minor agricultural products. The tithe could either be paid in kind or in cash. The number of farmers had to be annually logged in official records. Modern reconstruction suggests that these records took the form of a three columned table which logged the name of the farmer, the amount of crops sown, and the amount contributed to the tithe respectively. These public records were likely stored in

3375-572: The Pro Plancio ) in September, which weakened his prestige and sparked attacks on his integrity: Luca Grillo has suggested these cases as the source of the poet Catullus 's double-edged comment that Cicero was "the best defender of anybody". In 51 BC he reluctantly accepted a promagistracy (as proconsul) in Cilicia for the year; there were few other former consuls eligible as a result of

3500-582: The Formula Octaviana , a law which provided for the restoration of property and money which had been obtained by violent acts, or by threats of violence. In 75 BC Lucius Octavius was elected consul alongside Gaius Aurelius Cotta . During the later stages of his consulate, both Lucius Octavius and his colleague were attacked by crowds along the Via Sacra while they were campaigning on behalf of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus ’ campaign for

3625-402: The lex Titia , passed on 27 November 43 BC, which gave each triumvir a consular imperium for five years. The Triumvirate immediately began a proscription of their enemies, modeled after that of Sulla in 82 BC. Cicero and all of his contacts and supporters were numbered among the enemies of the state, even though Octavian argued for two days against Cicero being added to the list. Cicero

3750-549: The College of Pontiffs to rule that the consecration of his land was invalid, thereby allowing him to regain his property and rebuild his house on the Palatine. Cicero tried to re-enter politics as an independent operator, but his attempts to attack portions of Caesar's legislation were unsuccessful and encouraged Caesar to re-solidify his political alliance with Pompey and Crassus. The conference at Luca in 56 BC left

3875-506: The Latin language. A substantial percentage of his work has survived, and he was admired by both ancient and modern authors alike. Cicero adapted the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy in Latin and created a large amount of Latin philosophical vocabulary via lexical innovation (e.g. neologisms such as evidentia , generator , humanitas , infinitio , qualitas , quantitas ), almost 150 of which were

Lex Hieronica - Misplaced Pages Continue

4000-414: The Lex Hieronica directly. In some instances Cicero refers to a provision pertaining to tax collection to the edict of Verres . These include a praetor's edict setting forth the laws of the praetor's area of jurisdiction, the praetorship of Sicily being rotated annually. Each praetor introduced his own edict. However, it was customary for a praetor's edict to conform to previous edicts. Unfortunately, it

4125-590: The Lex Hieronica . Archaeological excavations in the Sicilian town of Morgantina , a town within the Kingdom of Syracuse, have uncovered three buildings connected to the Lex Hieronica: two large granaries and a public office. The buildings date to the time of the rule of Hiero II. All three of the buildings have been found in the agora of Morgantina. For this reason, the buildings were most likely all public buildings. The two excavated granaries have been named

4250-641: The Tribune Gaius Gracchus introduced a grain tithe to the province of Asia in 123. However, unlike in Sicily, the tithe contracts were not leased out to local contractors by the Quaestor within the province . Instead, the Asian tithe contracts were leased out by the censors in Rome to companies of Roman tax-collectors. Later, Julius Caesar abolished the leasing of tax-collection contracts in Rome, and instead placed responsibility for raising

4375-462: The pomerium , to retain his promagisterial powers: either in expectation of a triumph or to retain his independent command authority in the coming civil war. The struggle between Pompey and Julius Caesar grew more intense in 50 BC. Cicero favored Pompey, seeing him as a defender of the senate and Republican tradition, but at that time avoided openly alienating Caesar. When Caesar invaded Italy in 49 BC, Cicero fled Rome. Caesar, seeking an endorsement by

4500-438: The senatus consultum ultimum gave some legitimacy to the use of force against the conspirators, Cicero also argued that Catiline's conspiracy, by virtue of its treason, made the conspirators enemies of the state and forfeited the protections intrinsically possessed by Roman citizens. The consuls moved decisively. Antonius Hybrida was dispatched to defeat Catiline in battle that year, preventing Crassus or Pompey from exploiting

4625-408: The 'Old Academic' and initiator of Middle Platonism . In Asia Minor, he met the leading orators of the region and continued to study with them. Cicero then journeyed to Rhodes to meet his former teacher, Apollonius Molon, who had taught him in Rome. Molon helped Cicero hone the excesses in his style, as well as train his body and lungs for the demands of public speaking. Charting a middle path between

