2-12. The Magistri Militum and the New Imperial Guards

From the third century the officer who in each province looked after the imperial revenue, whose earlier title was procurator, began to be called rationalis. But under Diocletian's system, each governor became the chief financial officer in his province. For each Dioecesis there was appointed a rationalis summae rei, in which name summae rei refers to the complex of provinces forming the Dioecesis. The great Imperial minister of finance at the centre bore the same name at first; summa res in his case indicated the whole Empire. But the title comes sacrarum largitionum came into use in the reign of Constantine. This officer advanced from the rank of perfectissimus to a high place among the illustres. The appellation comes came to be given to all the chief financial officers in the Dioeceses of the East and to some of those in the West, while others continued to bear the name rationalis. Disputes between taxpayers and the lower government financial officers were doubtless decided in the last resort by the comes sacrarum largitionum. A number of treasury officials and officers of the mint were under his orders. In certain places (Rome, Milan, Lugdunum, London and others) sub-treasuries of the government were maintained There were also factories for the supply to the Court of many fabrics; all these the comes had under his charge. And he was in touch with the administrators of all public income and expenditure throughout the Empire.

The emperor had revenues which he distinguished as personal to himself rather than public, although they doubtless were largely expended on imperial administration. These personal revenues were derived from two sources distinguished as res privata and patrimonium, and administered to some extent by different staffs. In theory the patrimonium consisted of property which might be regarded as belonging to the emperor apart from the crown, while the res privata attached to the crown itself. But these distinctions were of no great practical value. The imperial estates and possessions had come to be enormous, and covered large parts of some provinces. We have seen that the control of the imperial domains in one province, Cappadocia, was entrusted to the quaestor sacri cubiculi. The concentration of these immense estates in the hands of the ruler had an important effect upon the general evolution of society in the Empire. These properties had largely accrued by confiscation, mainly as a consequence of struggles for the supreme power. The head of the administration of the res privata, designated as in the regular army. The members of the body were raised far above the ordinary soldier by their personnel, their privileges, their pay, in some cases equal to that of civil officials of a high grade, by their equipment, and by the estimation in which they were held. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus served in their ranks. They were divided into sections called scholae.

Still another corps of Imperial Guards was created by Constantine, consisting of scholae palatinae, distinguished as scholae scutariorum, who were Romans, and scholae gentilium, who were barbarians. They were detached from the general army organisation and were under the orders of the magister officiorum. Their history was not unlike that of the Praetorians ; they became equally turbulent, and equally inefficient as soldiers.

Castalia History subscription

To obtain a deluxe leatherbound edition of THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, subscribe to Castalia History.