AURUM CORONA´RIUM
AURUM CORONA´RIUM When a general in a Roman province
had obtained a victory, it was the custom for the cities in his own
provinces, and for those from the neighbouring states, to send golden crowns
to him, which were carried before him in his triumph at Rome. (
Liv. 38.37,
39.7;
Festus, s. v.
Triumphales Coronae.) This
practice appears to have been borrowed from the Greeks; for Chares related,
in his history of Alexander (ap.
Athen. 12.539
a), that after the conquest of Persia, crowns were sent to Alexander, which
amounted to the weight of 10,500 talents. The number of crowns which were
sent to a Roman general was sometimes very great. Cn. Manlius had 200 crowns
carried before him in the triumph which he obtained on account of his
conquest of the Gauls in Asia (
Liv. 39.7). In the
time of Cicero, it appears to have been usual for the cities of the
provinces, instead of sending crowns on occasion of a victory, to pay money,
which was called
aurum coronarium (
Cic. Leg. Agr. 2.2. 2,
§ 59;
Gel. 5.6; Monum. Ancyr.). This
offering, which was at first voluntary, came to be regarded as a regular
tribute, and seems to have been sometimes exacted by the governors of the
provinces, even when no victory had been gained. By a law of Julius Caesar
(
Cic. in Pis. 37,
§ 90), it was provided that the aurum coronarium should not be
given unless a triumph was decreed; but under the emperors it was presented
on many other occasions, as, for instance, on the adoption of Antoninus Pius
(Capitolin.
Anton. Pius, 100.4).
Later, the aurum coronarium became a complimentary present to the emperor on
stated occasions, such as his accession, happy events in the imperial
family,
rebus prospere gestis, indulgentiarum
laetitia, or, lastly,
amore proprio
(
Cod. Theod. 12.13, 4). The “feudal
incidents” and “benevolences” of more modern times may
have been connected with, and are certainly not without analogy to, these
Roman customs. In the impoverishment of the empire this burden, among
others, fell exclusively upon the
decuriones,
curiales, or municipal senators, whose onerous dignity was made
the pretext of many exactions (
id. 12.13, 1-3;
12.12, 15). The payment was excused by Alexander Severus (Lampr.
Al.
Sev. 32), and by Julian (
Amm. Marc.
25.4; Cod. Theod. 12.13, 1), but levied more stringently than ever by
Valentinian and Theodosius (Cod. 10.74).
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