4750-512: The Eastern and Western Granaries. The Eastern Granary belongs to the architectural style which was prevalent in the rule of Hiero II. The Eastern Granary is estimated to have been 92.85 metres long and 7.60 metres wide. This space was subdivided into six rooms, with administrative offices located at the northern end and vast storage facilities consisting of the southern halls which measure ca. 20 and ca. 40 metres in length. The format of this building

4875-480: The Gauls, was able to seize letters that incriminated the five conspirators and forced them to confess in front of the Senate . The senate then deliberated upon the conspirators' punishment. As it was the dominant advisory body to the various legislative assemblies rather than a judicial body, there were limits to its power; however, martial law was in effect, and it was feared that simple house arrest or exile –

5000-640: The Italian peninsula. His severed hands and head (taken by order of Antony and displayed representing the repercussions of his anti-Antonian actions as a writer and as an orator, respectively) were then displayed on the Rostra . Petrarch 's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs , humanism , and classical Roman culture. According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński , "the Renaissance

5125-475: The Roman army in Macedonia food and clothing in 198 BCE. Additionally to military supply, there is some modern speculation about whether the city of Rome itself received a portion of the Sicilian tithe. There is a strong possibility that some of the grain was sent to the capital, given ancient accounts of the desperate need for grain in Rome. Further evidence for this comes from ancient and modern sources correlating years of large grain supply being sent to Rome in

Lex Hieronica - Misplaced Pages Continue

5250-599: The Romans had removed any tax burdens then Cicero would have used this instance of Roman magnanimity to further demonstrate Verres' corruption. Given the presence of a tithe in Punic Sicily and the kingdom of Syracuse, it seems likely that the Sicilians had always paid a tithe. The primary change which the Romans made to the Sicilian taxation systems was that the tithe now was now paid to Rome, rather than Carthage or to Hiero. It has been argued that Hiero II's taxation system

5375-487: The Segetians began minting coins depicting Aeneas. If these two events coincide, then, there must have been a tax to be exempted from in 241 BCE. Similarly, in 213 BCE, the Sicilian city Tauromenium was made a civitas foederata . Hence, it was declared to be free from paying an agricultural tithe. Therefore, there must have been an agricultural tax to be exempted from in Sicily prior to 213 BCE. Finally, Livy claims that all

5500-498: The Senate for the worst possible case; he also delivered more evidence, against Catiline. Catiline fled and left behind his followers to start the revolution from within while he himself assaulted the city with an army of "moral and financial bankrupts, or of honest fanatics and adventurers". It is alleged that Catiline had attempted to involve the Allobroges , a tribe of Transalpine Gaul , in their plot, but Cicero, working with

5625-491: The Sicilians had paid tax to Rome in kind prior to 218 BC, the outbreak of the second Punic war . These sources suggest that Rome imposed an agricultural tithe on some of its Sicilian subjects prior to the second Punic war. However, it remains impossible to determine when the Romans appropriated Hiero's taxation system or when it was applied to all of Sicily. The Lex Hieronica main purpose was to address Rome's changing military logistics. The First Punic War presented Rome with

5750-497: The adoption of patrician Publius Clodius Pulcher into a plebeian family and had him elected as one of the ten tribunes of the plebs for 58 BC. Clodius used the triumvirate's backing to push through legislation that benefited them. He introduced several laws (the leges Clodiae ) that made him popular with the people, strengthening his power base, then he turned on Cicero. Clodius passed a law which made it illegal to offer "fire and water" (i.e. shelter or food) to anyone who executed

5875-612: The age of 15, in 90 BC, Cicero started serving under Pompey Strabo and later Sulla in the Social war between Rome and its Italian allies. When in Rome during the turbulent plebeian tribunate of Publius Sulpicius Rufus in 88 BC which saw a short bout of fighting between the Sulpicius and Sulla, who had been elected consul for that year, Cicero found himself greatly impressed by Sulpicius' oratory even if he disagreed with his politics. He continued his studies at Rome, writing

6000-453: The age of 36, Cicero launched his first high-profile prosecution against Verres, an emblem of the corrupt Sullan supporters who had risen in the chaos of the civil war. The prosecution of Gaius Verres was a great forensic success for Cicero. While Verres hired the prominent lawyer, Quintus Hortensius , after a lengthy period in Sicily collecting testimonials and evidence and persuading witnesses to come forward, Cicero returned to Rome and won

6125-404: The already existing systems such as Heiro's tax regime aided in the construction of their own image in the eyes of the Sicilian people, as through their conservation of the past they constantly reminded the Sicilians of the generosity of the conqueror. Thus the integration of Sicilian taxation systems, into the Roman taxation method can be seen in differing ways. Drawing on Cicero's In Verrem , it

