Praeda
A Latin word signifying movable things taken by an enemy in war. Such things were either
distributed by the
imperator among the soldiers or sold by the quaestors,
and the produce was paid into the Aerarium or State treasury. The difference between praeda
and
manubiae lies in the fact that praeda means the things themselves
that are taken in war, while
manubiae is the money realized from their
sale (
Gell. xiii. 24). It was the practice to set up a spear at
such sales, which was afterwards used at all sales of things by a magistratus in the name of
the people. See Sectio;
Spolia.