STIPENDIA´RII
STIPENDIA´RII (1) Persons who received a fixed pay
or salary, as
stipendiariae cohortes (Hirtius,
Bell. Afr. 43; cf. Livy,
8.8).
(2) Those peoples in the Roman provinces were so called who had to pay a
fixed money tribute,
stipendium, in
contradistinction to the
vectigales (
Cic. Ver. 4.60, 134), who paid
decumae, or a fixed
percentage of the produce of their lands or other income [see VECTIGALIA; PROVINCIAE]. The word
stipendium was used for “tribute,”
because it was originally appropriated to the purpose of furnishing the
Roman soldiers with pay (
stipendium, Livy,
4.36,
60;
Tac. Hist. 4.74). All provinces paid
stipendium, except Sicily, and except, Asia between B.C. 123-48. The money
was for the most part raised and paid over by each township.
Later, the lawyers of the Empire distinguished
stipendium from
tributum, making
both mean a land-tax of fixed amount; but the former was raised in
senatorial provinces, the latter in Imperial provinces (Gaius, 2.21).
(See also under
VECTIGALIA
No. 13.)
[
F.T.R]