6250-440: The amount taxed was not determined by the crops' yield and other such factors. Cicero People Events Places Marcus Tullius Cicero ( / ˈ s ɪ s ə r oʊ / SISS -ə-roh ; Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs ˈtʊlli.ʊs ˈkɪkɛroː] ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, writer and Academic skeptic , who tried to uphold optimate principles during

6375-449: The area, and local potentates. Adeptly balancing those responsibilities, he won their gratitude. He was also appreciated by local Syracusans for the rediscovery of the lost tomb of Archimedes , which he personally financed. Promising to lend the Sicilians his oratorical voice, he was called on a few years after his quaestorship to prosecute the Roman province's governor Gaius Verres , for abuse of power and corruption. In 70 BC, at

SECTION 50

#1732772241404

6500-400: The case in a series of dramatic court battles. His unique style of oratory set him apart from the flamboyant Hortensius. On the conclusion of this case, Cicero came to be considered the greatest orator in Rome. The view that Cicero may have taken the case for reasons of his own is viable. Hortensius was, at this point, known as the best lawyer in Rome; to beat him would guarantee much success and

6625-536: The cause of the optimates if he had stayed in Rome. After Caesar's victory at the Battle of Pharsalus on 9 August, Cicero refused to take command of the Pompeian forces and continue the war. He returned to Rome, still as a promagistrate with his lictors , in 47 BC, and dismissed them upon his crossing the pomerium and renouncing his command. In a letter to Varro on c.  20 April 46 BC , Cicero outlined his strategy under Caesar's dictatorship. Cicero, however,

6750-635: The chaotic middle period of the first century BC, marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Julius Caesar , Cicero was a supporter of the Optimates faction. Following Caesar's death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches . He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate and consequently executed by soldiers operating on their behalf in 43 BC, having been intercepted during an attempted flight from

6875-432: The collectors and the farmers for violation. The Lex Hieronica established special courts in order to mediate disputes between the collectors and the farmers. The disputes that the court mediated likely concerned the failure of the two parties to come to an agreement on the threshing floor concerning the amount of tax owed. In the edict of Verres, the collector could be sued for eight times the amount wrongly exacted, whereas

7000-474: The competing Attic and Asiatic styles , Cicero would ultimately become considered second only to Demosthenes among history's orators. While Cicero had feared that the law courts would be closed forever, they were reopened in the aftermath of Sulla's civil war and the purging of Sulla's political opponents in the proscriptions . Many of the orators whom Cicero had admired in his youth were now dead from age or political violence. His first major appearance in

7125-472: The conspirators, began, "How I could wish that you had invited me to that most glorious banquet on the Ides of March!" Cicero became a popular leader during the period of instability following the assassination. He had no respect for Mark Antony, who was scheming to take revenge upon Caesar's murderers. In exchange for amnesty for the assassins, he arranged for the Senate to agree not to declare Caesar to have been

7250-405: The consuls Lucius Octavius and Gaius Aurelius Cotta moved the site of the auctions to Rome, except those contracts concerning grain. The collection rights were specific to a crop and a region of Sicily. The rights to collect the tithe of a crop were paid for in kind. For example, the right to collect grain was paid for with grain. However, Cicero also claims that the contracts could be bought with

7375-444: The countryside again. Cassius and his legions followed them, harrying them wherever they went, eventually ambushing and defeating them near Antigonea. Another large troop of Parthian horsemen was defeated by Cicero's cavalry who happened to run into them while scouting ahead of the main army. Cicero next defeated some robbers who were based on Mount Amanus and was hailed as imperator by his troops. Afterwards he led his army against

7500-411: The courts was in 81 BC at the age of 26 when he delivered Pro Quinctio , a speech defending certain commercial transactions which Cicero had recorded and disseminated. His more famous speech defending Sextus Roscius of Ameria – Pro Roscio Amerino – on charges of parricide in 80 BC was his first appearance in criminal court. In this high-profile case, Cicero accused a freedman of

7625-502: The crop. However, the true amount of produce could easily be hidden if assessment took place in the granary. Once collected, the grain tithe would have been stored in public grannies, like those uncovered at Morgantina. The edict of Verres also required the tithe to be delivered to the waterside by a specific date, the first of August. The Lex Hieronica probably contained a similar requirement as harvests would have been gathered in early July. Furthermore, Cicero seems to suggest that Verres

SECTION 60

#1732772241404

7750-569: The death penalty. Cicero had the conspirators taken to the Tullianum , the notorious Roman prison, where they were strangled. Cicero himself accompanied the former consul Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura , one of the conspirators, to the Tullianum. Cicero received the honorific " pater patriae " for his efforts to suppress the conspiracy, but lived thereafter in fear of trial or exile for having put Roman citizens to death without trial. While

