Fiscalité impériale et finances municipales au ive siècle

• Autores: G. Bransbourg
• Localización: Antiquité tardive: revue internationale d'histoire et d'archéologie, ISSN 1250-7334, Nº. 16, 2008 (Ejemplar dedicado a: L’empire des Théodoses), págs. 255-296
• Idioma: francés
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• Resumen

  • For a long period of time, it has been maintained that the later part of the history of the Roman Empire was characterized by the progressive rise of imperial absolutism, at the expense of the liberties traditionally enjoyed by the Mediterranean cities. The bleak situation depicted by the Codes regarding taxation and the authoritarian behavior of the imperial bureaucrats reinforced by the depressing testimonies issued by Libanios or Lactantius led classic and modern historiography to use rare and dubious indices — all in all, two Julian’s decrees, one sentence by Ammianus and one by Libanios — to conclude that the central State had destroyed civic autonomy during the reigns of Constantine or Constance II by seizing municipal properties and incorporating them into its own domains. Although cities had lost part of their previous financial capacity by the end of the 4th century, some recent studies have challenged the confiscation scenario. This leads to a contradiction that requires a completely renewed approach of that historiographic hurdle.