Administration of the Empire

The Roman Empire had two types of territories.

1. Dependent-kingdoms: There were many dependent kingdoms in the

area of Fertile Crescent and the Mesopotamia. These were local kingdoms that were ‘clients’ of Rome. Their rulers could be relied on to use their forces in support of Rome, and in return Rome allowed them to exist. These kingdoms were exceedingly wealthy, for example Herod’s kingdom yielded 5.4million denarius per year, equal to over 125,000 kg of gold per year. Empire used to collect tax/ gifts from the dependent kingdoms. Later they were swallowed up by the Roman Empire

1. Provincial Territories: The areas which were directly ruled by the empire were called Provinces. Old areas were administered by a Governor appointed by senate while in the newly annexed areas, Emperor appointed local elites as Governors. Later the nature of the Roman Bureaucracy changed and the provincial aristocracy replaced and dominated the Italian Aristocracy as the number of imperial provinces increased.

2. The Roman Empire was divided into many provinces with a small capital for each. These were cities. These cities were responsible for collecting tax for the Roman Empire.

A city in the Roman Empire:

• Every city was governed by its own magistrates, city council. Villages around the cities were under the jurisdiction of the city administration.

• A city could not be in the territory of another city, but villages almost always were. Villages could be upgraded to the status of cities, and vice versa, usually as a mark of imperial favour.

• One crucial advantage of living in a city was essential commodities were better provided for during food shortages and even famines than the countryside.

City Life: Public baths were a striking feature of Roman urban life and urban populations also enjoyed a much higher level of entertainment. For example, one calendar tells us that spectacula (shows) filled no less than 176 days of the year! The Roman Empire was spending almost one third of its income on entertainment.

Chariots race during Spectacular

A Roman Bath House