7875-840: The dictator Sulla, Chrysogonus , of fabricating Roscius' father's proscription to obtain Roscius' family's property. Successful in his defence, Cicero tactfully avoided incriminating Sulla of any wrongdoing and developed a positive oratorical reputation for himself. While Plutarch claims that Cicero left Rome shortly thereafter out of fear of Sulla's response, according to Kathryn Tempest, "most scholars now dismiss this suggestion" because Cicero left Rome after Sulla resigned his dictatorship. Cicero, for his part, later claimed that he left Rome, headed for Asia, to develop his physique and develop his oratory. After marrying his wife, Terentia , in 80 BC, he eventually left for Asia Minor with his brother Quintus , his friend Titus Atticus , and others on

8000-502: The dilemma on how it could sustain its manpower long term in foreign wars far from the Italian mainland. With an increasing need for supplies away from Rome, legislation like the Lex Hieronica , which presented a reliable tithe of one tenth of Sicilian grain supply, solved this issue during Rome's time of imperial expansion. The tithe from Sicily was used to feed Roman garrisons on the island and to feed Roman armies overseas. Livy recounts an example of this, when he writes about Sicily sending

8125-484: The establishment of the Lex Hieronica must be derived from indirect evidence. Some scholars suggest that the Lex Hieronica was only implemented after 210 BCE. In 210 BCE Valerius Laevinus led an army against Syracuse due its defection to Carthage during the second Punic war and conquered the city. Then, in order to recuperate from war losses, the Romans would have immediately adopted the already existing taxation system which had been in place since Hiero II and extended

8250-556: The existing tax structures. Comparatively, after conquering the port city of Lilybaeum, the Romans left in place the existing Carthaginian tariffs. For this reason, it is plausible that the Romans left other taxes in place after their initial conquest. King Hiero the II of Syracuse had a lucrative tax system in place over his subjects. Like in Carthaginian Sicily, Hiero II charged his subjects with an agricultural tithe. The tithe

8375-399: The farmer could be sued for no more than four times the amount wrongly withheld. Cicero mentions that the edict of Verres had a provision referring to a public official known as the magistratus siculus . It is likely that the magistratus siculus was also a provision of the Lex Hieronica . This is due to the fact that Cicero charges Verres for using the magistrate as a tool for intimidating

8500-413: The farmer, not with implementing the magistracy itself. Cicero is ambiguous about the role of the magistratus siculus . Cicero states each of the tax paying cities had a magistratus siculus who served as an arbiter between farmers and the collectors when they had to agree on the amount of grain due. Cicero also mentions magistrates, without the adjective siculus, who were responsible for: annually recording

8625-619: The independent Cilician mountain tribes, besieging their fortress of Pindenissum . It took him 47 days to reduce the place, which fell in December. On 30 July 50 BC Cicero left the province to his brother Quintus , who had accompanied him on his governorship as his legate . On his way back to Rome he stopped in Rhodes and then went to Athens, where he caught up with his old friend Titus Pomponius Atticus and met men of great learning. Cicero arrived in Rome on 4 January 49 BC. He stayed outside

8750-450: The integrity of their own cultures. Whilst Cicero is able to construct his oratory around a bond of closeness and respect within the Roman and Sicilian relationship, the political and cultural context behind this bond is necessary to grasp the purpose of the Lex Hieronica . Beyond the portrayal of intimate relations between Sicily and Rome dictated by Cicero, it is principally clear that the Romans sought to implement an effective system that

8875-459: The intervention of recently elected tribune Titus Annius Milo , acting on the behalf of Pompey who wanted Cicero as a client , the Senate voted in favor of recalling Cicero from exile. Clodius cast the single vote against the decree. Cicero returned to Italy on 5 August 57 BC, landing at Brundisium . He was greeted by a cheering crowd, and, to his delight, his beloved daughter Tullia. In his Oratio De Domo Sua Ad Pontifices , Cicero convinced

9000-497: The issues being referred to the chief financial officers or "nome". Whilst many similarities are evident, it has conversely been argued that the basic principles and underlying spirit of the two systems remained completely different. This is supported by notable differences within the systems. For example, the Ptolemaic system used royal officials to collect the tax, whereas the Lex Hieronica allowed that any Sicilian could collect

9125-685: The king of the Parthians, had crossed the Euphrates , and was ravaging the Syrian countryside and had even besieged Cassius (the interim Roman commander in Syria) in Antioch . Cicero eventually marched with two understrength legions and a large contingent of auxiliary cavalry to Cassius's relief. Pacorus and his army had already given up on besieging Antioch and were heading south through Syria, ravaging

