[AU.AG] Aerarium.Stabulum

In the era of the Roman Republic, the fiscal affairs of government were in the hands of the Senate. The state treasury was known as the aerarium, which was divided into two parts: the common treasury and the sacred treasury. The common treasury was designated for deposits from regular taxes and drawn upon for state expenditures. The sacred treasury was reserved only for times of extreme crisis.

However, in the transition from Republic to Empire, the treasury structure changed. By the time of Julius Caesar, the sacred treasury was being used for the deposit of booty brought in from conquests throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. Then, when Augustus assumed power, he divided the aerarium into a common treasury and a fiscus. The common treasury was controlled by the Senate and designated for raising income and providing expenditures for jurisdictions already inside the Empire, while the fiscus was used for monies from lands conquered by the Emperor’s armies outside of the Empire’s borders. The fiscus essentially became the emperor’s private treasury. Augustus eventually established a third treasury, the pension-like aerarium militare, which was designated for providing rewards for soldiers upon dismissal from services.

As time progressed and power was further consolidated in the hands of the emperors, the separate treasuries were combined into one. This was due in part to the emperors’ cravings for greater control and perhaps the perceived necessity of centralizing the administrative functions of the Empire. The integration of the treasuries also coincided with the enormous economic burdens that were falling upon Roman civilization: the need to protect its borders; provide grain and basic resources for its inhabitants; and to maintain its vast infrastructure of roads, aqueducts, and other structures necessary for the movement of goods. In the hands of often greedy and extravagant emperors, much of the treasury was depleted and the Empire could not raise enough taxes to cover its expenditures. The treasury was being depleted as the Empire had to pay tributary to different groups of barbarians just to keep them from invading its borders. Ultimately, the Empire collapsed as it was not able to sustain itself economically.