1981 Volume 90 Issue 2 Pages 139-173,274-27
The huge bureaucratic mechanism of the later Roman Empire bore an exceedingly military colour. This was due to the fact that in the third century many soldiers were employed as civil officers. What relationship with the Roman society and economy had this transformation of soldiers into civil officers in the formative period of the later Roman Empire? To consider this problem the development of the office of primipilus is surveyed in this article. The following conclusions are gained. Because of the financial crisis and the fall of the value of money at the end of the second century, the annona levied in kind was introduced. As the annona was originally levied for military provisions, a system of administration was organized for collecting and transporting the annona with chief centurions primipili as responsible officers of this task. This system was the lustrum primipili mentioned in inscriptions and the administratio primipili in laws. Thereafter as inflation went from bad to worse, the annona came to be levied to maintain not only the army but also the imperial government as a whole. By the reign of Diocletian, the annona came to occupy major part of land tax. The system of annona-administration within the limits of the army could not cope with such development of the annona. A new system of adminisatration beyond the limits of the army was needed to manage the annona. The primipili and other military officers who had taken part in military provisions were transformed into civil officers. This change was one of the reorganizing processes to cope with the increasing importance of the annona. From the reign of Constantine onwards, the primipilares charged with the task called pastus primipili had nothing to do with the annona-collection. They simply transported military provisions to the frontier army. It is obvious that this demilitarization of the annona-administration aimed at preventing an excessive concentration of powers in the army, and the increase of the annona forced this demilitarization.