9250-533: The litter in a gladiatorial gesture to ease the task. By baring his neck and throat to the soldiers, he was indicating that he would not resist. According to Plutarch, Herennius first slew him, then cut off his head. On Antony's instructions his hands, which had penned the Philippics against Antony, were cut off as well; these were nailed along with his head on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum according to

9375-485: The most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history , especially the last days of the Roman Republic . Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on 3 January 106 BC in Arpinum , a hill town 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Rome. He belonged to the tribus Cornelia. His father was a wealthy member of the equestrian order and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being

9500-409: The names of the farmers who had sown seeds, the amount in seeds sown by each and, how much tithe each farmer had paid after the harvest. Modern scholars have argued that these magistrates are the magistratus siculus . Furthermore, modern scholars have argued that that magistratus siculus occupied a public office like the one uncovered at Morgantina. This is due to the fact that the magistratus siculus

9625-406: The new triumvirate. Lucius Octavius Lucius Octavius (c. 116 – 74 BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 75 BC. A member of the plebeian gens Octavia , and the son of Gnaeus Octavius (consul 87 BC) , Lucius Octavius was elected praetor by 78 BC at the latest. He is suspected by the historian Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton to have been the author of

9750-470: The nickname "Atticus", and whose sister married Cicero's brother) would become, in Cicero's own words, "as a second brother", with both maintaining a lifelong correspondence. In 79 BC, Cicero left for Greece, Asia Minor and Rhodes . This was perhaps to avoid the potential wrath of Sulla , as Plutarch claims, though Cicero himself says it was to hone his skills and improve his physical fitness. In Athens he studied philosophy with Antiochus of Ascalon ,

9875-678: The political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire . His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric , philosophy and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order , and served as consul in 63 BC. He greatly influenced both ancient and modern reception of

10000-452: The post-Sullan establishment, and the leaders of municipalities throughout post-Social War Italy. His co-consul for the year, Gaius Antonius Hybrida , played a minor role. He began his consular year by opposing a land bill proposed by a plebeian tribune which would have appointed commissioners with semi-permanent authority over land reform. Cicero was also active in the courts, defending Gaius Rabirius from accusations of participating in

10125-412: The prestige that Cicero needed to start his career. Cicero's oratorical ability is shown in his character assassination of Verres and various other techniques of persuasion used on the jury. One such example is found in the speech In Verrem , where he states "with you on this bench, gentlemen, with Marcus Acilius Glabrio as your president, I do not understand what Verres can hope to achieve". Oratory

10250-418: The proconsul's tent. Everyone seemed to have abandoned Cicero. After Clodius passed a law to deny to Cicero fire and water (i.e. shelter) within four hundred miles of Rome, Cicero went into exile. He arrived at Thessalonica , on 23 May 58 BC. In his absence, Clodius, who lived next door to Cicero on the Palatine, arranged for Cicero's house to be confiscated by the state, and was even able to purchase

10375-415: The property back. Besides this, he was extremely frugal in his outlays for staff and private expenses during his governorship, and this made him highly popular among the natives. Besides his activity in ameliorating the hard pecuniary situation of the province, Cicero was also creditably active in the military sphere. Early in his governorship he received information that prince Pacorus , son of Orodes II

10500-459: The rates of taxation were fixed by the governor Tiberius Gracchus in 180, and the 600,000 denarii exacted by M. Marcellus from the Celtiberians in 151-2 is thought to represent the regular payment made in that region. The main difference between the stipendiarum and the grain tithe of Sicily, was that seeing as the stipendiarum was a fixed sum which remained the same from year to year,

10625-489: The republic would be restored along with him. Shortly after completing his consulship, in late 62 BC, Cicero arranged the purchase of a large townhouse on the Palatine Hill previously owned by Rome's richest citizen, Marcus Licinius Crassus. To finance the purchase, Cicero borrowed some two million sesterces from Publius Cornelius Sulla , whom he had previously defended from court. Cicero boasted his house

10750-575: The result of translating Greek philosophical terms . Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the Catiline conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero (by his own account) suppressed the revolt by summarily and controversially executing five conspirators without trial, an act which would later lead to his exile. During

10875-456: The same mistakes as his father. He attacked Antony in a series of speeches he called the Philippics , named after Demosthenes's denunciations of Philip II of Macedon . At the time, Cicero's popularity as a public figure was unrivalled. Cicero supported Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus as governor of Cisalpine Gaul ( Gallia Cisalpina ) and urged the Senate to name Antony an enemy of

