Aes equestre

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The aes equestre was an allotment paid during the Roman Republic to each cavalryman to provide him with a horse. This was said to have been instituted by Servius Tullius as part of his reorganization of the military. This allotment was 10,000 asses, to be given to the Equus publicus out of the public treasury (ex publico) of Rome. A similar allotment, the aes hordearium paid for the horses' upkeep, and was funded by a tax of 2,000 ases annually on unmarried women and orphans possessing a certain amount of property [1] [2] [3]

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Some say the equites had a right to distrain for this money likewise, it seems impossible that this account can be correct; for we can hardly conceive that a private person had a right of distress against a magistrate, that is, against the state, or that he could distrain any of the public property of the state. It is more probable that, since this money was paid by the single women and orphans, that it was against these that the equites had the same right to distrain, as they had in the case of the aes hordearium. [1] [3]

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The aes hordearium was an annual allotment of 2000 asses paid during the Roman Republic to an equus publicus for his military horse's upkeep. This money was paid by single women, which included both maidens and widows (viduae), and orphans (orbi), provided they possessed a certain amount of property, on the principle, as Barthold Georg Niebuhr remarks, "that in a military state, the women and children ought to contribute for those who fight in behalf of them and the commonwealth; it being borne in mind, that they were not included in the census." The equites had a right to distrain if the aes hordearium was not paid.

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References

  1. 1 2 Livy; Foster, Benjamin O. (tr.). The History of Rome 1.43.8–10 . Retrieved Nov 9, 2019.
  2. Hill, H (1943). "Aes Equestre, Aes Hordearium, and Triplex Stipendium". Classical Philology. 38 (2): 132–134. doi:10.1086/362700. JSTOR   264298.
  3. 1 2 "LacusCurtius: How the Roman Army Was Paid (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)". University of Chicago . Retrieved 11 Nov 2019.PD-icon.svgThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

Attribution

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under Public Domain License statement/permission . Text taken from Aes Equestre , William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.:, Bill Thayer. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875.. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.