Taxes and Authority in the Late Antique Countryside: The Reach of the State and the Pagarchs of Byzantine Egypt (284–642 CE)

Matthias Stern

Noch nicht erschienen Veröffentlicht von De Gruyter 2025

Taxes and Authority in the Late Antique Countryside

The Reach of the State and the Pagarchs of Byzantine Egypt (284–642 CE)

Matthias Stern

In der Reihe Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete – Beihefte

Übersicht

Über dieses Buch

How did the late Roman Empire operate in rural areas, where most of its subjects lived? The papyri from Egypt hand us the opportunity to glimpse at state operations at the local level, how the countryside responded to it, and thus how "empire" looked on the ground.

Since a major motivator for state activity in the countryside was tax collection, this study puts at its center the pagarchs of late antique Egypt: key actors at the intersection of provincial, city, and village institutions from the fourth through the seventh centuries. The book contextualizes the pagarchs’ dealings, backgrounds, and networks from the imperial sphere to the village level, delving into topics such as tax collection procedures at the village level, accounting and staffing at the city level, the hold and competition of local elites over the countryside, aristocratic careers at the provincial and imperial levels, and local agency vs. imperial policy.

In essence, the book analyzes the administrative and social mechanics of the fiscal regime in one region of the imperial periphery. Exploring the papyrological source material, it offers a uniquely detailed insight into the dynamic relationship between the Roman Empire and local communities in late antiquity.

Information zu Autoren / Herausgebern

Matthias Stern, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Fachgebiete

(English)

Sprache: Englisch
Verlag: De Gruyter
Copyrightjahr: 2025
Zielgruppe: Scholars and students of Ancient History, Papyrology, Classics, Early Medieval History, Coptic, Byzantine and Arab Studies
Seiten
- Inhalt: 420
Abbildungen
- Abbildungen: 5
- Tabellen: 6
Schlagworte: Lokale Administration; Römisches Reich; Spätantike; Papyrus

eBook

Geplante Veröffentlichung: 13. Februar 2025
ISBN: 9783111493183

Gebunden

Geplante Veröffentlichung: 13. Februar 2025
ISBN: 9783111435923