11000-455: The same passage, Appian states that Rome also sent a praetor to Sicily in 241 BCE. However, other sources contradict this claiming that the first Sicilian praetor arrived in 227 BCE. This does not necessarily invalidate Appian's claims about the implementation of the tithe. Further evidence for 241 BCE from Cicero. Cicero reports that the Sicilian city Segesta was declared to be free from tax because of their claimed kinship to Aeneas . In 241 BCE

11125-445: The same year with years that Sicily had an unusually large harvests. Despite this, Sicily's tithe definitely served a primarily military purpose, but these observations stimulate discussion for future debates on other uses of the spoils of the Lex Hieronica . The Lex Hieronica was also a key political and cultural instrument in the development of the concept of a provincia and the framework of territorial administration. A provincia

11250-405: The situation for their own political aims. After the suppression of the conspiracy, Cicero was proud of his accomplishment. Some of his political enemies argued that though the act gained Cicero popularity, he exaggerated the extent of his success. He overestimated his popularity again several years later after being exiled from Italy and then allowed back from exile. At this time, he claimed that

11375-488: The standard options – would not remove the threat to the state. At first Decimus Junius Silanus spoke for the "extreme penalty"; but during the debate many were swayed by Julius Caesar, who decried the precedent it would set and argued in favor of life imprisonment in various Italian towns. Cato the Younger then rose in defense of the death penalty and the Senate finally agreed on the matter, and came down in support of

11500-546: The state. The speech of Lucius Piso , Caesar's father-in-law, delayed proceedings against Antony. Antony was later declared an enemy of the state when he refused to lift the siege of Mutina , which was in the hands of Decimus Brutus. Cicero's plan to drive out Antony failed. Antony and Octavian reconciled and allied with Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate after the successive battles of Forum Gallorum and Mutina . The alliance came into official existence with

11625-446: The support of the senators and consuls, especially of Pompey. Cicero grew out his hair, dressed in mourning and toured the streets. Clodius' gangs dogged him, hurling abuse, stones and even excrement. Hortensius, trying to rally to his old rival's support, was almost lynched. The Senate and the consuls were cowed. Caesar, who was still encamped near Rome, was apologetic but said he could do nothing when Cicero brought himself to grovel in

11750-500: The tax across Sicily. This interpretation makes sense of the fact that Laevinus then encouraged the Sicilian who had been displaced from their farms during the war, to start farming again. There are several sources which suggest that the Romans taxed their Sicilian subjects prior to 210 BCE. Polybius suggests that in 251 BC the Romans were cooperating with their Sicilian allies in the extraction of an agricultural tithe in Panormos. This

11875-412: The tax due to their status as civitas foederata . The other cities were exempted from the tithe due to their status as free states immune from tax but not with foederata . The Lex Hieronica required that each farmer pay ten percent of their produce as tax in the form of a tithe. An extra tithe could be imposed when necessary. This tithe applied to farmers who produced corn and barley. In addition, it

12000-410: The tax in the hands of the provincial communities. This change was motivated by the prevalence of extortion by the tax-collectors. Each city would raise the amount required by whatever means they determined, which would then contribute to a joint payment by the entire province. Grain tithes continued to be exacted from Asia until at least the reign of the emperor Nero , however at some point later on it

12125-452: The tax, provided they could afford the rights. At some point, the Romans decided to codify the local taxation systems under the Lex Hieronica and implement them across Sicily. However, it is impossible to exactly date the establishment of the Lex Hieronica . No primary source explicitly names the Lex Hieronica other than Cicero. Cicero does not explicitly date when the Lex Hieronica was codified or implemented. Rather, any date concerning

12250-479: The theory and practice of rhetoric from the Greek poet Archias . Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience. It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite. Cicero's interest in philosophy figured heavily in his later career and led to him providing

12375-594: The three-man alliance in domination of the republic's politics; this forced Cicero to recant and support the triumvirate out of fear from being entirely excluded from public life. After the conference, Cicero lavishly praised Caesar's achievements, got the Senate to vote a thanksgiving for Caesar's victories, and grant money to pay his troops. He also delivered a speech 'On the consular provinces' ( Latin : de provinciis consularibus ) which checked an attempt by Caesar's enemies to strip him of his provinces in Gaul. After this,

12500-543: The tradition of Marius and Sulla, both of whom had displayed the heads of their enemies in the Forum. Cicero was the only victim of the proscriptions who was displayed in that manner. According to Cassius Dio , in a story often mistakenly attributed to Plutarch, Antony's wife Fulvia took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin in final revenge against Cicero's power of speech. Cicero's son, Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor, during his year as

12625-541: The unlawful killing of plebeian tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus in 100 BC. The prosecution occurred before the comita centuriata and threatened to reopen conflict between the Marian and Sullan factions at Rome. Cicero defended the use of force as being authorised by a senatus consultum ultimum , which would prove similar to his own use of force under such conditions. Most famously – in part because of his own publicity  – he thwarted

12750-432: The victimised farmers of Sicily as a "virtuous and honest and honourable class of men." He then addresses the Lex Hieronica regulations as "respectful" towards their important role as the "cultivators of soil." The intimacy of Roman-Sicilian relations portrayed by Cicero reflects Lex Hieronica's role in establishing a cohesive framework for integrating foreign lands into the Roman system as a provincia , without destroying

12875-428: The youngest possible age: quaestor in 75 BC (age 30), aedile in 69 BC (age 36), and praetor in 66 BC (age 39), when he served as president of the "Reclamation" (or extortion) Court. He was then elected consul at age 42. Cicero, seizing the opportunity offered by optimate fear of reform, was elected consul for the year 63 BC; he was elected with the support of every unit of the centuriate assembly , rival members of

13000-606: Was "in conspectu prope totius urbis" ("in sight of nearly the whole city"), only a short walk from the Roman Forum . In 60 BC, Julius Caesar invited Cicero to be the fourth member of his existing partnership with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus, an assembly that would eventually be called the First Triumvirate . Cicero refused the invitation because he suspected it would undermine the Republic, and because he

13125-426: Was a Roman constitutionalist . His social class and loyalty to the Republic ensured that he would "command the support and confidence of the people as well as the Italian middle classes". The optimates faction never truly accepted Cicero, and this undermined his efforts to reform the Republic while preserving the constitution. Nevertheless, he successfully ascended the cursus honorum, holding each magistracy at or near

13250-463: Was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity ." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the 18th-century Enlightenment , and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers and political theorists such as John Locke , David Hume , Montesquieu , and Edmund Burke was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in global culture, and today still constitute one of

13375-402: Was an area of Roman responsibility and a place where Roman imperialism was recognised and obeyed. The need for extra protection and regulation in Sicily stemmed from its role as a bridge between Rome and Carthage. Although the Romans drove Carthage from Sicily and its surrounding islands after their victory in the first Punic War, the enduring proximity of Carthaginian forces across the sea created

13500-461: Was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome, affording him the opportunity to study Roman law under Quintus Mucius Scaevola . Cicero's fellow students were Gaius Marius Minor, Servius Sulpicius Rufus (who became a famous lawyer, one of the few whom Cicero considered superior to himself in legal matters), and Titus Pomponius . The latter two became Cicero's friends for life, and Pomponius (who later received

13625-401: Was assigned to Sicily for 75 BC. The post, which was largely one related to financial administration in support of the state or provincial governors, proved for Cicero an important place where he could gain clients in the provinces. His time in Sicily saw him balance his duties – largely in terms of sending more grain back to Rome – with his support for the provincials, Roman businessmen in

13750-521: Was completely destroyed in the 17th century by the construction of a farmhouse. However, excavations have landed on the conclusion it was likely 32.90 metres wide and 7.50 metres wide. This granary had a single door and a ramp leading up to it on its short, northern end. The Lex Hieronica was an agricultural tax on all Sicilian farmers, except those in the territory of the cities of Centuripa , Halesa , Segesta , Halicya , and Panormus , Tauromenium and Messana . The latter two cities were exempted from

13875-403: Was considered a great art in ancient Rome and an important tool for disseminating knowledge and promoting oneself in elections, in part because there were no regular newspapers or mass media. Cicero was neither a patrician nor a plebeian noble ; his rise to political office despite his relatively humble origins has traditionally been attributed to his brilliance as an orator. Cicero grew up in

14000-476: Was consul and leader of the Caesarian faction, and unofficial executor of Caesar's public will. Relations between the two were never friendly and worsened after Cicero claimed that Antony was taking liberties in interpreting Caesar's wishes and intentions. Octavian was Caesar's adopted son and heir. After he returned to Italy, Cicero began to play him against Antony. He praised Octavian, declaring he would not make

14125-622: Was deemed to be effective and successful to be continued on in use under Roman occupation. This is apparent as its style was used as a model for the building of other Roman granaries, such as that built by Scipio Aemilius in Numantia in 134 BCE. In comparison, the Western Granary lacked the same monumental scope that was evident in the Eastern Granary. The Western Granaries size is more difficult to determine as its southern end

14250-511: Was given away by Philologus, a freedman of his brother Quintus Cicero. As reported by Seneca the Elder , according to the historian Aufidius Bassus , Cicero's last words are said to have been: Ego vero consisto. Accede, veterane, et, si hoc saltim potes recte facere, incide cervicem. I go no further: approach, veteran soldier, and, if you can at least do so much properly, sever this neck. He bowed to his captors, leaning his head out of

14375-473: Was going to serve its own primary and immediate needs. These immediate needs are described to us as being to feed its men and thus a continuation of the tithes in Sicily would resolve this need. It has been contended that the system was most likely born of out of the notion it made sense merely to continue agricultural tithes and continue a taxation system that had self-evidenced success and unprecedented levels of prosperity historically. Rome's decision to integrate

14500-499: Was influenced by Ptolemy II Philadelphus' revenue laws as these systems bear many structural similarities. Like Hiero's taxation system, the Ptolemaic revenue laws also required an agricultural tithe and annually renewed tax collectors. Both systems placed emphasis on record keeping, with Cicero's In Verrem demonstrating documented taxation. It is further evident this occurred in Egypt as well, with signed copies of agreements being held by all parties to an exchange. Both systems employed

14625-452: Was likely stored in public granaries like those discovered at Morgantina. Roman appropriation of Hiero's taxation system is evident in archaeological remains at Morgantina which show that the public office continued to be utilised during Roman rule. Furthermore, Cicero tells us that the Romans had never changed local taxation systems of Sicily until Verres' corrupt praetorship. This is likely to be an exaggeration. However, it seems likely that if

14750-475: Was no exception. Precedents for the Lex Hieronica , as pictured in Cicero's In Verrem , can be found in both Carthaginian Sicily and in the kingdom of Sicily, ruled by Hiero II. The Carthaginians had taxed their subjects in Sicily for centuries with an agricultural tithe. Polybius reports that Rome was both physically and economically exhausted at the end of the first Punic war. For this reason, it seems reasonable that Romans would have sought to recuperate through

14875-472: Was not a regular tithe implemented across the whole of Sicily per the Lex Hieronica . However, this shows that the Romans were at least familiar with local practices of taxation prior as early as 251 BCE. Furthermore, Rome conquered Panormos in 254 BCE. Hence, it is possible that Rome was at least familiar with local practises as early as 254 BCE. Appian claims that after the first Punic war, the Sicilians under Roman rule were subjected to an agricultural tithe. In

15000-412: Was not wrong to demand delivery by the first of August, rather his abuse of the farmers would have made such delivery impossible. It is unclear whether the collector or the farmer was responsible for delivering the tax to the waterside. On the one hand, Cicero never claims that the farmers were manipulated on the basis of such a responsibility. Furthermore, Cicero mentions no case of a farmer actually making

15125-546: Was one of the most viciously and doggedly hunted among the proscribed. He was viewed with sympathy by a large segment of the public and many people refused to report that they had seen him. He was caught on 7 December 43 BC leaving his villa in Formiae in a litter heading to the seaside, where he hoped to embark on a ship destined for Macedonia. When his killers – Herennius (a Centurion) and Popilius (a Tribune) – arrived, Cicero's own slaves said they had not seen him, but he

15250-493: Was replaced with a monetary tax based on both the quantity and quality of land, rather than the yield. Taxation in other Roman provinces often involved the exaction of a fixed sum called the stipendiarum , in general it was up to the community to raise the sum by whatever means they determined, and then hand it over to the provincial governor. The stipendiarum could consist of grain, money, or sometimes both. The provinces of Spain are known to have been taxed in this manner after

15375-463: Was responsible for the public documents which were likely to have been stored in the public office. When Rome annexed Sicily in 241 BCE, it became Rome's first overseas territory. As such, Rome had no precedents concerning overseas territorial management. The institutions which Rome developed in order to manage Sicily, as consistent with Roman practise elsewhere, grew out of the local governance structures which pre-dated Roman presence. The Lex Hieronica

15500-410: Was strongly opposed to anything unconstitutional that limited the powers of the consuls and replaced them with non-elected officials. During Caesar's consulship of 59 BC, the triumvirate had achieved many of their goals of land reform, publicani debt forgiveness, ratification of Pompeian conquests, etc. With Caesar leaving for his provinces, they wished to maintain their hold on politics. They engineered

15625-519: Was taken by surprise when the Liberatores assassinated Caesar on the ides of March , 44 BC. Cicero was not included in the conspiracy, even though the conspirators were sure of his sympathy. Marcus Junius Brutus called out Cicero's name, asking him to restore the republic when he lifted his bloodstained dagger after the assassination. A letter Cicero wrote in February 43 BC to Trebonius , one of

#403596